Internet Cafe,
Fethiye, Turkey 04-04-07
Mountains and minarets
Muğla to Doğubayazıt
(5 cycle days; 3 rest days; 2 bus trips; 357km; 3991m)
Muğla to Köyceğiz (64km; 445m)
Köyceğiz to Fethiye (78km; 1025m)
Fethiye to Kinik (70km; 1489m)
Kinik to Korkuteli (89km; 802m)
Korkuteli to Antalya (55km; 230m)
Antalya to Göreme (by bus)
Göreme to Doğubayazıt (by bus)
Turkey in general
The trip is tough, but we take
it easy: stopping regularly to recuperate from the hill
climbing and take in water due to the gloriously warm
day. The views are rugged and natural and we are surprised
at the sheer ruralness of Turkey. Every little village
has several corner stores selling exactly the same thing
and a mosque. The shops are cheap but very limited.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are hard to come by, except
from local farmers on the side of the road or by asking
at restaurants...
Tip of the month: Keeping
the water bottle fresh!
There's nothing worse than musty flavoured
water and here's two ways to keep your water
bottle a little fresher. While big name brands
do sell
"special" tablets to clean their
bottles, they are at a ridiculous price. Denture
cleaning tablets, on the other hand, are not
and you can usually obtain them from either a well
stocked supermarket or pharmacy.
Fill the bottle almost to
the top and pop a tablet in and allow to soak
overnight. Empty and rinse a few times with
fresh water the next day. You can also use
the denture cleaning powder: it does exactly
the same job.
Another way to keep your water
tasting good is to squeeze just a little bit
of fresh lemon juice into your bottle. You
don't need much to get the desired taste and
it is especially good for those of you who
don't like drinking water. Adds a bit of an
edge, while keeping the water bottle fresh.
Muğla
(Turkey) - Tehran (Iran)
Kilometres: 1339 kilometes and 380 meters
Riding days: 15
Alti meters: 8438 meters
Weather: mixed bundle: from snow and
hail storms,
full on wind and rain to beautiful sunny days
Best accommodation: Rock
Valley Pension in Göreme for the
best facilities (too numerous to mention),
friendly staff and beautiful surroundings
Special thanks to:
Gökhan, Nasibe & Oğuzhan for
letting us stay at their house • Kanik Bisiklet in Antalya for the (free!) spare
bike parts • Simone & Pierre Yves again for being a couple of nice guys and spending their last nights with us in Turkey • All the Iranian people who overloaded us with
drinks, cookies, lollies, tea, chocolate bars,
bread, crisps, apples, mandarines and even petrol
on two occassions, during our travels from the Turkish border
to Tehran • Qazvinit.com, a Cafenet in Qazvin for offering
us free internet • Those who stopped their cars and motorcycles to
welcome us to Iran
Breakdowns:
07: Sony Cybershot taken in for cleaning again!
14: new chains fitted on both bikes in
Doğubayazıt
16: new chains fitted again on both bikes in Doğubayazıt...
21: spoke Ali + spoke Son
22: chain repair Son (buckled)
23: tent pole (no. 4)
