Life is full of mysteries, nothing is ever what it seems...

Now I’m really coming down towards the end of my time in Turkey. I spent a minute lamenting the fact that I’m going to have to struggle to learn basic phrases in another language all over again. I’ve been fortunate enough to spend the better part of the last four months in Greek and Turkish speaking countries! I had a blast last week exploring all the nooks and crannies around Goreme! I spent the bulk of my time just walking around in the surrounding valleys! Maybe a little too much time! Even though I meant to spend my last day in Goreme taking it easy, I still managed to talk myself into a three hour hike up the nearby “Love Valley.” My last morning in Goreme was the only one during my stay there that the hot air balloons were in the air! When conditions are good, hundreds of hot air balloons take to the sky with baskets full of tourists just as the sun is coming over the horizon! I came over the crest of the hill from my hostel just as the sun was cutting through the pollution and clouds to produce the most amazing sunrise! It’s hard to put into words just how stunning it was to watch all the balloons floating in an amongst the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia! All that hiking in Goreme left my legs a little weary for the three-day, 280km ride to Ankara. The distance actually worked out really well, I wasn’t forced to push myself too hard in order to get to Ankara in three cycling days (not like the trip from Tasucu to Goreme)! I’m actually really proud of my camping spot on the second night on the road on my way to Ankara! Have you ever looked at the treed areas on highway medians, or at highway interchanges and wondered what may be hiding in there? On this particular night, I was hiding in there! I found a nicely forested section at an interchange just south of Kirikkale! It really was a perfect camping spot! I was surrounded by neat rows of pine trees, and the noise from traffic dissipated as the evening wore on! I don’t know if this is weird, but camping in a place like this was on my wildcamping “bucket list.” I’ve already been able to cross off camping in an abandoned home and camping in an abandoned highway fruit stand, but have yet to cross off camping in a building still under construction. The final kilometers cycling into Ankara were a little nerve wracking. Three lanes of traffic were funneled down into two by construction, and unfortunately for me, there was no shoulder for me to cycle on. I was forced to fight to stay upright in the midst of the rest of the traffic on their way into the Turkish capital of 4.5 million. Ankara was not the most exciting place I’ve visited. It’s one of the main political and business hubs, so is not really geared towards tourists like myself. The main attraction for locals and tourists alike was/is Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s Mausoleum. Ataturk was laid to rest in a massive compound/museum near the center of the city. Ataturk remains to be a central figure in Turkish life even now, eighty some-odd years after his death! As I walked around the AnitKabir, I couldn’t help but think about what it would be like if we Canadians were to have honoured Sir John A. in the same way. I gave myself an extra day in Ankara so I would have some time to find a new rear tire. After 9000+ kilometers of loaded touring, it was long past time to get some fresh rubber on the road! I had actually noticed a decrease in traction all the way back in Naples, and that was nearly 5000 kilometers ago! As chance would have it, I stumbled upon a place called Turuncu Bisiklet in Ankara as I was actually on my way to visit the Cermodern. The proprietor was amazing. She was able to get me the exact same tire I had on the bike already, she offered me coffee and tea, she introduced me to a couple friends that dropped by, and she invited me to join her and her friends in ordering in a pide for lunch (which she refused to let me pay for). I went back to the hostel to replace my rear tire after spending nearly two hours at the bicycle shop (a fair bit of that time was spent smiling and nodding as they all talked Turkish, but occasionally I was fielded a question comparing my experiences at home to the experience of life in Turkey). Tire replacements I can do easily, but I ran into some problems the next day as I replaced my rear derailleur’s shift cable. I noticed on the way into Ankara that the cable had begun to fray - so I replaced it. It was a little tricky to replace because I don’t carry wire cutters with me - I did the best I could to cut away the steel cable with just scissors. After I had installed the new cable I realized that as I turned the crank and spun the wheel that some of the spokes in my rear wheel sounded loose. Not the end of the world, should be an easy fix, or so I thought. After I had tightened the spokes I thought were loose, I spun the wheel again and saw a very, very noticeable distortion in the wheel. I immediately got that hole in the pit of your stomach feeling. I knew that I was way over my head and I returned to Turuncu as quickly as I could. The woman from the day before was not there, but there was a man who was more than knowledgeable in fixing wheels! He was kind enough to help me out by trueing my wheel - and and servicing my rear hub before sending me off with well wishes! I pushed myself a little in order to reach Iznik in three days. I had some really bizarre weather on the way here. Leaving Ankara I had to fight amongst the traffic again, this time further complicated by rain. The rain cleared as I left the city limits, but not before stripping all the oil I had just put on my now, very dirty drivetrain. The second day I woke up to a lot of dust in the air. The dust/dirt was kicked up by a pretty strong headwind and only seemed to dissipate once the rain began in the mid-afternoon. I stopped cycling around the five hour mark, shortly after the rain stopped. I wanted to make sure I could get my tent up before it started to rain again! The third day started off cold. I climbed to the top of the first big hill of the day to find the summit socked in with clouds. I was forced to turn on my lights and go relatively slowly because I could barely see fifty meters ahead of my front wheel! Towards the end of the third day it started to rain again, not too heavily, but enough to warrant wearing a rain shell. My bright yellow rain shell also helped cars be aware of my presence on the narrow road into Iznik. I cycled through town to the lakefront but ended up missing the pansiyon I had plotted on my map. I began to slowly make my way back up the road when a man came across the street and invited me into a cafe for tea. He emphatically showed off pictures of himself and his bicycle as he pulled me into the cafe. Ali didn’t really speak English and I still don’t really speak Turkish, but we cobbled together a conversation as best we could. Long story short, he runs his own pansiyon and got me to follow him back to his house. Ali spoiled me! Not only did he give me a half off the normal price of a room for my two nights in Iznik, he also insisted on showing me around the town by bicycle the next day after serving me breakfast. I essentially was just a tag-along with his dog on his bicycle ride! We stopped to take selfies in front of the remnants of the Byzantine walls and gates, as well as the more notable churches-come-mosques. After our buildings tour we stopped in on friends that ran businesses in town. A ceramics studio (Iznik is famous for their painted tiles), an olive/olive oil store, and the local marina. I met Ali’s friend Erol, who had spent nearly 30 years in Germany but has since returned to Iznik. The three, sorry, the four of us (dog included), took a spin on the lake in Ali’s boat as well! Mmm. I managed to find some time to watch the Crankworx Rotorua Slopestyle in Memory of McGazza yesterday as well! Watching freeride mountain biking is a fun connection to life in the Sea to Sky corridor that I like to maintain. My former roommate Danika can attest to this, and my habit of occasionally forcing her to watch replays from logger sports competitions as well! Kelly McGarry (McGazza) was a professional mountain biker from New Zealand who suffered cardiac arrest while cycling a few years back. There have been one or two occasions where I have thought I might go the same way - on a bike, on this trip. Most likely due to reckless drivers, but hey, cardiac arrest could happen to anyone. Sorry if this tangent got a little dark, but I think of people like Kelly, or like the late Mike Hall, and remember how important it is to go out there to pursue the things that give you life, the things that make life good! I left Iznik this morning and arrived in Bursa this afternoon. I had the chance to walk around a little but am looking forward to walking around a little more tomorrow, then taking the ferry back across the Marmara Sea on Wednesday morning to Istanbul! Istanbul is the last stop in Turkey before cycling north to Bulgaria - time to start learning new words...