21/12/2012 - Oslo to Israel. Day 89 - Not the end of the world but the end of this trip (for now)

Distance cycled: 96.1km from Finike to 20km from Antalya, turkey
Average speed: 19.7km/h
Moving time: 4h52
Total distance: 7647km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: €260 for hospital costs.

View 21dec12 in a larger map

 

Apocalypse, doomsday, end of the world; today there was the belief the Mayans predicted some sort of global cataclysmic event that would destroy us all. Fortunately for everyone nothing happened, no bombs, no solar flare, no erupting volcanos, no meteor, etc. I did not believe these catastrophes would likely occur so I went about my day and continued cycling towards Antalya, just the usual, climbing high mountain passes having spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea, great coastal roads with wide shoulders, the sun was revitalizing and it was a day to remember, due not to the happenings mentioned above but because I managed to throw myself off the road and into a ditch trying to fix my cleat on my shoe that was acting up... at 40km/h.
With all my things scattered across the surface of the road and in the ditch where I crawled out from under my bicycle dripping with blood, I started collecting my stuff when I realized I couldn't lift my arm, as it so happens I broke my collar bone and grazed up my left side pretty badly.
The first things running in order through my mind were, Ahhh, my camera (it was all ok) then Shit! I don't have insurance, ok, I don't need an ambulance... How far is the hospital, can I hitch hike with my bike? Can I cycle with one arm?... It wasn't until I managed to flag down some locals where they were able to help me out and knock some sense into me by calling both the police and the ambulance. As we waited for them i got the locals to take pictures of me as I bled everywhere and smoked a cigarette to calm my nerves.
Soon later I was transported to the hospital where I was shuffled about different rooms on the gurney until I was helped out by this beautiful Lithuanian girl named Erica, her and her colleague dealt with foreigners emitted to hospital in Antalya and tended and explained everything from the procedure I would go though and how much it would cost - as this was important as not having any insurance I would have to pay out of my own pocket.
The procedure was straight forward enough with an X-ray, tetanus shot and a brace. Setting me back €260 - ouch! Just as painful financially as it was physically.
Having made the call to the guy I would be staying with in Antalya whilst on the side of the road he, his friends and Elyem's friend Barçin found me at the hospital and took me away to where I would be staying.
The four guys I stayed with, Mehmet, Fatih, abraham and Ozcan really did everything they could to look after me, it was great while I called mum and dad and other friends to inform them about the situation.
Ill be ok, I'll just have to figure out a different plan now to get my flight from Cyprus to israel in a week.
It may not be the end of the world but it is the end of this cycle trip - for now. 7650km with less than 500km more to go…

Began the day where things were so beautiful.

….and i was so close to my destination

Really, just beautiful scenery

sooooo close

 

The second and last god forsaken tunnel

IN all these pictures i am smiling, i am in quite a lot of pain.

Treatment at the hospital

oh SNAP!

20/12/2012 - Oslo to Israel. Day 88

Distance cycled: 77.6km from Kas to Finike, Turkey
Average speed: 18km/h
Moving time: 4h19m
Total distance: 7550km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: 65 lira = €27

View 20dec12 in a larger map

Leaving Kas after filling up on soup for breakfast I didn't know the road headed towards Antalya would be so difficult. There was really no point in having a shower this morning because as soon as I left the hotel the road was up, straight up to 600meters during which I sweated like there is no tomorrow. (Sorry, did it again - end of the world pun)
The sun was finally out too, after 3 days of the heavens pissing it down I finally got some sun, skin tanning, life giving, glorious sun. It was such an amazing relief.
I ran into another touring cyclist today, or should I say "cycled into another touring cyclist" Damjian, from Slovenia had done many bike trips around the world and was on a short 10 day trip to Izmir, we didn't chat long because I needed to get going and cover some distance but it was good to meet someone else doing a similar thing to me. He works for a newspaper back home and I asked him to promote this blog.
Finally after so much climbing today the road sloped downward providing me with some decent downhill action to Demre also to bring up my average speed for the day. The locals at Demre were great, I even somehow managed to get a discount off the Kofta sandwich I bought, perhaps it was because I bought two of them - I need to eat in large quantities.
The coastal road for the rest of the day was fantastic, passing by inlets of ocean with the smallest of beaches where locals would sell orange juice from their also tiny stalls.
As the sun was setting I entered the town of Finike, here as I was purchasing some food I was approached by an old man who offered me a place to stay at a hotel at a discounted rate, honestly I didn't want to but he seemed kind and honest, but as soon as he sorted out the hotel I would later stay at he took me to his jewelry store where he inevitably tried trying to sell me his merchandise - these series of events have happened to me all too often on my travels, but because it is doomsday tomorrow I bought a bracelet - apparently protecting me from whatever, if anything that is going to happen to us - that's how he sold it to me. Im shaking my head in shame now, I thought I was invulnerable to these selling practices.
Mufasta and I chatting away at a coffee shop for the even talking about mostly sex - ill be clear to point out, not with one another, but in general; it was interesting to say the least talking all things about sex to a horny 51 year old man at a tea house but it was entertaining.

Climbing the hill overlooking Kas, Turkey

Oh yeah… vitamin E… its about time!

Damjan, from Solvenia, another fellow cyclist

I dunno what this is but people lived in them

being spied on while eating lunch, Demre Turkey

A good fun, picturesque coastal road.

Finike, Turkey

19/12/2012 - Oslo to Israel. Day 87

Distance cycled: 80.8km from Esen to Kas, Turkey
Average speed: 18.5km/h
Moving time: 4h21m
Total distance: 7472km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: 50 lira = €20

View 19dec12 in a larger map

I splurged today and got myself a hotel room for the evening in Kas, problem was because of the storm that hit me hard when I was on the road, all sorts of rain and hail, when I checked in and turned the room into a drying rack and just before I hopped into the more than much needed warm shower there was a power out that not only knocked out the town but also the hot water, air conditioning and pretty much everything I needed to get me and my belongings clean, dry, charged and comfortable.
Getting to Kas in the such shocking weather was a feat in itself, and excuse the pun because the lightning was relentless and incredibly close, on two occasions striking the road in front only 100 meters from where I was cycling.
As soon as I hit the coastal road that was on par with some of the shit that I cycled on in Albania but with bumpy loose gravel spread over the smooth asphalt that when speeding cars would pass by I would have this loose gravel ricashaying from under the car or truck hitting me or my surroundings, this along with the hail made me an unhappy chap.
Still, I am happy to have made it as far as i did today although I'm now waiting for the power to come back on. In the meantime I'll have a nap.
...
It took 2.5 hours for the power to come back on so I didn't hesitate to rinse my clothes and hop in the shower.
I honestly just sat in my room reading some stuff online, cooked some mushroom soup for dinner and chatted to old friends on Skype.
I suppose I could have gone out in the rain to check out the town but due to the lack of dry clean clothes I stayed in and rested.

the snowcapped mountains through the heavy storm clouds

back at the coast

someone want to explain to me why the water is so incredibly blue?

before and after turning my hotel room into a drying rack

18/12/2012 – Oslo to Israel. Day 86

Distance cycled: 104km from Koycegiz to Esen, Turkey.
Average speed: 17.9km/h
Moving time: 5h47m
Total distance: 7392km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: 15 lira = €6

View 18dec12 in a larger map

Another day of it just pissing it down, tomorrow will be much the same and then finally I'll be getting some sunshine; I apologize for going on about the weather in most posts but I suppose because I spend the day in it, it is an easy topic to begin with.
I am getting use to being drenched so long as there is food to metabolize in my stomach and I keep moving I stay warm enough to not catch a cold.
Keeping up with this deadline of being in Cyprus for the 29th has been exhausting to say the least, I have been pushing myself like there is no tomorrow. Funny to say this because as we all know, it is the end of the Mayan calendar in 3 days and with the slight consensus of it being the end of the world too.
I had a decision to make today, one, take the mountain road into the snow capped mountains into the cold to Antalya that would shave off 100km of coastal roads or two, take the coastal road where the terrain is more predictable and avoids some very steep ascents but adding these 100km to the trip.
I opted for the coastal road and I hope the weather turns for the better because another day of this awful weather and I won't have any more dry clothes.
There were more locals on the roadside selling those delicious mushrooms that I experienced yesterday so I picked up a bad and cooked them up for dinner, yum yum.
I wanted to treat myself to a hotel tonight but as it was there were no hotels in the area where I was when finishing up the day; oh well, another night in the rain amongst the trees beside the road... Tomorrow, I'll attempt to hotel it up and dry all my drenched belongings.

17/12/2012 - Oslo to Israel. Day 85

Distance cycled: 80.9km from nearby Yatagan to just west of Koycegiz
Average speed: 17.8km/h
Moving time: 4h32m
Total distance: 7288km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: 35 Lira = €14

View 17dec12 in a larger map

I have a lot to bitch about today due to the weather just dumping it down but I'm going to make today's post much more cheerful.
For most of the day I was bouncing around 600 meters in altitude, I was eagerly awaiting until the point where things finally sloped downhill and eventually it did. This descent was epic, the view was literally eyewateringly beautiful, I was in the clouds at first where I could not see further than 100 meters in front of me but as I descended there was a clearing in the sky and I had a magnificent view of the valley I'd be soon cycling through - this made my day.
I was drenched, cold and not enjoying myself whatsoever but this view just blew me away.
Trying to express my joy to the local from the epic winding roads to the valley floor was interesting but fun. My smile from this experience stayed with me for the rest of the day and I could see the people that I met opening up to me by way of giving me free food, even at the roadside supermarket I went to gave me free water, mandarins, soft drink and baklava.
Further down the road just before setting up camp I picked up some 'mogal'(?) mushrooms from the roadside where i met the family selling them to passing by cars, they cooked some up for me to try and WOW we're they delicious, I bought a bag and went on my way.
Today was the first day on this trip I decided to actually make a campfire with scavenged damp sticks and twigs, if it wasn't for my ingenuity using my camp fuel the fire would have hopelessly extinguished itself without having dried my drenched clothes (although they are still wet), but I wanted to cook the mushrooms I bought the same way as the roadside family did for me.
It worked and my dinner for the evening was delicious.
It's funny how having such a demoralizing morning can be outweighed by some kindness of strangers all because I had a smile on my face from an epic twisting road.
A thank you goes out to these people.

Oh, the rain!

Things beginning to clear up.

Drenched but what a view

Wild mushrooms sold on the side of the road, meeting the family collecting them, really friendly.

My first attempt (and successful) at making a fire on the side of the road. and cooking more of the mushrooms.