08/12/2012 - Oslo to Israel. Day 76

Distance cycled: 89.6km from Alex's Place in Istanbul to 20km from Bursa, Turkey.
Average speed:23.9 km/h but this includes the fast ferry
Moving time: 3h44m
Total distance: 6510km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: 16 liras for the ferry

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Left Alex's place well rested and charged up not only myself but also my batteries for all my electrical goodies.
It was fantastic to find a decent bicycle path alongside the sea for a good 15 km before hopping on a ferry to Yalova; there were so many cats on this path, to a point where I had to cycle around the masses of them, it was odd to see.
After crossing the sea it was good to be in the foothills of the turkish mountains, and after the rest period in Istanbul i could see that I had the stamina to climb them, more so than usual.
It was a well deserved rest that was much in need.
The sun was out today although it was brisk and finding a decent camping spot in the hills was not difficult.

 

Alex’s housemate Serif and his Girlfriend, shame i didnt get any shots of Alex and his Fiancé

I want to be able to sleep like this

Mamara Denizi – the name of the sea, heading south from Istanbul

Cats, Kittens and Puppies, along this coastal cycle path

The ferry across the sea…. this was cut out 200 or so kilometers… whoops, i cheated a little….

Back into the mountains.happy to be tackling some tougher terrain

07/12/2012 - Nothing really.

Pretty much did absolutely nothing other than sit on my computer and catch up on my photo and blog work.  I cooked up some good Moroccan food for the residents of Alex's place in the evening and chilled afterward.  Great blog post this one was! Not even any pictures.

06/12/2012 - Oslo to Israel. Day 75

Distance cycled: 25.5km from Istanbul - European side to Istanbul - Asian side – Alex’s place
Average speed: 13.8km/h
Moving time: 1h51m
Total distance: 6420km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: 10 liras - €4

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I dunno how this messed up but i think it is yesterday and today’s terrain profile combined.

 

After seeing all that I wanted to in Istanbul for a single day of sightseeing yesterday I attempted to cross the bridge from the European side of Istanbul to the Asian side. I thought his would be a good idea for not only the view but also the experience of cycling into a new part of the world. However this endeavor turned out to be a little more troublesome than anticipated, it was a freeway bridge where bicycles and other means of slow transportation were forbidden.
I thought I could get away with it and make it over but there was a police car that stopped me and told me to take the ferry boat across, meaning all the effort of getting there was wasted.
Meh, whatever; so obviously I took the boat and cycled the 15 odd kilometers to Alex's place where I'll be staying for the next few days. Alex a Brit, I met when traveling in Peru and Bolivia, he is here now with his fiancé teaching English.
On my way to his place from the boat was quite the ordeal too, I did find a bicycle lane that was ignored as a bike lane by all the traffic and having cars cut me off, sit in my way or come right at me without any intention of stopping was an interesting experience. I say interesting and not frightening because I felt like I was in control of the situation being as observant as possible to avoid any accidents and ill be honest, smashing my fist on the hoods and windows of unaware drivers was kind of fun.
I met Alex's housemate and fiancé where we chatted away and ate. It didn't take me long to want to sleep as the last few days of sightseeing, cycling and waking early for the free breakfast at the hostel has worn me down, not to mention the somewhat bad weather that dampens my normally lively spirit.

 

I dunno how this messed up but i think it is yesterday and today’s terrain profile combined.

Leaving the hostel in Istanbul.

Guards in bulletproof glass boxes, sorry, didnt have the time to check out what this building was about.

The bridge i attempted to cross but was turned around by the police. a waste of effort.

05/12/2012–A day of sightseeing in Istanbul

Sorry, just eye-candy today, this makes my job easier

View from hostel and the chill out room

Inside and outside of Blue Mosque

Look Everyone, its Santa. Gotta love my zoom, whether he was asking for money or not – avoid the trouble just in case

The boat trip, well priced and got to see quite a lot.

Many fisherman off the bridge, as you can see what they caught was tiny fish, just bait really.

Louisa and “Bruce”, Louisa i met at the hostel last night and we joined each other to wonder this beautiful city. Bruce was just an irritating guy who wanted us to eat at his restaurant, he called himself Bruce because apparently he looks like Bruce Willis

Spice Market, Istanbul.

Grand Bazaar, Istanbul

From the top of Galata Tower overlooking Istanbul at sunset. With Boing.

Im still processing the panoramic i took from here but when i finish it ill post it.

The Blue Mosque at night.

04/12/2012 - Oslo to Israel. Day 74

Distance cycled: 95.5 km from Saltankoy to Istanbul, Turkey
Average speed: 19.1km/h
Moving time: 5h00m
Total distance: 6361km
Border X'ings: 22
Money spent: €50 - food, accommodation at the hostel and some drinks.

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Last night's sleep was awful, just awful! Setting up my tent where I did was stupid of me, the wind warped my tarp and tent to a point where the very fabric of my tent was rubbing against my face; the rain, all of the rain would find its way inside and drench everything. So needless to say I did not sleep much at all.
I started the day being pretty miserable and because the rain didn't let up I just hastily packed my things and headed for Istanbul.
Istanbul is a huge city and this meant a hell of a lot of traffic, i came very close to being run off the road a few times and having the few hours of sleep last night I was not in a happy mood whatsoever, flipping off drivers that would drift too close.
Finally though I made it into the center to check into a hostel where I'd be seeing Freya, an Australian girl who I met in Galapagos and who was also the girlfriend of Christopher who I met in Peru and also saw more recently in Namur, Belgium.
I still find it so strange that this occurrence happen to be as it is with the timing and places thousands of kilometers apart.
On top of this, Aaron who I met in Macedonia was also a the hostel, a hostel with less than a dozen people currently staying there.
Freya, Aaron, some others and myself went out for dinner and enjoyed a decent Turkish meal and returned to the hostel to chat where it didn't take me long to tuck myself into bed to have a good nights rest.

silly mistake to camp here, if i was to cycle 200 meters more yesterdayb i would have had a much better spot out of the relentless wind.

They have a Luna Park here in Turkey too, the one in Melbourne is much more impressive

I took this picture before i found out the price of the food i ate here.. at least i was able to warm up

Wet but still having a good time, so close to the center of Istanbul.