# Isparta-Istanbul Bike Tour (1505 km)



## aytu_14 (13 Jan 2021)

Hello, I will share the article of a tour I did in 2017 with you every day. I wrote a little long article. I will share it in the next 20-25 days. I translated my writing into English. I hope I succeeded.

*HOW STARTED?*

I studied high school in Gökçeada Teacher Training High School in a boarding school. As someone who grew up in Istanbul until my high school education, I can say that I never knew the appearance of the stars, that indescribable fragrance that comes with the wind blowing in the spring. It was not difficult to imagine being in nature when you feel these in Gökçeada and smell the appearance of concrete and exhaust fumes in Istanbul during vacation times. I had an intense desire to travel back then. I was excited by the thought of sleeping in tents in parks, on beaches like a hopper. I wanted to be in nature, to feel the wind and the sun, to smell the sea and the forest, to sleep by seeing the night stars and the moon. These were the things that really made me feel alive.

When I was dreaming of traveling, I never thought of getting on a private vehicle or bus. I thought I would do it with hitchhiking. I could only do this at university. I was already hitchhiking in the last year of high school. The pleasure I get from conversations with people I don't know brought me closer to this job. As time progressed, for some reason, suitable conditions did not occur and I could not start. I wanted to do it with a couple of friends, I thought it would be boring to do this thing alone. But I couldn't find a friend to make this happen. I could not even convince the 10-15 day tour for a 1-2 day tour, let alone. Maybe I was using this situation as an excuse because I couldn't find the courage to start, who knows…

At the end of my third year at university, I wanted to start this travel dream alone. And this was a sudden decision. One night I fell asleep thinking why I didn't do this, and when I woke up in the morning, I decided to hitchhike from Isparta to Istanbul in a week, traveling over the Aegean and I did it.

I took the first big step by doing this. Although I really enjoyed my hitchhiking tour, something was missing. Something was missing that I could not name.

*Why Bicycle?*
Like everyone else, I met bicycles at a young age. Of course, I'm not talking about that childhood acquaintance, but why I decided to ride a bike.

To be honest, it did not cross my mind that I could ride my bike until July 2016. I was in Manisa in 2012 - my first year at the university. Although the distance was short, the bus to the university from where we were sitting was traveling a lot. And the bus was expensive too. So I said to myself: “Let me take a bike! I will go to school in a short time and avoid giving money to the bus. " I already bought a small amount of money for the bike in 1-1.5 months. It was the only reason I bought the bike. I brought this bike I bought to Isparta. I only used it for transportation and sports until it was stolen.

In June 2016, I bought a new bicycle for transportation and sports. But this time he wouldn't stay there. I knew from the first moment I started driving this. I started driving first in Istanbul and then in Isparta. In September 2016, the idea of doing long tours started flashing in my mind. I dreamed of coming from Isparta to Istanbul by following the coastline. As of November 2016, I started to buy the materials I needed. In the meantime, I tried to get an idea by reading the writings of people who have toured. Everything happened step by step. I completed the equipment I would use on my bike in 9 months by purchasing 1 or 2 materials each month. Already in my daily life, I started using my bike while going to school. I was physically preparing that way. Then I tried it myself with slightly longer distances. I went on a 3-day tour in Isparta. I went to Eğirdir, Burdur daily. I started to believe that I could really make this work with these tours. The point where I completely believed in this work was the tour I realized from Isparta to Burdur Salda Lake. It was 100 km apart. All my equipment was complete on the Salda Lake tour. And on the way, there were almost difficulties that I could encounter on my Isparta-Istanbul tour. Traffic, roadworks, undivided roads, mountain road, dirt road, steep slopes, strong winds blowing directly from the front, etc. Although I struggled a little, I completed the Salda tour and I was almost completely ready now. I say almost because in my head, albeit very small, I might not have the courage to set out. In order to reduce this fear even more and make it a more driving force for myself, I shared the route I drafted on Instagram as soon as I set my tour date and announced that I would start this event with my friends and community.






_As the journey continued, I made changes to the plan I drew_.
"How did I get started on this journey?" If I collect the answer to the question; I wanted to travel for a long time. And I wanted to use the bike as a means of transportation. In fact, I would have understood better throughout the tour that the bicycle was not only my means of transportation, but also my companion I was looking for but could not find.

I came home from my last exam on 10.08.2017. After sleeping a little, I got up and prepared my equipment. I said goodbye to my housemates and turned my first pedal on 11.08.2017 at 05:10 in the morning.


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BXoxl7kAwC_/


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## HobbesOnTour (13 Jan 2021)

Excellent!
Well done! I'm about as excited as you seemed to be! Can't wait for tomorrow!

I'm curious. Where did you read about other people's travels? Is there a Turkish CrazyGuyOnABike?

There are some really important lessons in there for any prospective bike tourists;
Don't wait for others, get out there with whatever you have and build up confidence, skills and experience. And kick the fear to touch.

Thank you and really looking forward to the rest.


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## aytu_14 (14 Jan 2021)

Thank you so much 

There are a few relatively famous is touring cyclists in Turkey. One of them is Gürkan Genç. It has its own website. I read the articles he wrote there. There is also Hasan Söylemez. He did a bike tour without money in Turkey. In the last few years, he has been traveling around Africa and making documentaries. You can find it on Youtube. Their have articles, video's subtitles in English language.
While I was thinking about whether I could do such a tour, I discovered the journeys of these two. Then I said to myself, "They're almost going to cycle to the moon. I'm worried about what happens if I come from here to here. I can do it."


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## aytu_14 (14 Jan 2021)

_*1. day (Isparta – Antalya) (133 Km)*_

The weather was not brighter when I set out. I thought that the lights in Isparta would be enough for me until the exit of Isparta and then the air would light up. After 8 km, the lights went out but the weather was not bright. At the exit of Isparta Sav, I waited for 20-25 minutes for the weather to light up. Then I continued on the road.

Isparta has an altitude of 1035 meters. I wanted to reach the sea on the first day. Mostly a very pleasant landing awaited me. I had traveled 82 km until 11 o'clock and the weather was getting hot. I enjoyed cycling through the mountains and forests along the way. I went on tour for this. To be in nature.






I rested for about 5 hours in Ortaköy village at the entrance of Antalya Aksu district. During the tour, I would be careful to rest and not to cycle between 11-15 hours when the temperature is effective. I slept in a mosque in the village because I did not sleep much the previous day. They also turned on the air conditioner during prayer times. It was very good for me. After waking up at 16 o'clock and eating my food, I set off. After about 40 km further, I arrived at the Antalya airport junction. It was around 19 o'clock. I was 25 km away from Konyaaltı beach. I also had energy, but it was rush hour. There was heavy vehicle traffic. Cycling in this traffic would not be enjoyable. In fact, I would take care not to use bicycles in heavy traffic when I was planning my tour. For this reason, I decided to take the tram to the bus station and take the 7.5 km road from there with my bike. I went to the tram at the Antalya junction. I wasn't sure if they were going to buy the bike. At the stop, I did not meet the security guard at first. I called Antalya transportation and explained my situation. The lady on the phone said that it would be okay for me to go as long as I stand in front of the security camera and put the bike somewhere so that it does not disturb other passengers. While I was waiting at the station, I realized that I was actually standing in the wrong direction. The opposite stop was in the direction of the bus station. I didn't notice it at first because the opposite stop was a little behind. And the security guard was also there. Fortunately, I did not meet the security guard at first. When I got to the stop, he said he could not take the bike. I said I had permission from the power plant. Then he called his superior and explained the situation. His supervisor asked the person at the switchboard to call him. I called the switchboard again and explained that I did not see the security guard because I was waiting at the wrong stop. Thanks to the lady at the switchboard, she called the supervisor and said it was okay. In this way, I was able to get on the tram. The security guard said that the bike was actually not bought, and his supervisor was also surprised by this situation. Why not, this is a separate issue, what did these cyclists do to you?





After reaching the bus station by tram, I went the remaining road and reached Konyaaltı beach. I had achieved my first goal. My current goal was to continue from the shore.

I would spend the night in Konyaaltı beach. I set up my tent in a suitable location. It was around 20.30. After swimming in the sea and cooling off, I took my shower, ate my meal, went to the tent and slept. One hour later, I went out and went to sleep because the inside of the tent was very hot. Because the beach is crowded, I was supposed to sleep with my eyes open to avoid theft. But it didn't happen. I was so tired that if there was a war I would not wake up.

It was 07:00 when I woke up in the morning. I had to get up at 06:00 and hit the road. When I woke up, The tent's door was open. My phone, my wallet were outside. I forgot to turn it off when going out to change my place at night. Thank goodness I did not have a mishap.

I traveled 133 km on the first day. Which has been my personal record.


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## HobbesOnTour (14 Jan 2021)

I'm enjoying your attitude! - wait for the sun to come up, take the tram to avoid the heavy traffic.

I don't want to be a jackass, but I'm not sure what this means?


> When I woke up, the tent's *open phone wallet* was all around. I forgot to turn it off when going out to change my place at night. Thank goodness I did not have a mishap.



Looking forward to tomorrow!


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## aytu_14 (14 Jan 2021)

HobbesOnTour said:


> I'm enjoying your attitude! - wait for the sun to come up, take the tram to avoid the heavy traffic.
> 
> I don't want to be a jackass, but I'm not sure what this means?
> 
> ...



I made a mistake. 

The tent's door was open. My phone, my wallet were outside.


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## mudsticks (14 Jan 2021)

aytu_14 said:


> Hello, I will share the article of a tour I did in 2017 with you every day. I wrote a little long article. I will share it in the next 20-25 days. I translated my writing into English. I hope I succeeded.
> 
> *HOW STARTED?*
> 
> ...




Thank you for sharing @aytu_14 

Turkey is the destination of an 'Outer Edges of Europe' tour I'm hoping for in 2022. 

I've never visited but my father was very fond of the country, and its people. 

A bit like you I try to set off with determination and hope, and then let good (and the occasional not so good) things happen along the way. 

That's the fun of travelling by bicycle. 

Usually very friendly reception. 

Thank you for sharing, your trip so far, I look forward to following along, and picking up some local knowledge .

The (mostly) good weather there, also seems like a very attractive option from here in rainy January UK


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## aytu_14 (15 Jan 2021)

@mudsticks To be honest, I don't think I'm writing a tourist article. I just wrote what I experienced and felt on the road. In my article, you may not find the answers to questions such as where to go, what to eat, what is it famous for. My budget was limited as I was a student at that time. I spent 70-80 $ on my trip. I spent most of it on food. For this reason, I could not visit museums and ancient cities. But you will find plenty of answers to questions such as where can I camp for free, where to take a shower for free.

But if you have any questions, you can ask. I will gladly reply.


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## mudsticks (15 Jan 2021)

aytu_14 said:


> @mudsticks To be honest, I don't think I'm writing a tourist article. I just wrote what I experienced and felt on the road. In my article, you may not find the answers to questions such as where to go, what to eat, what is it famous for. My budget was limited as I was a student at that time. I spent 70-80 $ on my trip. I spent most of it on food. For this reason, I could not visit museums and ancient cities. But you will find plenty of answers to questions such as where can I camp for free, where to take a shower for free.
> 
> But if you have any questions, you can ask. I will gladly reply.



Thankyou that's great. 

It's fine I'm not looking for 'tourist' advice in terms of attractions, that's all in guidebooks, if needed. 

Far more interested in the 'camping for free' type info, it's what I do when I can, that's the sort of local knowledge I mean. 

I know people who hike in the mountains in Turkey, and a freind of mine hiked the Lycian way in 2019, where you can wild camp no problem - But what's the reaction if you're closer to civilisation? 

I'm a "Have tent will travel" and pitch it where I can type person - but I'm usually willing to accept hospitality when offered. 

I've ended up in all sorts of interesting situations as a result 

I'm not a penniless student any more, but budget travelling is a habit that has stuck with me, as I don't earn vast amounts of money even now. 

Anyway, I look forward to reading along - thanks


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## Oldhippy (15 Jan 2021)

Interesting aytu_14, as long as you enjoy it that is what matters. You have a beautiful country and home to some of the oldest civilisations in human history. Keep the photos coming. Enjoy.


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## aytu_14 (15 Jan 2021)

_*2. day (Konyaaltı Beach-Göynük -Tekirova) (70 Km)*_

After breakfast, picking up the items and placing them on the bike, I started pedaling in the first seconds of 08:15. I planned to reach Göynük municipality, which is 33 km away, and spend the afternoon there. I wanted to get there before 11 o'clock. I also had enough time for this. I reached Göynük around 11 o'clock, taking photos on the road. I wandered around Göynük and did some shopping for lunch. After entering the sea at the beach and cooling off, I slept for 1-2 hours and set off at around 17:00. I was aiming to reach Adrasan. However, I wanted to reach Çıralı-Olympos at least due to factors such as the headwind (it would be like this throughout the tour) and the continuous slope of the road. My water was running low. Until Tekirova, there was no water source and no gas station or market where I could buy water. I was at the Tekirova junction around 19:00. Ahead of me was an estimated 10 km Ulupınar slope. I was going to land in Çıralı after climbing this slope. I thought I could arrive before it gets dark. After traveling 6 km in 45 minutes, it started getting darker. Frankly, I started to descend 6 km as I didn't want to stay in the dark. I would realize later that it was a mistake. But it was a nice mistake. Because on the way to Tekirova, I saw 3 young people aged 17-18. The bicycles were walking in their hands. Someone had a flat tire and had no equipment such as a pump patch. They lived around here and went for a ride. After stopping and helping them, I went down to Tekirova. I would spend the night here.

Again, I thought of setting up a tent on the beach, but the gendarme caused a problem. Frankly, I was not in a position to deal with them and speak. Saying okay I will not pitch a tent, I went to the mosque, whose minaret I saw soon. I spent the night there by just throwing my bed between the triangle of mosque, park and cemetery. In the morning the Ulupınar hill was waiting for me again.


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## aytu_14 (16 Jan 2021)

_*3. day (Tekirova-Adrasan-Korsan Bay) (60 Km)*_

The weather was a little cool at night, so I got my sleep well. I set out at 6.15 in the morning. I was going to have my breakfast on the road. I saw a place yesterday while climbing the slope. People were having a picnic there. It was a beautiful place located next to the water and forest from the mountain. It was staying at the 5th km on the exit from Tekirova. After having my breakfast there, I continued to climb the slope. After 3 km, I reached Beycik village road junction. The slope ends here. I said it was a mistake for me to come back the day before; If I had climbed 2 km more, I would have finished the slope. After that, there was a 1.5 km descent. Saying meant to be, I continued towards Adrasan junction. I did not enter Olympos and Çıralı because I had seen there before.




_It's nice when I narrate but I'm soaked in sweat until I left..._

I landed approximately 9 km from Adrasan junction and reached the center. At the entrance to Adrasan, I met İbrahim after buying something from the grocery store in the gas station. They were traveling with his girlfriend on his motorcycle. He gave some information about Adrasan that not many people knew, but that he was very beautiful and where it was beautiful. He advised me to see the Pirate(Korsan) Bay, The Priest(Papaz) Bay.

We left after thanking Ibrahim for his conversation and advice and wishing each other luck. After wandering around Adrasan and resting here at noon, I continued to go to Korsan Bay over the village of Karaöz. The road to Karaöz village was a one-lane road leading through the forest. It was a 6 km hard ascent and 6 km of a steep slope. Nature and forest were magnificent. I looked at Korsan Bay on the map and went. When I got down to the bay, I met Tunahan and Barış. They were coming from Antalya by hitchhiking. Tunahan asked me if I was disappointed about this bay. When I said "I don't know", he said "I was disappointed". Actually we came to the wrong bay. This was not Pirate Bay. He has a bay called Kargılı Stream. It shows two Korsan bays on the map. One was near the Kargılı stream, one was in the south of the village of Karaöz.


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BXvlT2FDiLL/


Tunahan was looking for a travel companion just like me. I gave up but he did not give up to find a friend and finally he convinced Barış. This tour they did was the first experience of Barış.

We set up our tent in a suitable place with friends, put whatever we have on hand, and had our dinner. Thanks to the family in the tent next door, they offered tea. I left this evening behind with the pleasant conversation of Tunahan and Barış.

_Tunahan continued to carry his dreams forward. He also made trips to Europe._


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## aytu_14 (17 Jan 2021)

_*4. day (Korsan Bay- Kumluca- Finike Bays -Demre) (65 Km)*_

After getting up at 6.00 in the morning, swimming in the sea and recovering, I packed my belongings and set off. Tunahan and Barış had not yet awakened. We gave our social media accounts to each other. Then I thanked them for their friendship.

After about 1 hour of cycling, I bought a bagel from a simit vendor and had breakfast on the road. Accompanied by the Finike beach on my left, I cycled up to Finike on the straight road. After resting, eating lunch and walking around in Finike, I set out for Demre. Finike was mostly agricultural land. He did not invest much as a tourist. Indigenous people made a living from agriculture.

The road between Finike and Demre was jagged. There were beautiful bays. I was taking off my top and just cycling in my shorts. I was slowly going towards Demre by swimming in almost all of the bays.






On the road, I met two people who were riding their bikes like me. Osman Göçek started his tour from Kars - in his 50s - and was on the 38th day of his tour. They met Hasan Karan on the way and would drive together until Çıralı. Hasan also started from Kuşadası and his tour will end in Çıralı. I got the address of a site that shows the slope of the road from him (bikeroll.net). It was very simple to use, I could not find it. (Now I use google maps. When you select the walk option, it shows the inclination of the road.) Thank you, it worked for me. After having a little chat with my friends and taking photos, they continued on my way. The wind was behind them. Seeing them gave me an extra motivation. (I got a message while I was sharing this post on a local forum. The younger of these people I met on the way texted me. He was also a member of the forum. Years later, we came across it, albeit through the forum. It was a nice meeting again.)





_ The first maniacs I saw on the road like me (!)_

I arrived in Demre around 20:00 in the evening. While I was sitting at a bus stop at the entrance to see where I was going on the map, someone who to return home from work stopped next to me. When he found out that I was touring, he invited me to his house. I accepted and went to his house. This brother name was Zechariah. He lives with his wife and two children. His mother was living in the lower floor of their house. Since her mother was traveling, I took my shower in her mother's house and went to their house. Zekeriya brother was a very gentle and pleasant conversation person. He and his wife were calling each other "my friend". I liked this. He told that he had made Black Sea tours with his motorcycle several times in the past, and that he went to Kaş by bike with his friend in high school.

After dinner, Zekeriya showed me around Demre with his motorcycle. We toured the Santa Claus Church, the area where the water coming from underground (good for the bowels), Demre beach. Santa Claus Church was the second tourist attraction in Antalya. It had a beautiful architecture.

After the trip I came home and slept in an air-conditioned environment at his mother's house. I really needed this. Tomorrow I was waiting for a tiring route with 14 km climb and 14 km steep ups and downs. I stored my energy that night.


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## aytu_14 (18 Jan 2021)

_*5. day ( Demre-Kaş-Kaputaş Beach) (70 Km) (First Part)*_





Since Kas climbing is in front of me today, I got up at 6.00. I set off immediately without having breakfast. I wanted to start the landing stage of Kaş before the heat took effect. After about 2 km, I realized that I forgot my wallet at Zechariah's house. I waited for them to come back home and wake up. After taking the wallet at around 7 o'clock and thanking them again, I went on. I hope happiness will not be missing in their lives.

Before starting the tour, we were having a conversation with my friends about my tour. The general content of the conversation was expressing concerns such as are you crazy or if this or this happens. Or they were asking that famous question. "What will you do on the slopes?" In the first couple of conversations I was giving answers like "If I can't get out, it's my turn to carry the bike". One day a friend asked me what to do on the slope again. I said I had a dream like this:

As I climb the hill, a red "open top" car will come and stop by honking, there will be a beautiful lady in the car and:

She will ask: “Do you need help handsome? If you want, we can put your bike in the car, I can help you finish this hill." And I will accept this offer and get into her car. While chatting in the car, our charming lady (looking at my legs) said, “You are very tired. My chalet is close! You can stay with me tonight. You will be well-rested and I want to listen to the memories of your journey. " I told her that he would go into the subject. And I told that I would spend the night with her at her house.

This was the slope that my friends talked about. Slope 6% or 7% length 14 km. The road between Demre and Kas. I climbed 10 km of the road in one go. Then I stopped and had breakfast. But afterwards I could not climb. I could not get some kind of momentum. I was out of breath after cycling for 1-2 minutes. It was increasingly noon. The air was also getting hot. A horn rang as I was walking slowly in my hand bicyle. Next to me a giant man with a pos mustache and a cigarette in his mouth stopped with his "open-top motorcycle". And:

-Come let me help you to the top.

-Well but how? I don't have any ropes.

-No need for a rope.

-How are we going to do?

-You will take my hand.

-??????

-You will take my hand, we will go up to the end of the slope.



What did I do? I held that hand tight. The story I told my friends in my mind, the wind blowing across my face, we crossed that slope. When we reached the hill, we lit a cigarette in return.

The main theme of the story I told my friends was that a helpful person would help me as I was going to have a hard time on a slope. The main theme has taken hold. What does it matter if the content does not match? Is not it?


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## aytu_14 (19 Jan 2021)

_*5. day ( Demre-Kaş-Kaputaş Beach) (70 Km) (Second Part)*_

The hard part of the Kaş road was over. After that, it was a bumpy road that did not tire me as much as I expected. On the way, we had a little chat with three sweet children –Cemil, Yasin, Nagehan.





Dogs sounds were heard in the forests 2 km before landing in Kaş. Dog voices grew louder as he got closer. There was a serious shiver in me. There was no settlement near me. After a little more I realized that it was a dog shelter. It was the dogs' scream of rebellion.

When I came to the intersection where I was going to land in Kaş, I came across 3 people hitchhiking. Diyar, Veysi, Bahtiyar. Very nice names. It was the first time they were hitchhiking. They were a bit reproached for not stopping the vehicles though. But despite this, it was obvious that they enjoyed very much. They had taken the poison. After that, they would go for a hitchhiking ride whenever they had a chance. I was sure of that.

Friends also advised me that I should definitely see Kaputaş and Patara beach. After wishing each other luck, I continued on my way and landed in Kaş.






After eating my meal in Kaş and wandering around the center, I went to the public beach at the Kaş exit. The road was tiring for me, I needed to rest. I met a family from Manisa on the beach. They were driving slowly along the coastline in their cars. I drank the tea they offered. After swimming and resting, I met Mevsim. He was studying abroad. He came to Kaş with his uncle for vacation. While we were talking, Her cousin Nehir and her friend Bali came. After meeting them and hanging out for a few hours, we left. They went to go their home. And me, I went to go Kaputaş beach.





_ Kaş entrance_

A noise came from the bike while I were traveling towards Kaputaş. When I looked back, my sleeping bag had fallen off the bike and was rolling into the abyss. At that moment a truck passed over the overalls, and after the thud, the bag of the overalls got caught in the truck. After screaming whistling, the truck stopped ahead. I took my overalls. The truck was going to Kalkan and offered to leave me to Kaputaş. Actually, I had finished the difficult part of the road, but I accepted it because the road was a little narrow.


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BX0-M1PgcgG/


After reaching Kaputaş beach, I tied the bike to the railing and went down to the beach. I was going to stay the night here. Mehmet, whom I met on the beach in Kaş, said that he was a staff member at Kaputaş beach and it would not be a problem for him to spend the night on the beach if I wanted. He was on guard at the beach at night.

After swimming in the sea for a while, when I went upstairs to pick up my belongings, I realized that I lost the key to the bike on the beach. Although I searched for the key after downloading my stuff, I could not find it. Still, I'm lucky. I tied the bike to the handlebar. I dismantled the brake and gear and unlocked the bike and put it down a few stairs so that it was in view of the camera. A red bicycle lock hung about 20 meters from the hut. If you go, look at the railings. If they haven't removed the lock, you'll see a memory from me.





_ Kaputaş Beach_

I met Rafet and his family from Adana at the beach in the evening. They set off from Adana and followed the coastline for short distances. They invited me to their tables, at first I just thought of saying thank you, but then I remembered that I didn't shop for food in Kaş. Rafet also forgot to buy cigarettes. I offered cigarettes after I had dinner with them. After drinking our tea and smoking with a pleasant conversation, I threw my bed on a sunbed and slept.

At around 2 o'clock at night, I woke up to a scream for help. One man: "Help!" he was shouting. When I looked where the sound was coming from, I saw a few people on the cliffs. After work, while 4 friends were going to sit on the rocks to have a chat, one of them slipped and fell down. I immediately called the gendarmerie and informed the situation. The ambulance, the gendarmerie and the acute arrived. Meanwhile, the father of the fallen person also came. We hardly stopped him because he were trying to climb.

A woman aged 24-25 - the friend of the fallen person - led the paramedic and the gendarmerie separately. And brought they to her injured friend. She up and down to the rocks 5 times. They removed the injured after about 1 hour of work. The next day I learned that fallen person was doing well from the beach manager.


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## aytu_14 (20 Jan 2021)

_*6. Day (Kaputaş Beach- Patara Beach) (23 km)*_


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BX18xesAFLJ/


_Video's Translate : Good Morning. I don't know how a morning you woke up, but I woke up in such a morning._

I liked Kaputaş beach very much, so I wanted to stay here at least until late afternoon. At about 16:00 in the afternoon, I left Kaputaş and set out for Patara. Patara beach was 23 km away.




_ Grape tree of a cafe on the road
_

After stopping by Kalkan on the way and touring it a little bit, I arrived at Gelemiş village at around 19:00. Patara beach was 1-1.5 km away from Gelemiş village. The village was a small, beautiful village with Seljuk architecture.

After going down to Patara beach and swimming a little, the officials asked the beach to be evacuated. Since the caretta caretta turtles are breeding season, it was forbidden to stay on the beach after 20:00 in the evening. I was planning to spend the night at the beach, it didn't work. I returned to the village.

After eating my meal, I went to the mosque first to go to bed. Since the weather was very hot, I was going to sleep in the open area in the mosque's courtyard. There were generally drinking water dispensers in mosques along the way. I entered the mosque saying maybe there is a drinking water dispenser here. There was water but my eyes got caught in the air conditioner. While we were coming this far, there was air conditioning in the outer sections of one or two mosques, but the remote was not around. It also had a remote. It also had sockets. I plugged in the electronic devices. I cannot describe the happiness of the air conditioner. I was the king tonight. I had a sound sleep under 16 degrees air conditioning until the morning prayer.

_The next day I will be out of Antalya borders. I would like to share some technical information for the part of my journey so far.

Between Isparta - Antalya (Konyaaltı): Although the altitude difference is 1035 meters, I gained an altitude of approximately 1680 meters and lost 2715 meters during 133 km. The road was covered with cold asphalt. Even if there were some erosions, the condition of the road was good. The wind was usually blowing from the southwest direction.

Between Antalya (Konyaaltı) and Muğla (Border): I gained an altitude of 5500 meters for 300 km and lost. The road was covered with cold asphalt again. He was generally in good condition. The wind was generally blowing from the west.

To wrap it up: I cycling against the wind for 6 days (actually the whole trip). I covered an average of 72 km per day. The temperature was effective as I cycled in the middle of August (Over 30 degrees). I climbed near 7180 meters and descended close to 8215 meters. I had a shaky journey on flat roads and descents, both because the wheels of my bike were 700 * 35 mm and the road was covered with cold asphalt. The traffic situation was calm except for central locations. Only the coastal road between Finike-Demre and Kaş-Kalkan was narrow. In these narrow sections, there was no security lane to the west side._


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## HobbesOnTour (21 Jan 2021)

Thank you very much for this - I really enjoyed it.
I've read a few accounts of cycling in Turkey (it's on my list) and just about everyone finds the country friendly and very hospitable. It's clear from your account that people aren't just friendly to the foreigners.


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## aytu_14 (21 Jan 2021)

_*7. day (Patara Beach-Fethiye(Mugla)-Göcek) (105 km)*_

After a good night's sleep, I set out at 6 am. My goal was to arrive in Fethiye by noon. The distance was approximately 77 km. When there were situations such as being well-rested at night, good weather, good road condition, I arrived in Fethiye at about 11 am with a pleasant and good ride.







While I was at Kaputaş beach, I talked to my friend Alperen from the university. He and his two friends were driving behind me, similar to the route I took. We guessed we would meet in Fethiye. They were in Kaş when I was in Patara. When I arrived in Fethiye, I called Alperen. He said they just woke up. When he heard that I was in Fethiye, he was a little surprised. She was thinking of catching me, but she couldn't catch my wind. I learned that they will end their tour in Fethiye and return. Since I wanted to arrive in Marmaris the next day, I said that I wanted to be in Göçek in the evening. We could not come across in Fethiye. Honestly, they couldn't catch up with me. 😛

I was very hungry when entering Fethiye. I wanted to give myself a prize. Since I have been on the road, I have always eaten canned food, so I entered a restaurant. After eating my meal, I wandered around Fethiye for a while. I bought a lock in Fethiye as I left the lock of the bicycle in Kaputaş.

I wanted to go to Ölüdeniz in Fethiye, do paragliding. When I called to get price information, they said that the reservations are full today. In addition, the price was higher than the prices I had checked before starting the tour. I said another time and went down to the beach to cool off in the sea.






I met Doğuş on the beach. I invited him when he told me that I had grabbed the best place and made a joke. He was an interior designer. Her wedding was canceled 2 weeks before her wedding. He came to Fethiye to distract him. Here, too, he got a few jobs while he was distracting. After spending the afternoon with Doğuş, I said goodbye to him and set off for Göçek.

The road was a bit challenging. There were 2 hard slopes of 4 km each. I arrived in Göçek around 20:00 in the evening. I was so tired. Without eating or setting up a tent, I threw my bed into the first greenery I saw - next to the municipality building - and slept.


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## aytu_14 (22 Jan 2021)

_*8. day (Göçek-Köyceğiz-Toparlar Waterfall-Marmaris) (108 km)*_

I woke up around 5.00 in the morning, probably because of the effect of the frost that formed in the mornings and because I slept in the open area. I slept well. A hedgehog was passing by when I opened my eyes. "Good morning hedgehog brother!" After I said, I packed my belongings and grabbed a few snacks since I didn't eat yesterday. Meanwhile, brother Osman, who came from Izmir, came to me. He came to Göçek at night. When he saw me lying there he slept a little further on the grass. He said that I slept very comfortably. Then when he saw my bike, he understand my deep sleep. After some conversation with him, I started off cycling. I was planning to be in Köyceğiz towards noon.

We had a little quarrel with two dogs coming out of the garden of the house while we were passing by a house before leaving the main road. I used the bike as a shield between me and the dogs. Once again I thanked my bike.

I stopped by a gas station at the entrance of Köyceğiz. The officer I spoke with said that if I want to enter the water, Koycegiz Lake is very dirty, and the Toparlar Waterfall on the Marmaris road is beautiful. In fact, I wanted to go to Marmaris by passing through Köyceğiz and following the forest road. When I ask this way; He said that he was a military base on the way and that they could not allow the passage. I called the Aksaz military base and asked about the situation. When I said they wouldn't let me, I decided to go to the Shirlar Waterfall.

The dirt road to the waterfall looked a little familiar. I remembered when I saw Grandfather Limonate selling lemonade. I watched it in a documentary. In the documentary, the village and its waterfall were told. I bought a lemonade from grandfather and left my bike there. I went towards the waterfall. It was an amazing place, it had ice-cold water.






_Toparlar Waterfall_



I left at around 15:00 and started to cycle towards Marmaris. My childhood friend Furkan was doing military service in Marmaris. For this reason, I was thinking of arriving in Marmaris today. I was going faster than my normal pace. The weather was a little spoiled. Dark clouds were approaching. As the rain started to drizzle, I threw myself into a petrol station. As soon as I got into the gas station, the rain got harder Thanks to that, a brother in charge of gasoline invited me to the room and ordered tea. When he found out that I was from Van(The Paris of the East 😅), he talked about a past incident.

The person sitting next to him was from Van while he was taking his young son, who was sick in 1998, from a city (I couldn't remember the city, it may be Erzurum) by bus to the Van 100. Yıl Hospital. His son's illness was serious. Speaking of the shock of the bus, his illness, his son had suffered several times. "Until that young man sitting next to me came to Van, my son cleared there every time he vomit. "When one or two people talked about the situation, they got into an argument with them." He was a little teary while he was describing it. When I asked about his son's condition, he said that his intelligence development could not be fully progressed due to the illness, and that he is now continuing his life at least calmly.

While we were talking, the rain had stopped. I thanked Brother Orhan and set off. There was a 3 km slope in front of me. A heavy rain started again as he climbed the last slopes. I didn't want to go back as I climbed the slope. There was no place where I could take shelter until the rain passed around. I covered the bike and leaned the bike against a tree and started to wait. It rained for half an hour. The flood made a mess. So I was soaked down to the finest detail.

I switched to wet landing. I was a little cold, but there was no problem. For how many days I was overwhelmed by the sun and the heat. I missed being cold. I was not going to complain.

I turned left from Gökova and entered Marmaris road. There are 2 slopes in front of me. I pass the first. When it started to descend again, it started to rain again. I'm drenched again. While I was talking about rain, wind, slopes, I didn't have the strength to pedal on the last hill.

With my bike in my hand, we started walking the last slope between Marmaris and us. On the one hand, raindrops were hitting my face, on the other hand the last lights of the setting sun dazzled me. I could see colored dust particles floating in the air. I could see the colors of the rainbow when I blinked from the raindrops in my eyes. I was feeling the life until my marrow. I was as happy as a lark. It really was. Until I entered Marmaris, I was grinning with all my teeth visible.






_Before landing in Marmaris_

When I entered Marmaris and looked at the map, I realized that the place where Furkan served his military service was in Hisarönü on the way from Marmaris to Datça. So I wouldn't be able to visit you today.

While searching for a place to eat the canned food I had with me, I came across a restaurant. Its name was Yiğit Restaurant. It is also known as Pilgrim's Place among the people. Prices were very reasonable. I was so surprised. It would be more expensive if you had a meal at home. The man was doing a very good thing.

I started looking for a place to sleep after dinner. Marmaris was overcrowded. It is really difficult to stay in crowded places. None of the parks seemed safe to me. When I went to the mosque, the doors were locked. Even his courtyard didn't feel safe to me. I locked the bike behind the mosque, threw my bed between the mosque and the cemetery and slept.


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## aytu_14 (23 Jan 2021)

_*9. Day (Marmaris-Hisarönü-Marmaris-Gökova) (85 km)*_

Today I was going to visit Hisaronu with my friend. When I was starting to load my bicycle, the municipal cleaning officer came. We had a little chat about where I came from and where I was going. Since I had been on the road for 9 days, my clean clothes was finished. - Although I did wash it in my hand for the first few days, it was difficult afterwards. - When I asked the man where the dry cleaner is, he said we can wash it in my house if you want. At first I accepted. I got the phone number or something. After I left my laundry there and returned from visiting my friend, I would pick up the laundry and continue on the road.

After we left my laundry there, we chatted a little more with the man. I started to suspect him because of the man's behavior and his conversation. When I asked if he was married, he could not find what he wanted in women as he was single - although he did not say that, it was obvious that he had an interest in men rather than women - he said something. While I was leaving and going to eat, I stopped somewhere and thought calmly. Considering the movements of the state, I said no risk. After I had my breakfast, I called the man and said that I saw a friend that I would stay with him tonight, and returned, took my clothes to the dry cleaner and left.

After wandering around Marmaris and lubricating the chain of my bike, I started to go to Furkan. It was the most disgusting road I have seen in my journey. The road was very narrow and the asphalt was terrible. I have seen vehicles crashing constantly. Very carefully, I reached the Hisarönü Gendarmerie, trembling and shivering. The Gendarmerie Station was in a very beautiful place. It was near the sea. Most of the senior soldiers came here as a vacation spot. Next to it is the Çubucak Orman camp.

I haven't seen Furkan in a long time. He was in the army when I last went to Istanbul. It had passed 1.5 years. After chatting with him and his friends, I wished Furkan and his friends "Good leave" and left there to continue my journey.








On the way back, I met Cihan, who went up the hill with his bike. I had also finished the hill on the opposite side. We had a nice chat with him right on the hill. Then we added each other on social media. Cihan went on hitchhiking trips the next year. He went as far as Iran. Then he went to Morocco.

_It was a great chance that I did not crash on this road. The road was so narrow that most of the time the vehicles passed zero. On the way back, a vehicle even crawled onto the bed that was protruding from my bike. Then I stopped a passing vehicle. I wanted him to escort me to a place where the road could be wide. The lady provided a protection with her vehicle close to 2 km. Thanks her. I am indicating the gender by this. When I ride the bicycle, especially on narrow roads, I always make signs with one hand telling them to keep a certain distance to the vehicles. I signal them to stop, slow down, pass by leaving a distance. Along the way, most of the female drivers, perhaps all of them, showed sensitivity to the signs I made and continued on their way. It was one of the points that caught my attention.
_
I wanted to reach Ören Municipality the next day. For this reason, after taking my laundry, I wanted to leave Marmaris at least in the evening. I would spend the night at the gas station on the road.

When I was leaving Marmaris, there was a slope in front of me. Water was flowing from the mountain on the right, 1 km or so before the end of the slope. I drank a lot, although the taste of the water was a bit grounded because I forgot to fill it. At that time, Mehmet brother, who was passing by his motorcycle, offered to help in the rest of the slope. I tied the bike with a rope and took the remaining 1 km with it. During the conversation, I said I would stay at the gas station. He said that the gas station I was going to was closed was closed and the other station behind him was open.

When I asked the employees at the gas station whether it would be a problem to stay here, they said it wouldn't be a problem. I got a message on my phone while I was going to sleep. In the morning, the cleaner I suspected of goodwill had texted. "Where are you?" When he did not answer, he sent the following message afterwards: "Alooooooo!"


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## aytu_14 (24 Jan 2021)

_*10. Day (Gökova-Akyaka) (25 km)*_

I woke up in the morning with a mild nausea, weakness and headache. When the wind I was exposed to after the rain, the water I drank from that fountain when I left Marmaris and the coldness of the night combined, it was normal to get sick.

Despite the illness, I cycling 25 km and arrived in Akyaka. On the way, at least the nausea stopped. I had a small breakfast when I arrived in Akyaka. Nausea started again. The headache started to increase. At least I threw myself into the like icy Azmak River to get rid of my headache. My headache stopped and the nausea continued. I got out of the river and lay down my bed and slept. When I slept, there was nobody around. It was crowded when I opened my eyes. The people next to me looked at me and said, "You slept really well and now you're hungry." After, they offered pie and watermelon. But I had to turn it down because I was very nauseous. The health center was closed as it was Sunday today. If it had been open, I probably wouldn't have left for fear of needles. I had to take care of myself. My headache was mostly gone. But once again, after diving into the like icy water of the river I started looking for a place where I could lay down and sweat comfortably. That place was obvious, the mosque.




_Azmak River_

I drank a soup by force. I drank a pain reliever and a gut medicine. Then I went to the mosque to sleep. I opened my bed. I dressed thickly and forced myself to sleep. After sleeping for 5-6 hours, I was very sweaty. I was feeling better. The headache and nausea had stopped. There was only a little tiredness left. It would pass in the morning too.

_Perhaps the situation that tells the essence of the bicycle tour is what I have experienced in the last 48 hours. When I thought about it, my happiest moment was when I was climbing the Marmaris slope. Before that, I could not find a place to escape with the downpour rain. Later, the situation I experienced with that cleaner and my getting sick… My feelings were changing just like the way. "With ups and downs"
_
After waking up, I met Mumtaz brother, who was on a long tour with his friend. He also stayed in mosques on tours. He said he had been on long tours for about 15 years on his bike. When he told me that I was sleeping because I was sick during the conversation, he wondered where I found the bed I was lying in. When I told him I was carrying it with me, he said it was the first time he saw a cyclist so fond of himself. He liked my bed very much. The bed took up some space on the bike, but I wouldn't be able to rest well if I didn't carry it. Don't look at what I call a bed, as you know sponge mattresses. I fold it by rolling and tying it.

We talked to Mümtaz about our trips in general. He came the way I would go tomorrow. He talked about being attacked by bees in the morning. This was very good for me (!) I was going to start thinking about bees until I reach Bodrum.

After the conversation, I asked permission to eat. After I got back from eating I noticed that my wheel had burst. Just this morning when I was talking on the phone with my friend Mikail, I mentioned that the wheel has not exploded yet. It exploded 25 km after this conversation.


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BYAZwh-gJoI/


The video I took before entering Akyaka. The road was so beautiful that I said I should definitely shoot a video here. Sick patient I tried well.


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## aytu_14 (25 Jan 2021)

_*11. day (Akyaka-Municipality of Oren) (50 km)*_

I had repaired my flat tire yesterday, but I had to adjust the tire pressure for a comfortable ride. I couldn't do that with the pump in my hand. I went on a bike Delta, the only bicycle repair in Akyaka. I met his owner Çağatay. He was an agricultural engineer. After doing his own business for a while, he opened this business. In our conversation, we were talking about the beauty of Akyaka and the protection of such beautiful places. He mentioned that a lawyer in Akyaka had been struggling for a long time not to be hotel etc. build and he was successful.

According to him, the best way to protect these beauties was not to go there, not to see them. Let's say you saw it, you won't tell anyone about it. “Don't tell any of your friends that it's nice here! Let them not come, keep this place like this. " said. I can't say I didn't agree, it was a different approach.





After taking care of my bicycle, I thanked Çağatay and set off. He said that there are many beautiful bays as far as Akbuk (Muğla). Just like I did in the bays between Finike and Demre, I just wear my sea shorts; I arrived in Akbuk, taking the green to my right and the blue to the left, by swimming in the bays where almost nobody is present, enjoying the road and the forest.


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BYDioNZgYVj/


It was around 12:00 when I arrived in Akbuk. I spent time here until the midday heat passed. After the sun receded from the hill, I continued on my way to Ören. I was driving through the woods. I was in those beautiful pictures we saw on postcards.




I arrived in Ören in the evening. I was attacked by bees on the last hill before entering Ören. I climbed the last 400 meters of the slope very quickly thanks to the bees. Thank goodness I did not experience a sting.





I wanted to find a place to set up my tent, walk around the Ören and spend time on the beach. When I got to the beach, I saw several tents set up on the grass. At first I thought it was a camping area, but when I asked, I learned that it was not. The person whose tent was set up told me; When you set up the tent here, the police come and say "Forbidden!" He said that when he asked for a written rule, the police went, and when another person set up a tent, the police did not make a sound. So I set up my tent there and went to buy something to eat in the bazaar.
While I was eating the canned food I bought from Bim, Mustafa came to me in the park. When he saw my bike, he wondered where I came from and where I was going. When I asked why I was going out alone, I said that I couldn't find friends to do such a thing and that it was better to be single. On top of that, he mentioned that he bought a small plot of land and went there with his wife and child whenever he had the opportunity, and sometimes he went alone. Most of the people I chatted with during the tour wanted to get out of the city life somehow. Mustafa had taken a step in this direction. By the way, he was a social studies teacher. Although he did not want to read this chapter, he read it because his father wanted it. I told him that he read and finished although he did not want to, and most importantly, it was a great job to be appointed. After a little more conversation, said he wanted to order a meal if I came to Güzelçamlı. after I finished my meal, I wrote my notes about the tour in the notebook and he offered me a cup of tea.

In Ören, I left my powerbank to a selling kokorec(a type of meal made from an animal's small intestine) shop to recharge before going the beach. It also saw the kokorec well. After dinner I went there to have a "quarter koko". The name of the kokorec master was Menderes. The name of the waiter next to him is Mehmet. He was a very funny, humorous, nutty person. When he found out that I was touring by bike, he asked if I was writing or not. When I said I wrote, he said talk about me too. I met a nutty selling kokorec for you and said I would write. Of course, he understood that I am writing that article for a book. When he found out that I was taking notes for myself, he tried to root for me up by saying things like turning what he wrote into a book. 

After my pleasant conversation with Menderes and Mehmet, I left their side and go to sleep. By the way, the kokoreci was delicious. On the way from the main street to the coastal road in Ören, it does its job where there are fishing stands on the left before reaching the beach. If you get in the way, eat a kokorec from this nutty guy.

While I was locking my bike before entering the tent, a 9-10 year old boy named Yankı came to me. They came from Izmir with his family. They had set up their tents next to my tent. Yankı loved cycling. While going to school in Izmir, he used to ride his bike as long as his mother and father were with him. After chatting with him about the bike for a while, I went to my tent.


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## aytu_14 (26 Jan 2021)

_*12. day (Municipality of Oren-Çökertme-Güvercinlik) (70 km)*_

While I was collecting my belongings, I noticed that the wheel of the bicycle had exploded. My left arm was a little numb since I had been on a bike for a long time. I got help from a fisherman. Although I told the man 2-3 times that my name was Ayetullah, he said a different name each time. When he said Ismail in the last time, I accepted that my name was Ismail.

After repairing the tire, I made my way to Çökertme. When I entered the market in Çökertme to buy water, I met Oktay, who runs it. I got some information from him about the road. While chatting with him, 3 friends I met at the kokorec shop in Ören entered the shop. After a conversation with them and Oktay, I continued on the road.

Compared to the first days I started the tour, the weather was not too hot anymore. Also, the sun was not disturbing as I was cycling through the forest. That's why I was cycling in the afternoons.

On my way to Mazi Village, there was a hard ramp in front of me again. In addition to the numbness of my left arm, I was now avoiding to force myself on the hard ramps due to the increased road fatigue. In these situations, I was walking. While I was walking like this on a ramp again, a truck stopped next to me. Thanks to them, they left it on the top of the 3 km slope.





In the afternoon, I drove towards Bodrum Güvercinlik. I rode a bicycle alone today at the top of the mountain. Very rare vehicles were passing by. I haven't met people.

It was dusk when I arrived at the Güvercinlik. I wanted to land in Bodrum, but I could not find the strength to reach myself. I spent the night camping at the gas station I first saw.


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## aytu_14 (27 Jan 2021)

*13. Day (Güvercinlik-Kıyıkışlacık-Akbük(Didim)-Didim-Akköy) (86 km)*

When I woke up in the morning, I could not find the desire to go to Bodrum and spend time there. I didn't enjoy being in crowded, popular places anyway. It wasn't hard to guess what happened there. I am not talking about their natural beauty. I'm sure she has a perfect nature. But it is one of the places with a lot of people. At this density, it reflects as expensive, pollution and dry noise. For this reason I did not want to stop by. I don't know, maybe I made the mistake of not stopping by.

After collecting my belongings and having a snack, I started pedaling towards Didim. After passing Bodrum Airport for 7 km, I managed to turn left at the junction and get away from the noise. A taxi stopped beside me on my way through the inland road through the trees and fields. Kayahan, when he ask where my journey is; I said I was heading towards Didim. He advised me to stop by his village, Kıyıkışlacık and also to see it. I said that I might not be able to come by because the village is a bit inside. He offered me to come with him, saying that he was going there and that he could pick me up and then I could continue my journey from there. I accepted the offer and went to Kıyıkışlacık with him.

This was a small fishing village. While wandering around the village, I was invited to tea by those sitting in the coffee house by the beach. After the conversation with them, I thanked them and hit the road again.






_ Kıyıkışlacık _

On my way to Akbuk, I again came across an inclined road. While I was cycling the slope slowly, I came across Serhat, who was grazing small cattle in the future. I started up the slope after getting off the bike and chatting with him.

Serhat was a nice conversation, a beautiful boy. He was 15 years old. He started telling me about himself, the events that took place in the village of Kızılağaç. He spoke of wolves and pigs descending, beasts, and the subtleties of shepherding. Let me also state this. When I met him, I did not know that he was going out to graze his animals. Because there was no animal in sight. I only heard ringing noises from time to time. A bell attached to the neck of a pioneer animal told where they were. He actually mentioned that he does not need to come, but that people from different places stole animals because we are going to have a festival of sacrifice. When I asked about his school situation, he mentioned that he did not want to study, that his family had been forced to school, that he wanted to open a shop on car sound systems and that he wanted to continue his life on this road. (As of the moment I decided to publish this article (04.2020), I was at the same point with Serhat. Considering the lack of planning in our country, it was a mistake to create a career plan for studying at university and having a profession. I hope he was able to open the shop he dreamed of.) Also met his family. After drinking the cold ayran they offered, I set off.

As I continued towards Kazıklı, there was another slope in front of me. A car coming from the opposite direction stopped beside me as I stopped to take a breath at the top of this hill. They stopped to ask if they were sure they were in the direction of Bodrum. I stated that they were in the right direction. After thanking them and continuing on their way, they stopped again in the future. Later, They come back. They offered hamburgers saying "You are hungry while climbing this hill". Enjoying hamburgers at a relative top, among the forest. Who can say no. Serhat's family had served buttermilk. Now the hamburger. I normally eat my food first. Then I drink. This time the opposite happened. It's okay. I'm out side of my routine.






I had a dangerous moment going down the hill. My speed was at its peak, the road condition was good, the wind was hitting my face because of my speed ... I was in good mood ... Just at this time, a strong wind blew from the side. I was thrown towards the side lane with the effect of the wind. As I was about to fly through the trees, I hung on the brakes and collected my balance. The absence of a vehicle prevented a possible major accident. You took a deep sigh. After this moment, I started to concentrate even more on the descents.

I arrived in Akbuk towards noon. After entering the sea and cooling off, I headed straight to Didim. I arrived in Didim in the afternoon. I was so hungry that I immediately started looking for a place to eat. I saw a shop that sells cooked chicken. I went to the courtyard of a mosque, which is right opposite the shop. While I was eating, a dog "very big" approached me. He could not walk with his weight. I had to split my meal. I had to gave my tribute.








_I was afraid it would take it from me in one bite._

Since it was not dark yet and I did not like camping in crowded places, I set out to spend the night in a village outside of Didim. While I was cycling slowly in Didim, I came across a very large historical relic. This was the ancient Greek Temple of Apollo. He looked enchanting under the setting sun. _The remains of a building that was once gigantic trying to survive, its resistance ...
_





Temple of Apollo

I got out of the romantic atmosphere of the setting sun and continued on the road. With the coolness of the afternoon I arrived in Akköy on a quiet journey with my companion(my bicycle) and spent the night there.




_Courtyard of the mosque_


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## HobbesOnTour (27 Jan 2021)

It's a wonder you get any cycling done with all the people you meet!


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## aytu_14 (27 Jan 2021)

HobbesOnTour said:


> It's a wonder you get any cycling done with all the people you meet!



 I hardly saw anyone the day before. But that day I covered the previous day's deficiency.


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## aytu_14 (28 Jan 2021)

_*14. Day (Akköy-Söke-İzmir(Fatih Vinç)) (40 km)*_

While planning this tour, I was not going to stop by Söke after Didim. I was planning to go around the Dilek Peninsula and pass through Kuşadası. But I had to change my route. Why I did that?

It all started that morning when I took the wrong direction. I was going to continue on the road close to the sea towards Tuzburgaz. But I headed towards the main road. In fact, I noticed it after driving about 5 km, but I didn't feel like going back. Because I was downhill. Instead of going back up the slope and going down the other side; I changed the plan so that I would go to Söke and then go back to Tuzburgazı from the inner road. I arrived in Söke with a pleasant drive.


View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BYK2mtSgmrD/


While searching for a place to eat in Söke, I entered a pit carelessly and a noise came from the rim of the bicycle. When I landed and looked, one of the rims spokes on the rear wheel was broken. With this much weight on the bike, I was likely to experience such a problem. This bothered me a little. Because I did not know how to fix such a problem. I had to find a bike repair shop there and I had to fix this problem. Saying that I can decide what path to follow while eating, I pushed the bike with my hand and went to a restaurant. After ordering food at the restaurant, I started thinking.

Could I find a place in Söke to build the rim? There was a possibility. I gave up going to Urla, Çeşme and Alaçatı districts of İzmir during the trip because my budget was limited while I was doing this tour. Another time I would tour only on this route. So now I was going to transit through Izmir. Cycling is not enjoyable where there is heavy traffic. When I went camping in Burdur Salda Lake, people I met there said that I could get on the Selçuk-Aliağa Subway without entering the traffic of İzmir. Kuşadası, Selçuk, I have been to these places before. In our conversations with my brother, he said that if there is a problem in İzmir, I can visit the branch of Fatih Vinc, the company he works for. I also worked in this company during the summer. Instead of using the Selçuk-Alsancak-Aliağa subway line, I could take the train from Söke to Alsancak and then go to Fatih Vinc. I used to spend the night there. With their help, we would find cyclists and repair the bicycle. I would also travel the Dilek Peninsula on my next tour in Izmir.

After thinking about these and making my decision, I called my brother and explained the situation. _After the tour ended, I heard that a telegram was sent from Fatih Vinc's central branch to the Izmir branch. In the content of the message - to put it as a rough draft - they stated that a heavy guest will come, and it is of great importance to make all the necessary preparations. Oh, huh? Of course joke. What age do we live in, is the telegram left? They called directly and said. Of course, the content was not like that. They said a maniac is coming.
_
I went to the train station and bought a ticket to Izmir Alsancak. The train has arrived. Although it was forbidden, I managed to put the bike on the train with a little stubbornness. Friend, what did this bike do to you!





The train approached Izmir around 18 o'clock. It was 7 km away from Fatih Vinc train station. In the industrial area, I started to go there forcibly on a bike with a broken spoke on a road with heavy vehicles and rubbish all around. I sacrificed another rim's spoke on the road. An oncoming vehicle stopped next to me 300-400 meters before I reached the target. "Is famous person you?" said. I was surprised at first. I thought, my reputation came this far. I telling inside “descending from the mountains going up to the mountains; over forests, seas and plains; facing jackals and dogs; pedaling under the sun; It is me, me, who came to this place by staying hungry and thirsty! I said. Then I pulled myself together. I just said "mine" from outside. "Welcome. Fatih Vinc is right there. " said. He was working in the company next to Fatih Crane, he was overtime. They told him that such a maniac would come.

I arrived at the company and found the location of the key, albeit with difficulty. I went in, saluted the cameras, and after taking a shower, I laid my bed in a room. It had air conditioning. The presence of the air conditioner gave indescribable happiness in those very hot and tiring times. Enjoying the little things was the main thing.

*Technical information, about the part of my journey from Muğla Border to Aydın Söke:*

_The wind continued to blow in the opposite direction.

I climbed and descended nearly 8000 m for 550 km. I cycled an average of 68.75 km per day.

The road from Muğla border to Marmaris center was covered with hot asphalt. The road condition and driving comfort were very good. Traffic was calm until the Marmaris intersection. Then it started to intensify.

As I mentioned in my article, the Marmaris-Datça road was covered with cold asphalt. And it was very worn. The road condition was very bad. Traffic was medium density.

After Muğla Gökova, I left the main road and continued on the forest road. On this route, the road was covered with cold asphalt. I can say the general quality is medium. Gravel had accumulated on the roadside due to wear. Traffic was calm.

I covered 983 km in the 14 days of my journey. I climbed approximately 15180 m, descended 16215 m and drove an average of 70.20 km per day._


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## aytu_14 (29 Jan 2021)

_*15. Day (İzmir) (50 km)*_

I woke up in the morning by knocking on the door. I opened the door and met the employees of Fatih Vinc, (Fuat, Recep and Mehmet) and had breakfast with a nice conversation. Then we loaded the bike into the vehicle and went to bicycle repair. There were no rim's spokes suitable for the bike. He directed us to another cyclist. He said we could find it there. We thanked and left and went to the other cyclist.

I left the bike to the bike's repair shop of Atilla. I thanked Recep for bringing me and he farewell. Atilla repaired the bike very well. He adjusted the hub, brake, gear and tuning. He didn't want to money from me. I made the payment by force. While he was making the bike, we had a pleasant conversation with his brother Orhan and his friend Ahmet. We talked more about my tour.

After I bought the bike, I went to Alsancak. It was past the afternoon. While riding a heavy bike in Kordon, I caught my eye on the km hour. It showed 998 km. Wow! So, almost 1000 km. I stopped after another 2 km. The sun was setting. I cycled a full 1000 km. The atmosphere started to get romantic again. It was necessary to properly immortalize this moment. I asked the first person to stop and take a picture of us at sunset with my bike. _Many thousands! Tens of thousands! Hundreds of thousands!_






_ The aesthetic immortality of an emotional romantic moment ..._


I met different beautiful people in Kordon that day. First Volkan, İshak, Bora then Çağrı, Fedai, Aytaç, Erkut. There are people whose names I can't remember. I was in a group as one person. They had done an action ride involving pedestrian and car occupation of the bicycle path. I attended them while chatting in Kordon after the ride.

After the group chat, we continued on the road for a while with Aytaç. He had mentioned the tour he intended to do by bike. He wanted to get off Alaska on his bike. _One day he will. We follow eachother. I am waiting for the day he will do it. Maybe, who knows, when he ride down from Alaska on that bike, I'll go up from Chile. We will come across eachother around Costa Rica. (Later he toured from India to Nepal on his bike.)_
After Aytaç left, I wandered around the inner part of Izmir. Lights, cars, density. I turned back to the beach. I met Erkut. He went from Istanbul to Bandırma by ferry from Istanbul on his bicycle and reached Izmir in 2 days with transit passes. He was going to a festival.
We came across Çağrı and his girlfriend in the morning on the Kordon at night. They invited them to their home. I said that I would go to Aliağa by the first subway and thanked their offer.

In the morning I went to the station. While I waiting for open the subway, I met a homeless person. I could not learn the name because he said the name doesn't matter. We had a little chat with him, then he left. He talked about the places I should stay away from in her neighborhood when he was leaving. He tried to give money. He was putting the money in my hand and I giving it back by force. He was putting it in the bike bag and I forcibly returning it. Finally I won. He was offended because I not taking the money.

I took the subway and went to Aliağa. I went into a mosque in Aliağa and slept.


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## aytu_14 (30 Jan 2021)

_*16. Day (Aliağa-Çandarlı) (40 km)*_

I woke up around 16:00. While I was collecting my belongings and putting them on the bike, I saw that the bag of the bike had money in its mesh eye. I don't forget money in the bag. Someone from the mosque community must have put it up while I was sleeping. 

I went to the market place in Aliağa and bought some fruit. I ate. Then I set out.

In the cool afternoon, on the gentle ramp before reaching the Çandarlı intersection, a cyclist from behind appeared next to me as I was cycling slowly with earphones in my ears. He said he was heading towards Çandarlı. I said I was heading there. We drove together a little while chatting. I thought we would go together. There is a load on my bike. The wind was blowing from the front as usual. For this reason, I was cycling the heavier than it. Friend, be tired of my slowly cycling, saying "Come on, thank you" and accelerated and dropped the slope down the left.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5fLGWrHouk


_“…………..
*I don't need
Neither money nor love
On my horse
I go towards the mountain
Stars and moon
They say where I'm going*…
…….”_

When I got to the top of the ramp I turned left this time. The song has changed. "Desperado" started to play. I raised the volume ... At that moment, I rarely encountered a situation during the tour. The wind started to blow from behind. The slope of the road was also slightly downward. I started to speed up. This time the load on the bike started to give me a positive effect. He sat more firmly on the ground. It was not being thrown by the speed. After a while, I saw this friend on his way. I made even more ambition. But I don't know why. I felt that at that moment. It was probably due to the aggressive tone of the music. When I climbed that ramp after waking up, I was fully awake from sleep, my stomach was full, the weather was perfect… I got the momentum. I pulled tighter on the pedal. With this friend, the gap started to close quickly. _Meanwhile, Antonio Banderas started to solo with his guitar…_ So I accompanied him on my bike… I was turning the pedal with ambition and love as if there was no tomorrow…

_I caught…
"Greetings…" with a head gesture.
And "transition…" *
No losing momentum!
_
This friend was left behind for a long time. I turned my head for a moment and looked back. It seemed to be standing still. _Hmm…_ I wonder if there was a problem with the boy's bike? _Let me stop… Coming back…_ Meeting the friend again… "Is there a problem, I saw you as if you were standing on the bike for a moment." I said. "It's okay," he said. _Back again… Again the wind is behind, the slope is still downward, turn the pedal, catch the acceleration again…_ Thanks to him, I arrived at Çandarlı faster than I expected.

_* Whenever I listen to this song in the opening of the movie “Desperado”, this moment comes to my mind. 
(Even if was not the moment like that exacly) The part of Antonio Banderas where he saw the man with the knife before starting the solo: with the moment when I saw this friend; 
when the first part of the guitar solo ended (I mean, The part of Antonio Banderas putting the guitar on the man's head): with the moment of "greeting" ; 
The moment he started soloing again: with the moment of "transition";
It is enjoyable to remember this way.
I also want to point that: When I stop and come back after passing the friend; I turned back thinking there was really something wrong with his bike. "You said thank you to me, look what happened, you stay behind like this!" I realized later that I seemed like I said._

At the entrance to Çandarlı, I saw a tent set up on the beach. It was about 45 minutes before it got dark. We met Mustafa in front of the tent. He came to camp with their 2 children. So I set up my tent a little further. The wind was blowing violently. I would tie it to the tree with a rope so that the tent would not fly. But I couldn't do it the way I wanted to. Because my left arm was numb due to holding the handlebars, I got help from Mustafa. While we were trying to secure the tent, 3 more people came. They also set up their tents.





After the tents were set up, the police, who were going to their homes in the evening, saw the tents. They spoke their classic words. "There is a complaint from the environment, tidy up your tents!" We just arrived and set up the tent. Who has complained when. Mustafa tried to explain by saying that I will stop for one night, I will go in the morning, but it did not happen. The police are gone. I said, "Mustafa, never mind, nothing will happen." Other friends also said, "They can't do anything if we stay." Me and other friends stayed there. Nothing happened anyway.

After setting up the tent and settling in, I went out for a stroll along the Çandarlı beach. I went back to the tent because of the excessive wind. And I slept.


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## aytu_14 (2 Feb 2021)

_*17. Day (Çandarlı-Dikili-Cunda Island) (90 km)*_

I woke up around 8:00 in the morning. The strong wind that was blowing during the night had stopped. I swam in the sea and woke up well.

A walking man saluted as I was going out of the sea towards my tent. I got your hello. When he saw the bike, he asked questions about my journey. While talking about these, he said he also wanted to go on such a tour. He asked me to answer some of his questions if I had time. I said it was okay to ask. Then he said, let's sit down. He said that he wanted to sit in front of the tent while I was going to sit on an empty bank. This request was interesting, but I thought that he was enthusiastic and I said sit down. We sat in front of the tent. After asking a few unreasonable questions, he said that this tour is a good sport and looking at my legs, he said that your muscles have improved. The gaze and conversation of this is not very healthy either. Consequently, my mind went to the event I lived in Marmaris. I immediately got up. I stopped the conversation saying I have to go.

_What courage friend! Talking the muscles of a person you just met. People are curious about the places I go because the activity I do is not very usual. They're asking questions. I am unwillingly open to conversation. Taking this opportunity and trying to benefit yourself! Before the tour, I thought of many things in detail, especially the scenarios that could be bad. I will encounter such situations - believe it - it didn't cross my mind. Of course, in such situations, it had a positive effect in the following direction. I began to better understand what their women went through. Knowing is not the same as understanding._

After I packed my belongings and had breakfast, I set off. I continued along the coastline and reached Dikili towards noon. I would go into the sea to cool off. Wouldn't there be one cabin I could change for free? No. I was also a little angry about the morning situation. I started being spoken out loud. "People will go in and change their clothes, go out! Can it get money for this!" Someone spoke from there. "Don't change bro." I did not answer. I walked away with a shake of my head.

Asking people for money for such a thing is shameless. Planting two boards and trying to get money from people for it. The local government or any institution that allows this, they are shameless. We are equally guilty who see such a practice and do not make a sound about it.

_(There are many topics that you will think about in detail on the way. I thought about them that day. Maybe these are small things, I accept this. While reading this article, you can say "There are so many bad things happening the world." But we condone these little bad , because we got used to it. Later we overlook and get used to the rudeness that grows. Then we get used to the thefts, corruption ... There is no limit to surrender.)_

I set up my tent and got inside and changed my clothes. After entering the sea, 2 people came. When they heard that the dressing cabin was paid, they started to be said among themselves. I laughed that and I said they could change it in the tent. They were hitchhiking. Their aim was to go to Antalya. I've made a few suggestions from places I've gone through. They were just started the tour. They set out from Manisa Soma.






_Sunset on Cunda Island_

After chilling and eating in Dikili, I left and set out for Cunda Island. I did not stop on the way. I had an angry day. I arrived in Ayvalık before evening. After getting a few things I needed in Ayvalık, I moved to Cunda (Alibey) Island. I set up my camp in the courtyard of a mosque.

_Popular places such as Ayvalık and Cunda Island, which I pass by, actually have very beautiful nature. But for most of them, artificiality comes to the fore rather than naturalness. Since motels, hotels, restaurants, dense population, unnecessary lighting and so on did not match my understanding of entertainment, I enjoyed the time I spent on the road and the events I experienced on the road rather than the popular places I visited.
"While looking for freedom on the roads, we realized that the roads are freedom." (* Quote from "Nonstop Otostop")_


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## aytu_14 (3 Feb 2021)

_*18. Day (Cunda Island-Edremit-Küçükkuyu(Çanakkale)) (92 km)*_


> _As a new day rises every morning
> One more day goes away from life;
> Every dawn is like a thief
> Coming with a lantern._
> * (OMAR KHAYYAM)*


I do not know if it was because of the excitement of approaching Çanakkale - my dear Çanakkale, my youth - that day passed very quickly. When I woke up and set off, I did not remember how I passed Edremit or Akçay. I was standing on the road and couldn't remember what I ate or where I ate. I was writing little notes every evening. But at that moment, I couldn't think of anything. I was having an interesting moment.







After a while I started to remember something. I stopped when I saw this sign. I must have smiled. Or clench my fist and say, "I'm coming!" did I say?

I took this photo and sent it to my friends in GAAÖL (Gökçeada Atatürk Anatolian Teacher High School). Mikail said, "You were in Izmir 2 days ago. Did you put on a motor, drink redbulls and get wings? " he made one of his classic jokes. I laughed ... But don't think I laughed at Mikail's joke. I reached Çanakkale, I was going to reach. That's why I smile.

I was on the terrace of a mosque on the beach in Küçükkuyu. It had a sea view. I had spread my bed. There was a hostel opposite and a window was facing me. They were lucky because they had a beautiful view (!)

I had a funny situation at that moment. The opposite window opened and there was a greeting. He turned and looked at the sea, then looked at me and smiled. “I have a bed inside, I have air conditioning. For some reason yours looked better. " she said. This time I smiled. "Come. There is place my side. ” I said. He shook his head with a laugh. He wished good evening and closed his window.





_ King bed_

I stopped writing and went to sleep. I had to leave early in the morning. On the foothills of Mount Ida, a 10 km climb awaited me to reach Çanakkale. After all, it also had its descent.


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## aytu_14 (4 Feb 2021)

_*19. Day (Küçükkuyu – Çanakkale) (100 km)*_

I woke up in the morning with the sound of adhan. I had to complete the climb before the vehicle density increased. I did not have breakfast for a comfortable climb. I refreshed my water and started cycling.





"Come on! Almost finish ! Turn, turn, turn! Inhale through the nose. Give out by mouth." By doing this, I reached the top. This hill I climbed was the last difficult hill of this tour.





_ Last look at the Aegean Sea_

I put on my headphones while I was breathing in the summit. I adjusted the music list. I went down with the music of Duman (Rock band). These musics took their place among my tour rituals. I reached Ezine by singing songs out loud. I had breakfast here.

I pressed the pedal again and reached Kepez. After that, there was a light ramp in front of me. When I reached the top of that ramp, Çanakkale was in front of me. _"I'm coming, my dear Çanakkale."_





I entered the petrol station on the hill to get water. At that time, a motorcycle came from behind and stopped next to me. He said “Brother, I had a hard time getting out on a motorcycle this hill. I was seeing you from afar. How can you climb the bike? Good job man" I would see Çanakkale. Would the slopes prevent me!

I started to enter Çanakkale. It was a astroturf that made my memories reverberate first. It was the first time I played a match for baklava(dessert). Our teacher from the classroom had formed a team. We also formed a staff from our own class. Our teacher was very assertive, his team was solid. Luckily one of them was half an hour late for the game. In other words, they started the game with one person missing. We made good use of this weakness of the opponent and opened the difference in half an hour. Then that player was involved in the game. Good thing he came late. With his entrance, the opponent had reduced the difference to one. Of course, our team was out of breath, we were trying to resist. We didn't even have the situation to take a step, let alone run. As such, the ball came to my feet in the midfield. I sent the ball to Hasan so that he would go away from me. So he sent the ball back to me so that it could get away from him. He got angry as to me "Why are you throwing the ball at me?" And I sent back him, feeding those same feelings. We made nearly 10 passes. Anyone who saw us would think Xavi-Iniesta was passing. I made Hasan score the goal by forcing each other by approaching the rival castle like this. We scored the goal but both of us were still angry. We were staring as if to say why are you throwing the ball back. After that goal, the opponent scored another goal. But time was not enough, we won the match. The whole team was on the ground. Our teacher left without eating the baklava he bought. Baklava was nice.

I was still pedaling. I was leaving behind the streets, the avenues I walked with my friends. I kept driving and approached the intersection. There was another astroturf ahead. I had a cracked wrist in a match. - I still hear a sound from my wrist. There is a bus stop on the right. When I walk in front of this stop almost 5 years ago, one of old woman says, "You're like my lamb Tarık Akan.(Actor)" she said.
I was pulling towards the pier. I saw the Clock Tower on the left. I don't have a memory about it, but we have many memories ruining our dreams in the shop behind which the football bet is played. For a certain period we were in the hostel above that shop. We agreed, including food. Kemal, Hakan and I were three of us staying. _Kemal still tells that the woman who owns the pension does not offer dessert after the meal._





_ Canakkale Clock Tower_

When we passed the clock tower and continued on the road on the right, doner kebab shops, cheese halva's shops and cafes street... I was continuing. Şakir's Place, Navy tea gardens… We used to gather here. The Yalı oven was closed. I was going to eat croissant for Michael, it didn't work.

I'm back. I drove towards Kordon. The Trojan Horse and what's more… Whichever stone I look up, there is a moment that I lived or my friends lived.




_Trojan Horse_

I went back to the Clock Tower. We had corresponded with my high school friend Ali Rahman. I was going to be her guest. It came after waiting a while. It hadn't changed at all. After greeting him and asking him about his situation, we went to his brother Recep. They got into the car, I followed them by cycling after the car. They made me sweat well.

When I got home, I met Rahman's family. Then I took a shower. We had a nice meal. I ate watermelon. I love watermelon very much. Since I was traveling alone, I could not buy watermelons. Trouble to finish, trouble to carry. You can't go to the grocery store and ask for a quarter watermelon. Though, Once I asked a grocery store. He said "No." _There are some moments in life, it gets discouraging. This was one of those moments._ I could not ask for another grocery store.

_Rahman was appointed to Van as a mathematics teacher. He was waiting for the process to be finalized. I am also from Van. When I went to Van, I said I would definitely go to him. As of now I have not been able to go yet. The child's term of office is nearly over. I'll come one day, Rahman._


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## aytu_14 (5 Feb 2021)

_*20. Day (Canakkale) *_






There was a scale at home. I was going to look at my weight at the end of the tour, but I couldn't stand it. When I got on the scale, the weight stabilized at 86. I started at 92 kilos. I cycling around, sang songs loudly and had fun. I also ate my food comfortably without suffering "remorse", "I would gain weight if I eat this" without worry. I lost 6 kilos on top of it. It is almost impossible to achieve this in real life without suffering "pure pain". It would be a lie if I said I did not suffering this tour. But it was a bittersweet pain. It was like a hot pot that my mother made. It makes you cry while eating. But you eat even more while crying. I was sweat, I had pain in my arms and legs, but I didn't want it to end. Because I felt life more deeply at the moments when that difficulty was at its most extreme.

We went out after having breakfast with Rahman. We called some of our friends who might be in Çanakkale. Everyone had gone to other provinces since it was the eve of the Eid al-Adha. But I saw on instagram that a friend of mine was in Çanakkale. Emre. We used to stay in the same dorm in high school. He was angry that I opened the window when he woke up in the morning. -It is getting cold. My brother, 12 (twelve!) People live together. Of course I'll open it- He was at a beach with his friends. We went to there. He was engaged. Since her fiancee Birsen is from Biga, they came to Çanakkale for the feast. When you become a groom you cannot say ; "No, I am not coming, I will travel, I have a holiday, what I am doing in your village in the best times of my life." At least you can't tell your fiancee. Because he told us. On top of these words, he gave the wedding invitation. I got his invitation with a laugh. My brother, I'm out to live, to feel life. Why do you remind me of death? (!)

We spent that day remembering the past with Rahman and Emre. Then we broke up with Emre Uçmak. You know he was engaged. That evening, thanks to Rahman, he also ordered me a cheese halva. I normally ate plain. But on the recommendation of another friend -and probably because Rahman will pay the bill- I ate ice cream. It was much more delicious.

I slept in Rahman's house tonight.

*Regarding the technical part of the tour between Balıkesir (Border) - Çanakkale (Departure):
*
_The wind continued to blow across. When I entered the Çanakkale, the wind was even stronger.

I climbed and descended approximately 4500 m for 464 km. I cycling an average of 66.30 km per day.

I cycling from the main road from İzmir Aliağa to the Çanakkale Biga exit - except between Çandarlı and Dikili. The road was covered with hot asphalt. Only the 10 km distance between Çandarlı-Dikili and the foothills of Kazdağları was cold asphalt pavement. Asphalt conditions were good. Vehicle traffic increased compared to other places I passed. The density of large vehicles was high between the Aliağa-Balıkesir border.

**** My journey continued for 2 more days. Since the article in this section is short, I found it appropriate to share it here.*_


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## aytu_14 (8 Feb 2021)

_*21. Day (Canakkale-Biga) (100 km)*_




_Continue after a day's break_

I woke up in the morning and prepared my stuff. Rahman had prepared breakfast and prepared a few things for me to eat on the way. After having breakfast and saying goodbye, I hit the road.

While I was in Çanakkale, my class and ward friend İlyas sent a message from GAAÖL. I am definitely waiting for you if you stop by Biga. I've come this far. Of course I was going to go. It had been a long time since I saw Ilyas.

I continued on the coastal road in the direction of Yapıldak and Lapseki. When I arrived in Lapseki, I came across a hitchhiker. The friend has been collecting peaches in Lapseki for 3 months. He saved his money. He was going to continue the journey. Wherever he wants to go now. _It is not difficult to do these works, to perform the art of traveling. You don't need special tools. There are different ways. He has hitchhiking, he has a bike. You do not need large savings or sums either.
_
After eating in Lapseki, I continued driving towards Biga. About 2-3 km before I reached Biga, I accidentally entered a pit. A spoke of the rear wheel broke due to the bicycle being loaded. In this case, I continued driving and reached Biga.

We managed to get together with Ilyas, although it was a little difficult. He had gained some weight, but that had not changed either. Made me "God's maniac! What are you doing son! " he said and greeted him with a laugh. _"I live my life."
_
We first went to a cyclist with Ilyas where I could have the bike repaired. Luckily there was a shop open. We left the bike for repair and went to eat. Biga made him eat his meatballs. It was a perfect meatball.

After dinner, we took the bike from the mechanic and left it to his friend's house in Biga. Then we set off on a motorcycle to Sarısavat, where Ilyas' house is located. The road was very sloping. It would be difficult for me to go on a bike. _But I would have removed it if necessary, so no problem.
_
We reached Sarısavat by crossing beautiful roads. The village had an excellent view. People gathered in their villages because the next day was a holiday. Consequently, the house of Ilyas was also crowded. His mother, father, elder sister, nephews, brother-in-law, and brother were in a beautiful environment. I've met them all except one niece. I was thinking he went to the market, to the grocery store or something, or he was playing games. While they were sitting and chatting like that, they said, "Well, our little one came". I turned my head towards the door. He took a step inward, bowing his head slightly, probably because he was worried about his head hitting the door. I would be lying if I said I didn't have a "startle". "Welcome brother," he said. I must to call you brother, Ilyas must say to you uncle. For a 13-year-old, he's huge. Do not touch the evil eye. It was one of the beautiful moments I was surprised at.

That evening we went back to Biga with Ilyas. I met his friends. Most of them came from Istanbul for the holidays. We sat in the tea garden. We played okey on one side, bets, hookahs, cigarettes, chatter on the other, and returned to the village at night.

_Ilyas is an aircraft technician. He started to work in THY. While chatting, I asked if a marriage was on the horizon. "No boy, am I crazy?" he said. The smart man. Forgive I made a mistake by asking this question.

The next year, I was in Biga during the Eid al-Adha. To the difference between the lunar and solar calendar, the following year is celebrated 11 days before. This time I went for Ilyas’s wedding. "No boy, am I crazy?" He held an engagement and wedding less than a year after his promise. The irony of life…_


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## aytu_14 (9 Feb 2021)

_*22. Day (Biga-Biga Exit-Biga) (43 km) (First Part)*_

It was the first day of the Eid al-Adha. I said goodbye to Ilyas' family and went to Biga with Ilyas after the feast and sacrifice. I took my bike. Ilyas and his nephew Mehmet Akif came with me on a motorcycle to the main road. After adjusting the pressure of the wheels of the bike at the gas station, I said goodbye and left.





I started pedaling towards Bandırma. When we talked with İlyas the previous day about when the tour will end, I said that I would go to Yalova and go to Istanbul by ferry. He said that I could go to Istanbul from Bandırma by using the sea bus. On all these roads my left arm was numb. Road fatigue was also increased. I was getting distracted. This idea made sense. I would arrive in Bandırma, go to Istanbul Yenikapı by sea bus and drive from there to Tuzla (my house). For this purpose, I planned to spend the night in Bandırma and go to Istanbul for the first time in the morning.

I was driving slowly, driving calmly, stopping by the villages in between. Considering that I was a little too busy, I took the main road and accelerated to arrive without darkness. I had about 55 km left. After passing the Trustland, there was a light ramp in front of me. The gulf wind was also blowing hard across. I was wearing headphones in my ears and listening to the "Animal" from music of the Duman group. In order to reduce the effect of the wind, I was getting as small as possible on the bike and traveling from the safety lane. For a moment near the end of the ramp, I looked up and forward. Ahead, a car was parked in the safety lane. I bowed my head again and continued up the slope. I also got caught up in the rhythm of the music. I can pedal and say, “We are all animals! Our fight to be human! " I was singing loudly. "We are all animals!" I hit something while I said. It turns out that the slope is over and my speed has increased. I was caught in the rhythm of the music. It flew away from my mind that there was a car ahead. I hit that stationary car.

The headset was wrapped around my arm. The bicycle was piled on me or I was piled on it, I was in a strange state that I could not understand. Then I gathered myself. I looked at the bike first. The front fork had become unusable. Then I looked at myself. Nothing but a few minor scratches and a little pain in the rib. I looked at the car, one of the cat's eyes fell to the ground. At the same time, I was holding my arm with my hand. Somehow I started laughing. I did not know whether I was laughing at my stupidity or my vacuity. I got up and collected the items. I pulled out the emergency kit. I have dressed my elbow wounds. I tried to fix the tongs but in vain.

There was nothing to do. To worry, "I wish I had been careful!" It would not help to say such words. The most important factor that allowed me to do this tour and go this far was that I prepared myself for any scenario. I was thinking about an accident situation. There would be bad people as well as good people. The slopes would be difficult, I was likely to be sick, the weather would be very hot, I would be caught in the rain. Dogs could attack other creatures. I could also have trouble finding a place to spend the night. I thought about all of these for a long time before I set off. I came to the same conclusion in all of them. Whatever problem arose, life would continue to flow. The flow of life also meant that new roads would open for me. Then I was going to continue that way. Life would find balance as long as I showed the resistance to continue, just as I balanced on a bike.


> _*
> 
> 
> 
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## GlamorganGuy (9 Feb 2021)

aytu_14 said:


> _*5. day ( Demre-Kaş-Kaputaş Beach) (70 Km) (Second Part)*_
> 
> The hard part of the Kaş road was over. After that, it was a bumpy road that did not tire me as much as I expected. On the way, we had a little chat with three sweet children –Cemil, Yasin, Nagehan.
> 
> ...



This is great, I'm really enjoying it! When's the next part?


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## netman (9 Feb 2021)

aytu_14 said:


> Whatever problem arose, life would continue to flow. The flow of life also meant that new roads would open for me. Then I was going to continue that way. Life would find balance as long as I showed the resistance to continue, just as I balanced on a bike.



Very beautifully said... inspiring words and a great travelogue - thank you.


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## aytu_14 (10 Feb 2021)

netman said:


> Very beautifully said... inspiring words and a great travelogue - thank you.



Thank you so much  



GlamorganGuy said:


> This is great, I'm really enjoying it! When's the next part?



Thank you I will be sharing the last post of this tour with the 2nd part tomorrow.


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## Oldhippy (10 Feb 2021)

Look forward to reading it.


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## aytu_14 (11 Feb 2021)

_*22. Day (Biga-Biga Exit-Biga) (43 km) (Second Part)*_

After the accident I noticed that he was in front of a place where the sacrifice was made. I dragged the bike to find the owner of the vehicle and went there. After finding the owner of the vehicle and explaining the situation, we returned to the vehicle. There was nothing important in the car. We just put the falling cat eye in place.

I went to the slaughterhouse again to learn how to go to Biga or Bandırma. The sacrifices were slaughtered and meats cooked. Someone invited to me. "Get well soon." said. He heard the incident when I was talking to the owner of the vehicle I had crashed into. Another one came while talking to him. He saw the bike. "Get well soon" said. "Don't worry, there is a cyclist I know in Biga. We can go together in my car. If you're in a hurry, I can take you right away. " he continued. He was waiting for the sacrifice to be slaughtered. I said that I was not in a hurry and thanked him for his attention. While talking about this, a plate of rice and roasting and ayran came on the other. We chatted about my tour. Then the dessert came. I explained what I saw the places I came from. When the conversation got well, they started to joke. "Man, can not be hit by a stationary car!" _That's right, but I crash. That is me._

While the conversation continued, the sacrifice slaughter was completed. We loaded the bike and the sacrifices into the car and went back to Biga. Brother called the motorcycle-bike mechanic and said we would come to the shop. He asked if he had a bicycle tongs. It wasn't there, but when we got there, he seriously straightened the tong by bending it with the iron profile. The front brake shoes were also damaged due to the impact. There was no way to fix it before the tong was straightened. Front braking performance had dropped drastically, but at least the bike was walking.

Mehmet, who was so closely interested in me, was a big motorcycle enthusiast. His age was - estimated - around 60. Made motorcycle tours in the Balkans and Turkey. He has also made a small Balkan tour in the recent past again. His wife was from Van and they toured Eastern Anatolia with his wife. His wife's brother was also a big motorcycle enthusiast. He passed away in an accident. This incident affected them badly, but then they prevented it from turning into a fear. They continued. They were not captured by fear. _That's the important thing! Continue..._

Mehmet, who was so closely interested in me, was a big motorcycle enthusiast. His age was - estimated - around 60. Made motorcycle tours in the Balkans and Turkey. He has also made a small Balkan tour in the recent past again. His wife was from Van and they toured Eastern Anatolia with his wife. His wife's brother was also a big motorcycle enthusiast. He passed away in an accident. This incident affected them badly, but then they prevented it from turning into a fear. They continued. They were not captured by fear. _That's the important thing! Continue..._

I cannot tell you how much Mehmet insisted on staying at his house that day. I also met his wife. "Fellow countryman, we won't let you go." said. I refuse their proposals because it was a festival of sacrifice. Because their guests would be many. Or they might have to go somewhere. I didn't want to be an obstacle. If it was a normal day, I wouldn't refuse their invitations. I told him that I had a friend here and that it was risky to ride for a long time with this condition of the bicycle and that I would go to Istanbul by night bus. _If this accident had not happened to me, I would not have been able to meet such a beautiful person and traveler. This accident opened a new path and I met beautiful people, without even needing to resist going on._

I thanked him and his wife and left them and called Ilyas. He said he was where we sat yesterday with his friends. I said "wait, I'm coming" and went to them.

When I got to them, I told what happened to me about the accident, Mehmet and his family. We closed this issue first with a sadness and then with small jokes.

I found a bus ticket online. It was 2 o'clock at night. Around 12 o'clock I said goodbye to Ilyas again. They left and went to their village. Actually, Ilyas wanted to stay. But the evening had not come with his bike. If he had stayed with me, it would have been a problem for him to go to his village. I forcefully persuaded him to leave.

Who should I see when I go to the bus station? Emre Uçmak, whom I talk in Çanakkale, was also at the bus station. They will go to Istanbul. But our bus times were different. First I told what happened to me. Then he explained what he had done. He told about his experiences. Wedding preparations, marriage process ... _There's a lot worse. My accident stays like a fly bite alongside marital stress. Even a fly bite brings pleasure and makes people itch sweetly._

I also met with Emre's wife Birsen and Birsen's mother that day.

_A year later, we met again with Emre and his wife Birsen in Burdur Salda Lake during the summer. There is a good story in the camp we did together. Maybe, I will write about this later._

The Emre's bus came first. I sent them off. Then my bus arrived. Since the bus was empty, I put the bike in the trunk as a whole with the items on it.

The bus was in Istanbul in the morning. I've come all the way on the bike. I did not get tired as much as the 3-4 hour bus journey did.

At the bus station, my brother met me. The first thing he said is "What are you like, son!" happened. I was black. I was wearing a white cardigan with its wool on. I was look pretty shabby. After my brother overcame this small confusion, "Well done!" he said.







We celebrated my tour in a soup shop. Then we went home.

I did this tour wearing sandals. The pattern formed on my foot at the end of the tour became my "tour medal".




_"My tour medal" A magnificent masterpiece ..._

During my 22-day journey, I cycling 1505 km. In total, I climbed about 19680 m, descended 20715 m.

This is how I took the first big step of a journey that adds meaning to my life and continues to do so.

After this journey, I lay down on the bed, tired, - even more than tired - happy, peaceful and proud. When I closed my eyes, I could still hear the wind blowing across, the waves in the sea. As I climbed the slope in Marmaris, I was seeing the colored dust particles and the rainbow. After that:

I slept.

I slept.

I slept...

*-THE END-*





> *
> 
> 
> 
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## Oldhippy (11 Feb 2021)

Brilliant and congrats on completing your trip. May you enjoy many more. ✌


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## HobbesOnTour (11 Feb 2021)

That is a very inspirational journal!
Well done and thank you for sharing.
There is so much of the positives of bike touring in there and especially how sometimes the things we don't want to happen can be valuable when they do.

Also, a brave thing to do, to publish on a foreign language forum!

I, for one, hope you'll stick around and contribute in the Touring forum or write up any more adventures.


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## GlamorganGuy (11 Feb 2021)

Fantastic, thanks so much for sharing. I hope to go on a journey like this one day.


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## aytu_14 (13 Feb 2021)

I could not enter the forum due to the workload. Thank you so much.  

I hope the translation was clear? If translation was clear and If I find time, I will translate it in other tours I have done. And I hope you guys make better tours.


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## mudsticks (13 Feb 2021)

Thanks so much for all this @aytu_14 

Its a great bit of storytelling, especially not in your native language. 

And a great insight into what to expect, if I ever get to go a pedalling in Turkey. 

Good luck with your onward travels. 

I shall be rereading this a few times I think.


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## aytu_14 (14 Feb 2021)

mudsticks said:


> Thanks so much for all this @aytu_14
> 
> Its a great bit of storytelling, especially not in your native language.
> 
> ...



Thank you  You honor me very much.


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## mudsticks (14 Feb 2021)

aytu_14 said:


> Thank you  You honor me very much.



The honour is ours 

Great to see somewhere different.

You've even made me think about writing up a few more of my own trips.

Especially right now when we can't actually go anywhere, we just have to relive the old ones instead ..


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