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.