Archive for October, 2007

Climb, climb, climb for all you’re worth. That’s a pretty good one-line summary of our day. The warnings from the locals turned out to be true; the back road to Antalya is a strenuous workout for cyclists. Still, despite the steep ascents, the all-too-rare descents and poor road conditions, we managed to enjoy ourselves.

We were in a good mood, on a road with hardly any other cars, a view over the mountains and plenty of fruit orchards offering a bounty of goodies to keep our energy up. Grapevines and apple and pomegranate trees lined the roadside. A good thing too since we only came across one sparsely stocked corner store and nowhere to buy gas.

That’s a first for us in Turkey. Normally petrol stations pop up on even the quietest of roads, often two or three at a time. With gas running low in our little stove, we tucked into the fresh fruit and a stash of cookies instead of making a hot lunch, saving just enough for supper and the required morning coffee. (more…)

Our day started in the quiet valley of Olympos, woken up not for the first time by a rooster crowing, but without the normal call to prayer that sounds just before dawn. Here, among the treehouses and next to the beach, there are no mosques within earshot. Just many tired backpackers, sleeping in after a night at the bar or playing backgammon with friends.

We rolled over, snuck in a few minutes of extra sleep, braved a not-so-warm shower and feasted on a deluxe breakfast omelette. Three coffees each down the hatch and it was time to pedal again. We’d just gotten into the groove when we heard a shout behind us and then watched another cyclist swerve round us and screech to a stop.

“Can I take your picture?” he asked. (more…)

After so much hard work yesterday, we enjoyed a little bit of a late snooze, dozing right through the call of two mosques and the dawn cries of several roosters down in the valley.

Craving a change of breakfast as well – there’s only so much bread and jam you can take – we cooked up a deluxe breakfast frittata in our little frying pan, complete with peppers, onions and potatoes. A pot of large coffee on the side and we were well and truly happy campers. The only thing missing was some melted cheese on top and a side of crispy bacon and buttery toast. Oh, the things we will cook when we get a kitchen again one day!

Just as we rolled out of the field a local man walked by, perhaps coming to check on his bees, and looked perplexed to see us. He gave us the “where have you come from” look; one we know well by now. We just smiled and jumped on our bikes for the downhill cruise towards Olympos. (more…)

It’s hard to believe that less than a week ago we were stuck in a muddy field with rain pouring out of the sky and now, just a couple hundred kilometers away in Antalya, the heat is sweltering. We are hard to please when it comes to the weather! Somewhere between 15°C and 25°C please, partly sunny but with some clouds to give a bit of shade and a nice tailwind if you don’t mind. The highs at the moment are hitting close to 30°C so with a hot day ahead we made an extra effort to get on the road early, making sure we had our bags packed and were ready to be first in line for breakfast.

As we came down the stairs, we soon felt pretty silly about all our eager packing. The clocks went back overnight and we forgot all about the time change so there we were in the lobby with plenty of time to spare before we could eat and get going. Our time was soon filled by a French man (also staying the hotel while he completes a move to Antalya) who had just bought a bike and wanted us to help with a few adjustments. Gilles was very proud of his new purchase and we couldn’t quite find it in our hearts to tell him that his bicycle was one of the poorest quality we have seen in some time. Not only were all the components flimsy, the brake pads were touching the wheel and installed upside down and whoever sold it to him had given him a bike several sizes too small for his height. The shiny gold frame and bouncy suspension seat seemed to keep him happy though and Gilles rode off exuberantly after we fixed his brakes so the wheel could actually run freely. (more…)

The simply stunning scenery of yesterday continued into today as we glided into the coastal city of Antalya. Golden fields flanked by mountains and roads that cyclists’ dream of all with fun curves and plenty of descents came together to make for the second of two wonderful days – some of the best riding we’ve done in quite some time. The incredible views around every corner, down into valleys and towards the sea, more than made up for Friedel’s bike, which is still ailing despite the best attempts of local mechanics.

We are now resigned to trying to find a replacement gear shifter, either here in Antalya if we are lucky or (more likely) by getting one sent to us from Europe. We tried to ask in one medium-sized town about the availability of reasonably high quality spare parts but the man running the shop only laughed in reply and showed us some very basic options. Certainly not what we need to carry us further down the road.

We had another chuckle on our way into Antalya when we crossed the road to inspect a shop with a large sign reading “bicycles” above its door. From a distance we thought we saw a number of spare parts on their shelves but on closer inspection it turned out to be primarily a kitchen store with a few cheap bicycles for sale. The spare parts were pots and pans. What a combination – bicycles and saucepans!

The good news is that if we are forced to spend a week or so in this area it won’t be a hardship. Antalya has already captured our interest as a city with its old town, filled with little alleyways and views of the water, and there are plenty of trips we can do in the surrounding area to kill time until the parts we need arrive.