Merhaba from Istanbul!

It’s been a minute since I last updated this thing, so here’s the latest! After leaving Trikala/Meteora I spent four days in Thessaloniki to try to wait out my allowed time in the EU. I didn’t find all that much to do in the city, even though it is the second-largest metropolitan area in Greece behind Athens. After a while all the churches begin to look the same. In Thessaloniki I made the decision to take a slightly longer route into Turkey. I had originally planned on crossing the border just east of Alexandroupoli and head south-ish towards the Gallipoli Peninsula. My main draw to the region was to see what was left from the WWI Gallipoli campaign. In my mind there would be a number of things to see in Gallipoli (the town) but I found out that the majority of the battlefields were on the west coast of the peninsula, away from any potential accommodations. I decided instead to make the trek 135km north to Edirne to get a more gradual introduction into Turkey. I arrived not a moment too soon! I made the ~470km trip from Thessaloniki to Edirne over four days, three nights spent on the road. This was a first for me on this trip, spending three nights/four cycling days between modern facilities. Campgrounds are much less common in the east, and none of them are open in December anyways. Back in September in France you could barely go 30 kilometers without passing an open campground. Not a moment too soon. I arrived at the border mid-day on the 12th and approached the Greek passport control. The border agent took my passport, then excused himself to talk with a superior. He was gone for 10 minutes before he reappeared with another man. They made it known to me that I was on my last day in the EU, and that I would not be allowed back into the Schengen Zone for 90 days. I knew the stipulations the visa period, but I had miscounted how long I was allowed in. Stupidly, when I came across to France I put notifications in my calendar for three months ahead, rather than exactly 90 days. If I had gone strictly with my calendar, I wouldn’t have left until the 14th, rather than the end of the 90 day period on the 12th. It’s funny, researching the Schengen Zone online, many people said that the Greeks would be the least likely to care, or make a fuss over the restrictions, but they certainly seemed to take it seriously at this crossing! It’s a good thing I was “ahead of schedule!” I spent four nights in Edirne at a nice little hostel in the middle of the city. I was trying to wait out a little bit of time before cycling to Istanbul, where I plan to spend Christmas. I did not want to arrive in Istanbul too early, for fear of getting tired or bored of being in one place. It was really nice to stay in Edirne to get a bit of a feel for the culture, the road rules, and a bit of the language, before moving on to Istanbul. One of the most important things I was able to do in Edirne was get a feel for the grocery store situation in the country. I developed a favourite chain of grocery store in Europe. It is nice to be able to go into a store and know you are able to get exactly what you are looking for. Coming into a new country it is always hard to tell what sorts of food will be available, and for what price-point. I have had some troubles in both Greece and Turkey purchasing milk. Buying milk and granola is a nice little treat I get for myself when I have access to a refrigerator. Being Canadian I am used to readily available fresh milk. Europe in general has a lot of UHT or long life milk that sits at room temperature on grocery store shelves. Warranted or not, I have a great distrust for dairy products kept at room temperature. On two occasions now, when meaning to purchase fresh milk from a refrigerator, I have made it back to my hostel to discover I have purchased sour milk. There is very little else in this world that is more disappointing than discovering this first thing in the morning when you have already poured the granola into the bowl and are ready to have breakfast. I also spent some time working out a rough sketch of what my next month or so in Turkey will look like. Let me emphasize, a rough sketch. I think I have already changed my mind a little about exactly how it will all go. First, let me describe the riding conditions here in Turkey. Coming into Edirne I was met with a lot of cobblestones, fortunately, the major roads are really well maintained! The first day of my two day ride to Istanbul was filled with rolling hills through the countryside, and a really strong cross-wind. It was actually the first time that I felt unsafe due to the wind. I was nearly blown into traffic on one occasion while descending a hill. A lonely planet book on the country warned that normal road rules don’t really apply in Turkey - this is to say that the unwritten rule is essentially that larger vehicles have the right of way. If you get in their way, they will run you over. Needless to say, I have been extra cautious, when possible, when cycling on Turkish roads. I’m really proud of my camping spot on the 16th! It was forecast to rain overnight and into the 17th on my second riding day to Istanbul. Around the 130km mark just outside of Corlu I found an abandoned fruit/vegetable stand on the side of the highway! I ducked inside, had some dinner, and set up my tent amongst the empty tables! Not only was I covered from the rain, the stand also had some mesh up on the backside to cut the wind! The second day riding to Istanbul was kinda awful. Istanbul is a city of around 15 million people, and it has the sprawl to prove it. I spent the first half of the day fighting the buildup of mud on my wheels/in my fender wells. Agricultural vehicles drive up and down the shoulder and often leave clumps of dirt on the road. When it rains, those clumps become muddy and stick to my tires. I can’t really ride in the road to avoid them without getting run over, so I am stuck on the shoulder. The mud is thick enough that it gets caught in-between my wheel and fender until the point where it actually creates resistance while riding. I had to use sticks on the side of the road to try and pick out the mud. The second half of the day was more or less spent in freeway traffic. I’m not actually allowed on the freeway, but the road I was on could very well be classified as one. For ~40 kilometers I was on the cramped shoulder of a 3 lane highway. The shoulder fluctuated from a less-than-generous 24 inches, to nothing at all. I also had to battle the wet roads and a raised white line that threatened to send me sliding onto the street and any given crossing. When I got into Istanbul itself I also had the pleasure of contending with terrible motorists. The three lanes of through traffic were separated from the two lanes on the right hand side (at any given time) that were for merging on and off of the highway. I did my best to follow good cycling practice and proceed until the end of the exit lane before cutting across and re-joining the flow of traffic. Drivers here do not know how to, or don't care to use their signals, so I was nearly hit on two occasions by drivers who decided very, very late, to take a turn off of the highway, and do so without signaling. I did my best to triple check from that point on that I wasn’t about to be hit by a car before crossing the exit lane. After having the pleasure of cycling into Istanbul, I don’t know if I care to cycle back out again. There is a ferry from the city to the other side of the Marmara Sea that I will likely take on the 27th when I begin to head south. I have quite a bit of time to spend in Istanbul - it would be a shame to try and rush through without having time to explore! I think I will also try to get across to visit Bursa while based here in Istanbul - it’s something like a two hour ferry in each direction. It is nice to be in a bigger city with nice coffee shops - I ran out of fresh coffee last week and have been forced to begin to drink through my emergency reserve of coffee I brought from Canada. It’s also really nice to know that I will have an internet connection to connect with family this week over the holidays. Christmas doesn’t appear to be as much of a big deal in Turkey, makes sense, seeing as the country is ~98 percent muslim. It’s not my first Christmas away from Squamish, but this year I don’t have the gracious hospitality of the Letkemans. Next year I will be sure to be at home for Christmas. I passed the 6,000km mark on my way into Istanbul! I’m probably going to have to keep up a pretty good pace on my way south through Turkey. I have some accomodation booked in Cyprus on the 6th of February, and it is a little more than 2000 km along the coast from here to there. I’ve been cycling an average of 1,800km per month so far. Here’s the latest from my bike stats for anyone who may be curious! Longest day 7:45 - September 11 6:52.58 - November 24 6:47.36 - December 16 Furthest Day 149.60 - November 24 138.56 - December 10 136.08 - September 11 Fastest Average Speed 23.3 - December 4 23.0 - November 3 22.7 - November 15 Top Speed 67.2 - November 22 65.5 - December 9 62.7 - October 9 Also, since arriving in London I have cycled for 309 hours, 10 minutes, and 5 seconds, covering 6,065km, which averages out to 19.6km/h in 62 days of riding, with an average riding day of 4:59.20, and an average ride distance of 97.82km. Sorry this is so long-winded! Merry Christmas from Istanbul!