crazycycler

Page 10 of 14

Trabzon – Erzurum

The first stage with my dad brought us from the Black Sea Coast directly up in to the Anatolian mountains. The sea cried (it rained a little) when we left her and turned south. It was almost getting dark, when we reached the first high-point. After a fast downhill race, we found the remains of a house near an artificial lake, where we could hide from the winds.

On the next two days we climbed over several passes. The highest on we had to climb is 2449m up in the sky. Thanks to some cay we got on our way, we made it over the top. Up there we realized, that until we reach India, we probably will never be below 1000m again. For me it is pretty special to be in the mountains all the time. I am enjoying it exceptionally.

Now we stayed for 2 nights in Erzurum. This city has a long history due to it’s position at the silk road. Now they started to renovate some of the stuff, but sadly they don’t really seem to have a plan. We found the remains of an impressive outdoor climbing wall (probably only used once in 2010 for the lead climbing championship) as well as the ski jumping structures of the Universiade 2011. They both appear to have been only used once and than left to nature. This city could offer so much to visitors, if they just paid more attention to there infrastructure.

Trabzon

14. August 2015 / crazycycler / 1 Comment

We (my dad and me) arrived in Trabzon yesterday. Today we put our bikes together and walked through the busy streets of Trabzon. My back is getting better every day, but it still hurts a little. Tomorrow we will start our trip with a nice little pass (1900 meters above sea level). I am looking forward to a nice and adventures trip together with my dad.

The Trip Part 1

5. August 2015 / crazycycler / 0 Comments

I have some news for you, some are good others aren’t. As the title implies, I had to devide my trip into two parts. The first one has ended today in Samsun. First the good news: I am completly well, only some small bruises on my back. Now the bad news. I had a crash with a car. The accident destroyed my bike and therefore my possibilities to travel. After two days of rest and thinking about all my possibilities, I chose to fly back home. Now I am going to buy a new bike, get some rest and I will fly back to turkey on the 13th of August together with my father.

It is sad, that I can’t continue my trip as I planed. The most important thing is, that I am fine. I am such a lucky guy. Thanks for all the support and help I got during my trip and after the accident. Now I am looking forward to the second part of my trip with my father.

Nationalpark near Ilgaz

1. August 2015 / crazycycler / 0 Comments

After four days of cycling with a Belgian guy, we split up because I wanted to climb a pass and go hiking and he preferred the more direct route to the black sea. But we are both looking forward to meet again somewhere on the beach.

The park is mostly a ski resort, but there are some hiking trails as well. Because I wasn’t sure where I am allowed to set up my tent, I asked the staff from the Hotel. They gave me the answer I was hoping for: “Everywhere, we don’t care.” So I took my bike and rode to the chairlift station and put up my tent inside it. What a great camping spot. After a good night sleep and a lazy morning, I put on my sandals and started my little hike. The view from the top of the hill was absolutely amazing. I was sad to see, that they never finished and never will finish the hotel on the top. It could have been such a nice place to stay. I got the feeling that maybe 5 years ago they ran out of spare money to invest in the infrastructure of the park. The hiking trails were once perfectly in shape. But now I had sometimes difficulties to find them, because they were overgrown and the storms threw trees all over it. But nevertheless I had a great time exploring the nature and in the end I found my way back home to my tent.

Kilometerstand: 3176

Istanbul

31. Juli 2015 / crazycycler / 0 Comments

Da ich Istanbul mit meiner Familie schon vor einem Jahr besucht hatte, musste ich nichtmehr jede Touristenattraktion aufsuchen. So genoss ich die Tage mit Lesen, Entspannen und mit Leute beobachten. Dies war genau das, was ich nach einer so langen Reise benötigte. Auch fand ich so Zeit mein Fahrrad wieder zu reparieren bzw. die Velowerkstatt vom Decathlon.

Diese Stadt ist ganz besonders. Sie ist viel lebendiger als die andern Städte, die ich auf meiner Tour bisher beradelt hatte. Die Energie, der Lärm, der Geschmack und die Stimmung, alles war speziell aber schön. Ein besonderes Erlebnis möchte ich euch an dieser Stelle noch schildern. Ich hatte gerade eine Portion Börek und einen Ayran gekauft und war auf der Suche nach einer Parkbank, als ich von einer Familie auf English angsprochen wurde: „Can you tell us, where we find the Grand Basar?“ „Evet, follow the street up, then turn right. After 100m there is the Grand Basar“, antwortet ich in gebrochenem English/Türkisch. „Where are you from?“, fragte ich neugierig (ich wusste die Antwort aber bereits 😛 ). „We are from Switzerland.“, informierten mich die Berner. „Vo wo gnau?“, hakte ich auf Schweizerdeutsch nach. Erste jetzt viel ihnen auf, dass ich gar kein Türke sondern auch Tourist war. Alle mussten lachen.