Tayakadin to ISTANBUL!!! 20 July

Not the best night's sleep with heavy tricks going by nearby, dogs barking and the heat. We packed up tent and left after breakfast. There were no fewer than 15 dogs on the road back through Tayakadin. We were on Highway 20 which went through a range of roads. We rode through a new housing development where the road was really rough and the air foul, then onto a piece of new six-lane motorway which seemed to start and stop in the middle of nowhere. Turned off and rode through industrial area and then through forest. It also appeared to be used as the local unofficial rubbish dump, all sorts of stuff on the roadsides. It was fairly hilly all day. Stopped for a cold drink after 35 ks at a go-kart track. Then we had a steep 17% gradient climb
for 150 metres in a small town and rode through more forest up and down till the Bosphorus. Rode under a couple of restored Roman aqueducts. The road was good, and the last 4ks were downhill. We rode along beside the Bosphorus till we got to our ferry. The official finish line was at this point. We had successfully crossed the continent!!

We had a cup of chai while waiting for everyone to arrive. There were hugs and congratulations all round before we boarded the ferry and had a lovely one hour trip down the river to our hotel. It was a relaxing way to ginish our ride without having to deal with traffic. Saw some beautiful homes. Landed at Orkatoy, then we had a five minute walk to our hotel, where we showered and changed out of cycling lycra for the near future.
Packed up our bikes into boxes ready for their trip home.
At 7 got a taxi to the restaurant for our final dinner and slide presentation. Theresa had assembled a collage of photos which reminded us of all the places we had been in the last seven weeks. We have come a long way and spent a lot of time together. Had a wonderful time and
met some really lovely people.

So farewell from Istanbul!!!

Saray to Tayakadin. 19 July.

After a night of traffic and dogs and people noise, louder because we slept with the window open, we were woken at 4.48 by the Call to Prayer. Lovely fresh bread for breakfast, as well as meusli and meat, cheese, olives, etc.
We left at seven and immediately hit the rolling hills with fields of sunflowers (again) and wheat, then a long time riding through scrub which appeared to be cut for firewood. At 9am it was 27 degrees. The route was on Highway 20 for the day, but traffic was light and the road surface good.
We stopped at for chai at a little village. The men were all sitting out - it was not even 9am. There was a man there who was German and said to Rita he spends summer in Turkey and winter in Germany. He asked about our adventure and after we left would have told the locals
the story.
The lunch stop was at 50ks, slightly fresher bread than usual! The scenery was steeper rolling hill country, then up and down along a long ridge to the camp site. We saw the Black Sea again, and rode slowly towards it. The signs showed we were getting closer to Istanbul.
There were a number of lovely, large houses in some of the villages, complete with swimming pools - they and many other houses were surrounded by high razor-wire topped fences. We arrived at the little town of Tayakadin at 2.30. It was bustling with men, dogs and large trucks. There is major road construction nearby and there were endless numbers of trucks going back and forth.
We stopped at a petrol station and has a cold drink. There were about eight of us, and the staff got out a table and chairs for us so we had a picnic in the forecourt! When we left the young lad there said "busy road, very dangerous, be careful" Camp was on the outskirts of the town. It was a picnic area, so had toilets - squat with a bucket to flush. There was a bucket shower rigged up. So we put up our tent for the last time, freshened up and sat at the little shop under a large umbrella. After dinner, which was chicken kebabs and salads, we had baklava. Then we received our Tour cycling shirts, to wear on our final day. It was a lovely warm evening, and we sat around admiring the red sunset.
Distance was 90ks in 4hours 56. Ave. 18.

Kirklareli to Saray

We breakfasted in the hotel, with meusli supplied by the tour company, and all left on a group ride out of town at 7.30. There were lots of waves from friendly locals as we rode by. At the outskirts of town there was a big military base with soldiers everywhere. John had a puncture after only 3ks on his back wheel which had had two flats on Wednesday, our last riding day. So he changed both new tyre and tube,which seemed to do the job. It was a short riding day, so lunch was at10.30 after 45ks. We stopped after 30ks for a cold drink of limonata,a local drink which tasted a bit like a cold lemsip! The scenery was really lovely, at first through grasslands with the occasional shepherd or goatherd out watching his flock, then lots of sunflowers and wheat fields. The terrain was rolling hills, so was a pleasant variety of ups and downs to cycle on. It was 27 degrees at 10am.
After lunch we cycled on through a few towns. When we go through we certainly attrach attention - it is school holidays so there are children out and about and lots of men sitting around. We stopped at Chakala where we had a cold drink. The market was on so we wandered

through, creating a lot of interest, especially from the children. We bought a bag of sweets and gave them a lolly scramble. They all said "hello" and "what's your name" without really knowing what it meant! Many of the women were dressed in black from headscarf to toe. We certainly stood out as being different, but people were friendly, many saying "welcome to our country" The locals then gave us fresh honey melon and chocolates. John had a young lady say hello to him, then introduce him to her mother and grandmother. Liz was waiting on her to propose! However that was probably the only English she knew.

We cycled with Manom, Graeme and Nicole. Then it was only 10ks till our overnight stop in Saray, where we arrived at 12.30. We are getting closer now to our destination, with the signs for Istanbul counting down every 10ks or so from 170 to 120 today. Our hotel, the Sezen Otel, is very nice and clean. We are in one of the refurbished rooms. It has wireless but no air conditioning.

As the afternoon progressed it got warmer and warmer. We spent a while watching the Tour de France, trying to find somewhere to stay cool. Dinner was at 7pm in the carpark, nicely cooked steak, chickpeas and tabouleh. Then a large group of us wandered down to the nearby park to eat baklavah and drink chai. It was a lovely, warm, still evening. We were back at the hotel by our usual nine o'clock bedtime. Our room is on the third floor, there are no lifts. It is very noisy outside with trucks going past on the highway, dogs barking, people talking. The mosque is nearby so we will hear the early morning call. As it is so warm we have our windows wide open and have sprayed ourselves with insect repellant.

None of the windows anywhere in hotels in Europe that we have stayed at have had any type of safety device/lock/barrier to stop them from being opened and people from falling out, no matter what floor you are on. We constantly see things that would never be permitted under our Health and safety regulations.
It is now 9.30 and starting to get dark. Tomorrow we have a hilly 90ks of riding and a bush camp, before we reach Istanbul.
Today we covered 76ks in 3 hours 47 mins. Average was 19.9km. It hardly felt like a day's worth of riding!

Kirklareli. Rest day. 17 July.

Woken at 4.39 by the call to prayer broadcast from the local mosque. Breakfast in the hotel restaurant was the usual fare of fresh bread, goats cheese, tomato, olives, cucumber and sliced meat.
We went for a wander at 9.30 to an Internet cafe then had morning tea of Turkish coffee and baklava at one of the many cafes. There are a lot of men sitting around everywhere, in cafes or on the street outside shops, lots of barber shops - a real man's world! Lots of young guys on scooters, dogs lying in the sun, horse or donkey drawn carts trundling through the streets among the cars. A large number of cellphone shops, but no evidence of young people with iPods at all. Dogs roam around the streets but know how to keep out of trouble. The hotel is right beside the main pedestrian shopping area so is very close and handy. John cleaned the bikes, then we went for lunch with Alan to one of the nearby restaurants. We had fresh bread served with a stiff yoghurt, tomato salad, and meat balls. Meat balls are a speciality of this region.
It was a very pleasant temperate of around 30 today.
After lunch we had a siesta for a couple of hours, then went for another wander around the streets. Bought about a kilo of fresh Turkish delight and returned to the hotel to share it with others while sitting on the balcony having a beer. At 6.30 we went to dinner nearby with Jos, Carl and Rita, and Alan. Similiar fare as to lunch, with different meat. A request for duck saw chicken wings delivered to some! It is a bit of a lucky dip to ask for specific foods sometimes!
Meals are all accompanied with large slices of very fresh crusty white bread and greasy french fries. A beautiful evening, we sat up on the third floor with large opening windows. Returned to the hotel at 9 and headed for bed. Our room has orange walls and carpet which might have been the same colour once but now is a dirty dull pink, with many stains and cigarette burns. Feet go
straight into jandals to avoid touching the floor! We are one of the lucky rooms with airconditioning, so don't have to sleep with the windows open - it is very noisy outside.
Only 220 kilometers to Istanbul, we are nearly at the end of our journey.

Malko Tarnovo to Kirklareli. 16 July.

Slept well, John on his super firm wire base bed and Liz on her's with the hollow sag. The dormitory building is used by construction workers in the summer and school children in the winter. A good night's sleep until 4am when the skies were brilliantly lit up and we had sound effects to accompany! The wind had started around ten pm and it had got cloudier, so we knew there was a storm brewing and hoped it would happen before morning. Torrential rain, and the temperature dropped. So hope that is all for the next five days.
Began to get light at 5am, accompanied by roosters crowing and dogs barking. Got up at six, breakfast was at 6.30. John mended his first flat tyre. We set off at 7am, with the temperature a cool 13 degrees. It was up and up and up, straight into a 11km climb on a rough road to the border, through forested hill country. For the first time in weeks we had jackets on, it was 13 degree when we started.
We were checked out of Bulgaria and moved through the Green Zone to the Turkish Customs. Australians paid €15 to get their visa, Canadians €45 but NZers are free. So we waited in line for a stamp on our passport for 1\2 hour, then we were all processed and ready to go.
One more stop to have the passport checked, and up hill again for a few more ks before descending. There were major roadworks underway and the road was very muddy so we had to take care. Once out of the forest area we rode up and down through scrubby hill country, with lots of rocks and scrub. It was a easamt view over the hill tops. There were a lot of places where roadworks were underway.
The first town after the border provided us with Turkish coffee, Turkish delight, and baklava. The shop owner came over to be in the photo, then produced his business card with email address to send a photo to. John had another flat tyre to change. There was a food stop after 35ks, at which four young police turned up to sit and watch us. The temperature climbed up to reach a pleasant 27 by lunchtime.
Then it was up and down hill all the way. There was one 3.5km downhill on an excellent road surface. We arrived in town at 1.20 and easily found our hotel. John had one local say "welcome to our country" as he cycled past. There was a policeman waiting at the street corner to show us the hotel. Showered and changed, we went for a stroll. The hotel is in the centre of town, there are about 80000 people here. It is mostly pedestrian area with narrow streets. Full range of clothing from latest Western fashion to women wearing burkas. A huge number of stores selling gold jewellery. Lots of Turkish food outlets, selling pastries and wraps and other traditional foods. Came back for a siesta, then went for a drink with Alan. At seven we were all collected by bus to go to a municipal reception. We were shown a number of restored Greek wine merchants homes from the early 1900s. This is a local tourism initiative. Then we went to a restaurant for a meal and reception provided by the mayor and deputy mayor. It was a delicious meal, soup and main course of chicken and rice with vegetables, in a very nice restaurant, with gypsy music for entertainment. It was very much appreciated that the city put on a civic reception and dinner for us all. They are working very hard to get more tourism here. Then we all walked back to our hotel, and retired to bed at 10.30.

The hotel is very tired. The lifts are interesting, they have only an outside door so you need to keep back off the wall as you move through the floors. We are on the fifth floor and have an air con unit,which most people do not have. Though double glazed, there is a lot of noise through the windows.

It was a short ride today of 50ks in 2 hours 42 mins, at an average of 18.3.

Aheloy to Malko Tarnovo. 15th July.

We left Aheloy at 7.15am and headed along the Highway 9 towards Burgas. It was cool at the beginning, but soon started to warm up. The highway was busy, but it was a good road. There was not much to see along the way, although we were near the coast, and the air was very dirty. There are so many developments underway, must be a lot of money being invested in tourism in Bulgaria. It was a flat ride for the first 30 ks.
Burgas was a busy city, with very little to recomend it. It was dusty, noisy and the air was very dirty. We rode straight through the city. We turned off to Highway 98 and at 50ks met the lunch truck. This part of the journey was undulating, through grasslands with not much to see but grassland, and a nice view back to the city. Then we hit the real hills! The road was through forested area, with some long climbs, and the temperature reaching 38 degrees with little wind. We certainly drank a lot of water, (John finished off over six bottles) which by this time was getting warm. We only found one place to buy more water, a tiny little petrol station shop which didn't sell much at all.
During the day we saw some road kill - a number of snakes and a hedgehog, as well as live critters - including a small black turtle and locusts. We do not see or hear many birds in the forest areas.
We rode with Manon, Graeme, Alan, Garis and Nicole. Graeme was not feeling very well so we were happy to go slowly and wait for him to catch us up.
We were very pleased to reach our destination at 1.30pm, staying in a dormitory block, which would have been worn-out when it was built in the 1950s! We have a toilet with leaking cistern which is up high so it drips over the seat, the toilet is so close to the wall you have to sit sideways on it, a shower without rose head so you get a 20mm flow of not quite freezing cold water.... The beds are clean, fortunately. However 200 metres up the road is a pool and bar complex at which we sat for a few hours in the afternoon. John also had a snooze for an hour. Dinner was chicken, potato salad and cabbage, then back to the bar for a coffee and iceceeam.
A long day in the hot sun. We started at sea level, and did 900 metres of vertical climbing. We finished at 300 metres above sea level, and there were only three steep descents during the day, so most of the day was spent on long, gradual climbs.
Travelled 103km in 5 hours 28 mins. Average at lunchtime was 20.5, but average for the whole day was 18.6.

Varna to Aheloy. 14 July.

We breakfasted in our room, having purchased muesli and milk yesterday. Though included in the room rate, hotel breakfasts of meat and cheese do not do the job of setting us up for a day of cycling.Less than a week to go; 5 cycling days and one more rest day. The end is in sight! It will be strange to get back into normal life again after weeks of being in our own community. We will miss some of the people whom we have come to know really well, spending all day every day for seven weeks together with them. Sun up as usual nice and early, light by 5am. Yet another sunny day with cloudless sky.

We left Varna at 7.45 in convoy. Over a large bridge then up a 12k hill for starters. Rejoined Highway 9 on which we then stayed all day. It was a lovely road surface to ride on. A hilly day, lunch was at 60ks and then a 26km climb! We climbed a total of 1400 metres today. Most of the day was through forest area. There was an accident between two cars before lunch which we came upon.We went into Nessebar which is an up and coming tourist area with huge numbers of new developments. It is also the site of a 5th century Roman and Greek port, but gelato stalls have taken over. However we had a lovely break sitting on a floating dock at a restaurant having a cold drink and sharing a pizza. We were with Manon and Graeme and Nicole all day.

The whole coastline is being developed with hundreds of apartment blocks as tourism increases to Bulgaria and the Black Sea. We then travelled on to our hotel about 11ks up the highway. We were very happy to find a pool at the hotel at which we could swim and relax. Then after dinner a musical entertainment began. So there was dancing and singing until late. The music was excellent and we had a great time, John and Jos even sang a number or two. All in all a great day. We travelled 111ks in 5hours 57 mins, averaging 18.8.