38. 09/08/2017: Chilling in Samsun with our new Serbian friend Alex

Garmin Activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2247879770

26km, 1h47, 35hm

Hotel Konaks. We had a nice breakfast here.

Interesting to see how the dining hall was virtually empty. At this time of the year that is just absurd. All because of one man and his nationalistic policies. I felt sorry for the local businessmen.

We had to go to the bike shop to revise the bikes once more, not everything was 100% and I wanted things to be perfect for when I would be cycling alone. As we were waiting for the shop to open, we met another bike packer. His name is Alex and he is from Serbia. His cycling goal was to cycle from Belgrade to Baku. It sounded like I have a new travel buddy for Georgia.

My bike got a new chain, but more importantly new tires. The shop had Schwalbe Marathon World tires in 40mm with some grip pattern. They are a bit smaller than my 45mm tires, but more versatile for rougher surface in Asia.

Flat protection level 7, the best I could get. I HAD to get these tires NOW.

His travel buddy. Only thing I did not like was the absence of disc brakes

He was on a more tight schedule than I was, so we would not be cycling all of the itinerary together, but the segment in Turkey was doable.

We somehow decided that we wanted to chill today and recover a little. After all, we have been cycling for 4100 km. Was not a bad idea.

We had lunch near the bike shop and then we cycled through the city of Samsun.

Black Sea beach

Cycling lanes

I learnt that Samsun is the name of an Ancien Greek warrior

We took pictures and went to a local bar for a drink





What I did not like was that our Serbian friend was too budget minded, he could not spend anything and was giving us a hard time about it.

The Great Samsun

And two great cyclists that came from afar.

After the drink it was already late in the afternoon, we cycled to the other side of the city

We found a nice spot with this view. We sat here for a while to relax. Alex did have money to buy cigarettes and beer which is very expensive in Turkey. Where a man puts his priorities...

I guess everyone just has their own way of living, it's all good. Alex is a good guy who has had a rough life. Coming out on this bike trip is still a very nice achievement! 

In the end we stayed at a camp spot just outside of the city Samsun. Only 25 km this day but we let our bodies recover.. For Roger, the trip was coming to its end. Only three more cycling days left to Trabzon. All of it along the Black Sea.