65km, 4h20, 11663hm
Day 30, we arrived in Asia. The next two weeks we would be going east in Anatolia. All the reasons to be happy, but there was one downside
I had diarrhea from the grapes I had in the shop yesterday. I felt weak and annoyed. Still good enough to cycle but the feeling was not comfortable. Moreover, I had no appetite.
We somehow ended back on the D020 and it was the same hilly as before. The day started with a long climb.
From 22m to 212m in only a few km
On this road we saw a car with troubles. They could not close their trunk. Roger gave them one of their cords and they could fix the problem. That was nice to see...
Cycling in Asia...
View from the top of the hill
Sile and Agva were our knots on the road today
Admittedly, this is beautiful
A big descent to sea level came as we approached the Black Sea at the town Sile. One steep hill into the city to test our patience though
Welcome to Sile, one of Turkey's many Black Sea Resorts
We went all the way to the Black Sea coast where the view was magnificent!
Yes, picture time...
3300 km from home
Lunch time in Sile, we had a very tasty salmon dish with lemon. It was all I could eat with my upset stomach. We sat there for some time to relax. Roger could tell I did not look well.
Collecting stuff from my bike bags...
Then we continued. The exit out of the city was a very steep road.
We had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into. It was one steep hill after the other, every 800 meters we went uphill or downhill, always around 16 percent. I had heard from people before that the Turkish Black Sea coast was steep, but this was crazy, even for me!
The views were absolutely panoramic and reminded me of Kending in Taiwan. The resemblance is striking...
August in Turkey...
Our progress was a disaster. This up and down pattern was driving us crazy.
We noticed even the locals got annoyed by it, that's why where building a new, flatter road just a little off the coast. Where we could, we took the less steep option.
Next year this will be a good alternative to those relentlessly steep village roads
\Another big benefit, no crazy traffic here
It felt like a mental preparation for Kazakhstan...
Construction sites
Descending back to the Black Sea. In total we had more than 20 of those super steep slopes
Striking how many Dutch cars were driivng here.
We entered the town of Aga after 65km and Roger told me that he had had enough for today. I somehow also wanted to call it a day, so we ended up staying in a little guesthouse and having a meal outside. Our main conclusion of the day was: we cannot ride all of Turkey along the Black Sea coast. We need a different solution.
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