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!!!
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