And there we have it!

 

9250km from Oslo, Norway to Antalya, Turkey

Totalling over 20,000 kilometers cycled around the world!

Cycling From Norway to Turkey

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01/04/2013 - Oslo to ... Back to Antalya Day 108.

Distance cycled: 111km from St. Paul's trail in the mountains to Antalya, turkey
Average speed: 14km/h
Moving time: 7h55m
Total distance: 9258km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: 20 lira

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Persistence, persistence, persistence. This is what it takes to travel the 9250km I have cycled the 17 countries in Europe and today was no exception. In fact today was one of the the most strenuous and physically challenging days of my life - I said in yesterday's post that I took an alternative route over the mountains towards Antalya thinking I could be smarter than Googles navigation system but I was wrong. Suggesting yesterday was terrible in terms of terrain was a complete understatement comparing it to today - I had to push my bike up a steep rocky incline by foot more than 700 meters in altitude to reach the top of the mountain pass. Thankfully though I had company, a German hiker named Andreas who had been hiking around the area for 2 weeks. Whilst i was profusely sweating as I tugged the weight of all my gear higher and higher Andreas informed me that the track we were on was part of the well known St. Paul's trail that extends from Antalya through the mountains 500km north towards the Lake District.
I don't think I would have managed the hike up the pass if it wasn't for Andreas, he was a distraction from how difficult it was, he seemed to manage it just fine but of course he didn't have a 40kg bicycle to force up the mountain.
Absolutely nackard when reaching the top I awarded the two of us my leftover dinner and snacks that Andreas was more than grateful for as he had only eaten bread with cheese and vegetable for the duration of his trek.
Leaving Andreas and thinking all was good and well as I had made it to the top of the pass was again another mistake, the road... well, if you can call it a road was utterly unsuitable for my method of transport, it's incredibly disheartening knowing that road is declining into a valley and you have to walk your bicycle over the rough and jagged track but at least it was easier than pushing it uphill.
I begged for an asphalt road so I could pick up my pace and hope to make my return to Antalya before the end of the day and my prayer was answered - a snaking unmarked road with little traffic lead me out of the mountains and towards the sea.
Joining the main highway I had the wind on my back and hastily made it to Antalya before nightfall.
What and epic day to finish this unbelievable bicycle adventure.
9250km of meeting fantastic people, conquering high mountain passes, experiencing many different cultures and cuisines and the major hiccup of crashing my bicycle breaking my collarbone that put a kink in my original plan although still being able to hit my goal of 20,000 km of cycling around the world.
All in all what an incredible and amazing experience - I've now cycled 1/2 the circumference of Earth!!! Booo-ya!!!

Sorry no photos as my SD card died!

31/03/2013 - Oslo to ... Back to Antalya Day 107

Distance cycled: 72.7km from Egirdir to somewhere between there and Antalya.
Average speed: 14.4km/h
Moving time: 5h02m
Total distance: 9148km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: 0 lira.

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As today was my second last day of this tour I became complacent thinking I could venture away from my plotted GPS route and taking the opposing direction for the signs pointing to Antalya. I wanted to take an alternative route to my final destination which of course is Antalya and boy did I screw up. By taking a dirt logging road i was taken on a very slow roller coaster of a road that twisted higher and higher along the mountains edge. This included a mixed bag of good and bad; the good, there was little to no traffic meaning I had the road to myself, the views of the nearby lake as the sun was going down was marvelous and... that seems to be it. Now the bad, it was a very steep rough dirt road, there is the possibility that this road won't lead me to Antalya, I thought my life was in peril because some miners digging for marble above we're causing rockslides of enormous boulders that tumbled down onto the road that I was cycling on (what a way to die) and I climbed up the what seemed to be an endless and most difficult climb of this trip of 700meters.
In hindsight the bad certainly outweighed the good but it's all part of the adventure.

 

Sorry no photos as my SD card died!

30/03/2013 - Oslo to ... Back to Antalya. Day 106

Distance cycled: 31.3km around lake Egirdir to Egirdir
Average speed: 18.7km/h
Moving time: 1h40m
Total distance: 9075km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: 40 lira.

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It's so pleasant to camp beside a lake, a wonderful experience that people should take advantage of to get away from the rush of their everyday life. I didn't cover much distance today because I wanted to check out Egirdir, a town popular due to boat trips on the lake and the many hiking trails that surrounds the area including a very historic route called St. Paul.  On the way to the town I saw some other cyclists fully loaded with bags, naturally I hopped over to the other side of the road a greet them. I only spent half an hour with the Austrian couple who had spent 6 months on the saddle but they were good people who I would have love to join if I were to be going in the same direction.  I checked into Lale Pension which was a hostel with a dorm but was very pricy at 30 lira for a dorm bed, I thought I would make up the price by eating past the point of being full for the buffet breakfast in the morning.  Although I wanted to get some sunset shots of the towns peninsula, resting my head down didn't do me any favors as I slept into the early evening where I met a group of people who were developing an iOS app for the hiking in the area we stayed up chatting for a while until it was past my bedtime.  On a side note. Normally I like to make these posts more interesting but I'm having difficulty today... Maybe because I am exhausted, 106 days of cycling would do it.

Sorry no photos as my SD card died!

29/03/2013 - Oslo to ... Back to Antalya Day 105

Distance cycled: 91.2km from
Average speed: 18.8km/h
Moving time: 4h50m
Total distance: 9044km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: 20 lira.
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And there we have it, I am now giving myself a pat on the back as there is no one here to do it for me because I have accomplished an amazing feat; bicycling the distance of 1/2 the circumference of Earth! 25 countries in total and over/through a huge variety of terrain and weather. Achieving this physical and mental goal would have would have been difficult, if not impossible if it hadn't been for the people who helped me on my way; thinking about this as my odometer clicked over (although its digital) to what is 9,000km on this trip evoked the happiest of emotions even bringing a tear to my eye... Or it could have been the wind as I descended from the mountain pass I tackled this morning.
I couldn't have asked for a better day either, the sun was out, the highland plains I endured over the past couple of days were finally over, more generosity from the locals/ police officers and ended the afternoon skirting around the edge of Egirdir lake where I stopped for a quick dip whilst the remaining light of the day dissipated over the lake behind the mountains.
100% content.
...
But it's not over, I still have to make the 150km back to Antalya and saying I have cycled 1/2 the circumference of Earth seems half-assed (in my opinion), I now must cycle the other 20,000km to claim the world!

Sorry no photos as my SD card died!

28/03/2013 – Oslo to ... Back to Antalya. Day 104

Distance cycled: 86.4km from Konya to Ortaca
Average speed: 17.4km/h
Moving time: 4h58m
Total distance: 8952km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: 10 lira.

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Thankfully this is the last day of the less than appealing plateau region of Turkey; the last couple of days have returned me nothing other than head-on wind and the onset of a mental breakdown due to complete boredom from the vast nothingness of my surrounds.
Although having said that I did have locals entertain me today with not only with their generosity where I didn't have to pay for tea, lunch or Internet access but also one guy beside his truck who was... um, how do I put this... giving his wrist a workout when i unluckily passed by but when I passed he got back in his truck to drive ahead of me to do it again... The only explanation I have is that he was gay or must have thought I was a girl.
Stopping twice today to use the Internet I was shrouded with locals wanting to meet me and add them as a friend on Facebook. Normally I would say no but they were quite insistent, they will have fun browsing my friends lists and photos as they didn't hesitate to do so as soon as I reluctantly added them.
The Turks using google-translate today I was again asked the typical questions that are usually gestured when I encounter the locals, surprisingly it's always in this order:
"What is your name?"
"Where are you from?"
"How old are you?"
"Are you married?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Chai?"
They honestly can't understand that someone my age isn't married, judging by their reaction they feel perhaps sorry for me but they understand that it's a different world out there.
Over the last few days I have seen many workers lighting fires to burn the copious amounts of plastic garbage that litters the gutters, sides of the road, towns and countryside. This begs one question, why aren't the locals taught that littering is bad for the environment? Burning the plastics especially, given it isn't nearly as bad as in India but still it's awful. *Sigh*

 

Sorry no photos as my SD card died!