We set out on this trip with the intention of going with the flow, letting serendipity be our guide and so far, it has been all that and more. For instance, I was determined to avoid the major highways but when you have the choice of a 2 M wide shoulder of smooth asphalt as opposed to the jarring (physically and mechanically) pot-holed or cobbled back roads it is easy to throw out that ‘rule’. I was also determined to avoid the big cities but we have just spent 3 great days in Izmir (pop. 3 million) so there goes another ‘rule’. Our daily route and coming night’s lodging continue to be figured out on the fly.
But as I was saying, Izmir has been one pleasant surprise after another. The night before riding here was spent in Aliaga, a mid-sized town with a lovely seaside promenade but also home to the largest oil refinery in Turkey. We camped in a run down ‘campsite’, a really lovely setting marred by the distant industrial landscape, the ever present litter and the the dismal ‘facilities’ (toilet). We had a good ride ahead of us the following day, hoping to get into Izmir at a decent hour so we opted for the highway route. The first 10 km were smooth sailing but then the shoulder narrowed to, an often sand covered, 40 cms with a drop on the right and a steady stream of big oil tankers on our left. Claire goes into this zen-like state quite impervious to the traffic flying by 1 M away and just pedals along without a waver. I, on the other hand, was quietly freaking out. I’m acutely aware of the statistics and have always had a ‘thing’ about traffic from behind. We finally pulled over somewhat drained by the tension and heat , still about 30 km out of Izmir. Using Google Map on the smart phone we bought in Istanbul (our I-phone wouldn’t work in Europe!) we figured out a hopeful looking, back road route into town. We completely lucked out. 15 km of quiet, relatively smooth, scenic roads through fields, past a military airport – Turkey has a large standing army and a compulsory draft – and, out of the blue, we came upon an awesome bike path. Another 15 km of vehicle-free riding and we were well into the city. Jumped onto the Seabus-like ferry, crossed the bay and we were smack dab in the centre of historic Izmir. One couldn’t ask for a better bike-friendly entry to a major city.
Within 20 minutes of arrival we were met by Hakan, a good-looking, charming young biker (Claire was impressed!) who we followed through the crowded, winding streets to a tea stall in the centre of the old bazaar, teeming with life, ambience and history. Hakan was a friend of Mustafa, a Warm Showers host and ex-President of the Izmir Bicycle Assoc., through whom we were instantly connected to the local biking community. Hakan led us to Sema, an equally lovely lady (Jim was impressed!) with whom we chatted for maybe 5 minutes then she left town and we stayed in her apartment for 3 nights with only her cat for company. That same first evening, Mustafa insisted on coming by to meet us which led to a chance meeting with Pinar & Paolo, and an immediate invitation to come for dinner at their nearby flat. Pinar & Paolo are both writers/bloggers/advocates for everything cycling related. They were both gregarious, intelligent and excellent company – we had two great visits with them and would love to return the favour some time.
I recount the above as just one of the more exceptional examples of the warmth and generosity with which we’ve been received in Turkey. As Pinar explained, Turks are decendants of nomads with a tradition of respecting and receiving travellers. We have daily reminders of this tradition. BTW, for all you roadies out there, the following day we saw the end of the 6th stage of the Tour de Turkey, that Mark Cavendish, a strong sprinter won seemingly effortlessly – the nuance of bike racing leaves me baffled.
As anyone who has ever ridden mountain bike with me can attest, I get a lot of flats. I’ve continued the trend in Turkey. I’ll lay the blame with the rough back roads and cobblestone streets in towns but I’ll have to shoulder some of the blame for poor planning, lack of attention to detail and rushing under pressure (self imposed). Without going into detail of all the flats, tubes falling apart and poor decision making, we ended up today at a very low point. I had just had my second flat of the day (same tube) as we pulled into the ruins of Magnesia. Thirty minutes earlier we had been invited into a school by a local teacher and I had flatted coming into the school. As part of the repair process, she had given me an aerosol can for ‘instant’ flat repair (for cars) which ended up injecting some strange liquid into my tube that, I finally figured out, resulted in an inability for a tube patch to hold…….anyway, after multiple failed attempts and then finding out that my last tube (bought 2 days earlier) was Shraeder and wouldn’t fit my rim AND discovering that my rim was falling apart (splitting at the spoke holes and the cause of many of the flats) – I can see my biking buddies snickering at my total incompetence…you really had to have been there! Anyway, we were totally hooped….three weeks into the trip and we’re stopped dead in our tracks! And then, out of the blue, just as we were about to stick out our thumbs a group of Turkish bikers came to our rescue – a bunch (10 guys) of technicians and engineers from a manufacturing firm near Ankara. They immediately leapt into solving our dilemma (with me helplessly looking over their shoulders). An hour and a half later, after a few setbacks, much good humour and incredible patience they had my wheel back together and another rim located in a town two days ride away. After some group photos they rode off into the sunset and we continued on our way. We then camped on the grounds of a simple, but lovely lakeside restaurant…a bit wasted after a long day in the saddle in the hot sun. It was a special, and yes admittedly unorthodox way to spend our 30th wedding anniversary way but it is a day we will long remember. Now, if only the rim holds until we get to Mugla! PS – (2 days later) We made it to Mugla and problem solved!
We leave Marmaris tomorrow for the Island of Rhodes (Greece). We’ve learnt a lot about this country but we’ve really just scratched the surface of Western Turkey, the most liberal and secular, corner of the country. The young English speaking Turks we’ve met have all been well educated, are universally dismayed by the direction of their government (sound familiar) and rather pessimistic about the future. Turkey has somehow absorbed 2,000,000 Syrian refugees with enormous tolerance and we, in Canada, quibble about a few thousand more! I guess the over-arching sentiment we both share as we leave Turkey, is that we, in the overly independent, self-absorbed West have a lot to learn about hospitality….or, at least I do.
OVER THE HILL AND BEYOND 