Day 213 – 29. November 2013

After a good breakfast and a picture with the nice person and new follower from the hotel, I started to go to Troy.

It was already 11 am, but I thought I could reach Troy in about two or three hours.

I decided to take the street at the beach, not the main road. After a while the road got bad but still paved and no problem to cycle. Then it turned into a dirt road, but still no problem. After a while it was only a muddy path and suddenly it ended. So I had to go back 5 km and take the main road.

Most of the time I had to push the bike and I collected a lot of dirt. At some point the tires would not turn and I had to remove the mud.

Later at the first filling station I cleaned the bike with a water jet cleaner.

This detour cost me at least two hours and when I approached Troy it was almost 5pm. I stopped at a restaurant and they also have rooms and camping.(www.troiapension.com)

I choose to set my tent up. I also could take a hot shower and they have internet. So what more do I need?

Day 213: 42,88 km  all: 7206 km

Day 211-212 – 27.-28. November 2013

After a late breakfast at the hotel I packed my bike and waited till the heavy shower had passed. After that the weather was getting better and the sun came out.

I had only about 30 km to go to my next destination so I took my time.

At 2 pm I reached Canakkale. The city lies at the coast of the Dardanelles at its narrowest point.

The ancient city of Troy is 25km south of Canakkale and the original horse from the movie TROY is displayed at the harbor.

I found a hotel in the center and stayed there two nights.

The second day I took the ferry to the european side and visited an artillery battery and a fortress from the early 19th century.

Canakalle, Turkey

Day 211: 34,81 km  all: 7163 km

Day 210 – 26. November 2013

It was very nice in Biga but I had to leave someday.

Alexander helped me pack my bike and we said goodbye. Maybe we meet again in Columbia.

The first 30 km were flat and despite the weather forecast, dry. After I climbed two small hills I reached the sea.  It started raining heavily and I decided not to stay in the tent tonight.

I reached the small city of Lapseki and found a cheap hotel for the night.

Day 210: 59,73 km  all: 7128 km

Day 206-209 – 22.-25. November 2013

Marcin found a couchsurfing host for me in the city of Biga. It was only 32 km to Biga and after packing I slowly cycled to the town.

Just before reaching the meeting point with my new host it started raining. I called my host and we met after a few minutes.

Alexander is from Columbia and is in Turkey for one year teaching English and French.

We went to his apartment where he lives with two roommates.  Alexander had to go back to work and I spent some time with his roommates and some of their friends.

The next days I relaxed, walked through the city and visited Alexandro at his school. Mehmet, one of the other teachers, invited us to his apartment for the evening to have something to drink. He also called some of his friends and arranged accommodation for me in the future.

The school had a teachers day and they went to a dinner together. I also was invited and meet the other staff.

Mehmet asked me to come to one of his classes to tell about my project and answer some questions. It was fun doing so and his students were very interested in my story.

Tomorrow I will go on to Canakkale and further to Izmir.

Day 206: 32,17 km  all: 7068 km

Day 205 – 21. November 2013

Today I was somehow very tired and did not feel like going very far. Right after I started I had to climb a 100m hill, but the rest of the day was not very hilly.

At least the weather was very nice and with 23° C almost hot. Only the strong wind was against me and I wished I could stop and lay in the sun.

But I went on and found a wonderful, small village at the sea. Unfortunately there was no hotel in the village.

I was now riding along the cost and passed many people harvesting olives. One family called me and we made some pictures together.

After nearly 50 km I found a place to camp for the night. It was a big olive farm with thousands of new olive trees.

After I was done setting up the tent, taking a “shower” and cooking something it was 6 pm and I was ready to crawl into my tent. Suddenly a car stopped and a guard came to me and asked what I was doing here. He could not speak English so he called someone and gave me the phone. A women explained that I am on private property and I have to leave. I tried to explain my situation and asked to make an exeption, but there was no chance.

I had to leave! So I packed my stuff in about 30 minutes and left the place. The guard had to stay till I was gone and you could see that he was sorry that I had to move.

The main road was only a few meters away and it was still very warm. After about 4 km I took a small path into the fields and found another place to setup my camp. Finally after hour I was ready to go to sleep.

I almost forgot. I reached 7000 km today.

Turkey

Day 205: 50,11 km  all: 7036 km

Day 202-204 – 18.-20. November 2013

I had some problems with my stomach so I stayed one additional day in Mudanya.

The following day my stomach was better and the weather was very nice. It was a very hard day because I had to climb many hills. At the end of the day I climbed more than 770m.

But it was worth it. The landscape was magnificent. I stayed most of the time close to the sea and found some nice views.

At the beginning a guy with a racing bike passed me and we talked for a short time. Later that day I meet him again and he gave me two of his Power-bars.

The last 20 km of the day were relatively flat and in the afternoon I found a nice place to put my tent.

The night was chilly at about 5°C, but due to my sleeping bags I was not cold. (Thanks to my sponsor Funktionelles.de)

In the morning everything is wet from the moisture and the sun is not strong enough to dry the tent. So I had to pack the wet tent and moved on.

The terrain was flat and I reached Bandirma before 2 pm. I looked for a hotel when someone approached me and talked German with me. A few minutes later another man joint.

His name is Tanju and he is the chairman of the bicycle club in Bandirma. He helped me find a hotel and invited me for a dinner. Two other of his friends came and also helped me carry my stuff to the hotel’s room.

Day 203: 56,36 km  all: 6932 km

Day 204: 54,54 km  all: 6986 km 

Day 197-201 – 13.-17. November 2013

Marcin and I stayed an additional day in the hotel. So we had time to sort and divide our stuff, Marcin translated another movie and in the evening we went to our last dinner.

The next morning we packed his car and my bike and said good bye for who knows how long.

The following 4 days I cycled in fairly cold and cloudy conditions. At least it was not raining.

I spend 3 nights in my tent. The first night some fishermen told me to put my tent in some kind of park. The next night I was out of options and found a small area close to the sea. The third night I found a nice place at a big lake and even could make a fire.

The people here are very friendly. Someone stopped and gave me an apple, another one some milk. Two stopped and gave me their phone number in order to call them if I have any problems.

One of them named Emre showed me on the map many interesting point I should visit.

The area is very nice but also very hilly. Even at the sea the road is undulating. So I am happy to cycle about 50 km a day.

Today I took a hotel in the town of Mudanya. I have to recharge my batteries and clean myself.

Day 198: 47,61 km  all: 6714 km

Day 199: 57,62 km  all: 6771 km

Day 200: 53,62 km  all: 6825 km

Day 201: 50,41 km  all: 6875 km

Day 196 – 12. November 2013

After more than one week in Istanbul it was time to move on.

For the first time in more than two month I was cycling with my trailer and all my stuff again.

After I was ready to start our host Cemil was there to say good bye.

I had to go through the city, crossing Galata bridge and going to the feeder road that brought me on the highway and the Bosphorus Bridge.

This video shows you how I passed the bridge:

The feeder road was no problem. After about one km there was the start sign for the highway. From here no bicycles are allowed. Just behind the sign at the corner I saw a police car where lanes were joining. I waited a while but there was no sign that they would leave soon. There was also not enough traffic to hide behind. So at one point I just went on and hoped for the best. When I approached the police they all looked in the other direction and I passed  without a problem. I had enough space to pass the slow traffic and because I was going downwards I was fast. At the start of the bridge is a small sentry box with a policeman. He only saw me after I passed  him and I was just cycling as fast as I could. The policeman tried to shout behind me but the traffic was so loud that I pretended not to hear him. Manny passing people waved and honked their horns in appreciation.

I saw the sign “Welcome to Asia” and I was happy that I made it. I saw two policeman waiting for me but I expected this kind of welcome.

They took me to the police station a few meters away and told me that I have a problem. The next policeman came and asked me why I did not obey their rules and what I want. I tried to apologize and explained my project. I gave them a few of my stickers and when I told them that I flew jet aircraft and want to go around the world they forgot about the illegal crossing. Five or six policemen gathered around me and were curious about my bike and equipment. After a while they offered me some tea. They also asked if I want something to eat and if I play some volleyball with them.

They had the idea to put a Turkish flag below the German flag. So one of them organized a paper flag and put it on my bike. In the end they wished me good luck and I was free to go on.

At the ferry harbor I meet several people: an older man who lived in England for many years and also a few people who lived in Germany for a long time. One of them gave me his phone number in Tunisia and said I am always welcome. He works at the Austrian embassy so if I need help in Tunisia I can call him. A young man said “Hell, I want to meet you”. He is a sailor and hopefully next year he can make his skipper’s patent.

He also told me that big ships are only allowed to go in one direction through the Bosporus. So they change the direction every 12 hours.

Later that day I also meet three bikers who were interested in my trip. One of them is from Iran and he gave me his number and address so I can visit him.

It really makes a big difference to cycle with all my stuff and especially my  German flag.

After 70km cycling I was still in Istanbul and someone told me that Istanbul is about 115km from one end to the other. The last 10 km I had to ride in the dark. Finally I made it to the hotel, where Marcin was waiting to celebrate my successful bridge crossing.

Day 196: 77,41 km  all: 6666 km

Day 187-195 – 3.-11. November 2013

Most of our days in Istanbul we spend sightseeing and walking through the city to explore new areas.

On Wednesday Peter from Germany flew to Istanbul to visit me. Peter an I meet in Russia on the way to St. Petersburg. (Day 89, Day 91-96). We spend three and a half days to see the city and enjoy the wonderful weather.

Istanbul can be discribed in two words: “Grand Bazar”. Everywhere people buy and sell everything you can imagine. From handkershifs to milking machine, fresh pressed juices to spare parts for vacuum cleaner. There are big shops, small shops, shops on the streets and everywhere people running around and selling stuff. And it is not only in the center but in the whole city. It is really amazing.

This monday Marcin and I did some final shopping and preperations for leaving Istanbul tomorrow.

There are two bridges over the bosporus. But unfortunately they are both highways and bicycles or pedestrians are not allowed on the bridges. So tomorrow I have decided to try to cross without permission. If I am lucky I can pass the police and cycle to Asia.

You can follow my attempt through my “Here I am”(on this page, top right hand corner). Hopefully I will cross the bridge at about 11-12am.

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul

Some pictures from Istanbul:

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey