Day 1,463
4 Years!
The sun was out (well to be fair it's always out at the moment) we were rolling downhill without a care in the world. Should we stay or should we go? I felt so good, so alive, I just wanted to keep on riding. We decided to stop and make plans. We were in the small town of Avenos, more of a locals’ tourist spot, with a river running through it. We parked our bikes and sat down in the shade. Turns out we were at Maccy D's and as we are cycle tourists who are always hungry we bought fries to eat as we chatted.
Matt was ready for a rest, he wanted to update his excellent blog, check it out on crazyguyonabike.com. Tom was still far from well and seriously needed a rest and I'd spotted a cake shop so I was happy to stay. We booked a hotel, and got on with our chores, which mainly involved giving our washing to the hotel staff, and dozing. Not such a productive day but what our bodies clearly needed.
In the morning Matt was ready to return to the road. We reluctantly waved him off. He's 30, on a lighter set up, and with time pressures, so he needs to get a move on. Riding together was never really an realistic option but it would have been great if only for a day or so. In South America we'd ridden a few months behind him and camped in awesome spots he'd found, it would have been great to find a few together. It's unfinished business, next time Matt!
We left our rather grim cave bedroom, and booked an Airbnb. I cooked simple food which aided Tom's recovery. I even ate most of his birthday cake for him, well it was a bit rich for his poorly tummy. On his birthday we went wine tasting, which was great fun and proved he was on the mend. Finally we could return to the road. We met a young French guy, Paul. We encouraged him to stay another night and see the balloons which hadn't flown that day. He left excess kit with us, and when he returned repaid our kindness with some fantastic route advice.
One more view of the balloons before we left
Thanks to him our ride out of Avanos wasn't on the busy highway but up through the Derwent Valley, with stunning views of the balloons and more fairy castles, we renamed it Tiny Valley as time and Mother Nature had worn them down. It was pretty tough climbing, but I dug deep and cleaned all the hills, even earning two QOM from Strava, riding quicker than a fair few much younger tourers. I felt quite proud of myself.
We both loved this section but like all good things it had to end. We popped out on a busy road near Kayseri. It was being resurfaced, so all the traffic was filtered onto one lane. After the first virtually traffic free miles it wasn't fun with trucks blasting past just feet from us. When it ended we pulled into a service station to recover. We'd done just 35 miles, it was midday but my energy levels just went from 100% to zero. We ate and drank plenty of water and returned to the road, a bypass around the city. It was busy, but we had a massive hard shoulder and we also had a fantastic backdrop to cheer us up - the volcano, Mount Erciyes. Fortunately now inactive, in its day it deposited ash in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and even Palestine. Today it just gives us weary cyclists a magical view to gaze at whilst we battle the ever present head wind. This area of Turkey seems to suffer particularly bad with headwinds.
Mount Erciyes. Spot the Debs!
Meeting Matt had slightly messed with our minds. He had shared his camp spot details, an abandoned house, popping them on a new app just for cyclists, rollingaround. We'd gone a slightly longer hillier way so getting there wasn't really sensible, plus it didn't actually sound perfect as he'd had to share with a bat. Another great app we use, iOverlander, had another option, a sheltered lake with toilets and picnic tables. It was a short uphill ride from the main road and at only 62 miles made sense. We turned off the main road just as 5 cars crammed full with people and stuff. It was a Friday, now they may have all been heading to the next village to visit their grannies but somehow I felt they were making their way to the lake to party. Now although it was June 20th, our final day of year 4 on the road, and we should be partying, honestly food and sleep is how we get our kicks these days. So back to the road and onwards, up another damn great hill. At the top, 72 miles in the bag, Tom spotted a track, up we went. Home for the night, not a classic, but a decent view and a constant drone from the traffic to lull us to sleep.
In the morning we had another treat instore. Downhill for starters and at the bottom another caravanserai Sultan Han, built in 1232 -1237 it is the second largest in Turkey, the largest being the one we visited a few days ago. In design they are very similar. We particularly loved the animal carving drain spouts, which look surprisingly modern in design. On Google maps it states that it is temporarily closed but we thought it was definitely worth leaving the main road and heading along the old road to see it.
Well, were we in for a treat. It was all locked up, it was barely past 7am, but a local guy spotted us and with the aid of sign language explained he'd get a man with a key. Within a few minutes we were in. Just us. What a special treat, and even better we got to climb on the roof, which has now replaced tunnels as our favourite thing, though the stairs were something of a challenge.
Going up was easier than coming down
We made it down in one piece. Matt had suffered with horrendous head wind on this section, we were luckier but it still made its presence felt. At just over 50 miles, exhausted and dehydrated, we stopped for a cuppa at a service station. It had a great shop, restaurant and hotel. A cyclist tourers wish list,and at just £13 for the night it would be crazy to turn it down. Mad we may be, but not crazy!
