In Istanbul, the end of the road

Here is a follow up to my last cryptic post, sorry for the delay. There is just so must to do in this city!

Wow, I can't believe it has already been a week since we arrived in Istanbul. Our last ride day was as all last days should be, epic, intense and amazing.

We left camp early on the morning of August 23rd for our ride into Istanbul. There was a sense of excitement and impatient anticipation from the group as we had breakfast in the parking lot of a nearby gas station (we had to leave camp early before the boss of our site arrived as his employees hadn't asked permission for us to stay). The ride into the outskirts of Istanbul was fast, fun and uneventful as we rode through the final villages before merging onto the main highway into the booming metropolis of Istanbul and the urban sprawl leading up to the city. We left the small highway for the huge 6 lane highway and that is where the fun/chaos started.

As we approached the mega highway, we caught our first glimpses of the sea. Although there was lots of traffic and it was the busiest road we had ridden on yet, we had a nice shoulder and the cars and trucks gave us plenty of room. As we got closer and closer to the city, the chaos increased. On one stretch of the highway we hit an amazing downhill at the same time as we reached a stretch with multiple merging and exit lanes. This was the type of riding we sometimes referred to as video game mode and required full attention as well as some quick maneuvering. Despite the craziness, it was a blast!

At this point, due to speed and traffic, pods got split up and re-grouped. All was well until (we were NOT involved) a car accident occurred just to the left of us. This was the last straw (not everyone was loving the highway) for a couple of the riders and we decided to pick an alternate route. With the help of an amazing local on a motorcycle, we found an alternate route to our destination through small neighbourhoods along the sea. Omer, the man on the motorcycle, escorted us to the meeting spot with our host and then took us out for fish sandwiches.

Once at our Istanbul accommodation, a camp for disabled children and their families, we waited for the others to arrive. Within an hour we were all reunited and after exchanging stories, the celebrations commenced.

We spent the next two days wrapping up our tour with workshops and activities and then said our goodbyes. Happily, many of us are still in the city for a while longer and we have been exploring the city together. Many are couch surfing and I am sharing a hostel room with fellow riders, Jake and Charles.

So far exploring has included markets, Mosques, walking streets, lots of eating and just generally taking in the sites of this vibrant city.

Istanbul!!! We made it!

We made it safe and sound! (more later when internet available)

Into Turkey, via Greece!

Greetings from Vize, Turkey, a small town 150 kilometres from Istanbul. In less than 48 hours, we will be riding into Istanbul, our final destination. It is hard to grasp that in two more riding days our tour is finished. I can't quite wrap my head around the fact that I have cycled across Europe, crazy!

We arrived in Turkey yesterday afternoon, which was definitely an amazing experience in itself. On our way to Turkey from Bulgaria, we decided to take a detour, through Greece! As Greece was never on our itinerary, it was an especially amazing ride. My pod (riding group for the day) and I entered Greece on a high, excited with our day's adventures which included not one, but two border crossings. Highlights while in Greece included, an amazing lunch, getting lost and getting directions from a cafe full of little old Greek men, none of whom spoke English.

After crossing the Greek/Turkish border, we immediately noticed the difference of the sights and sounds of the land. Colourful, a bit hectic and very obviously Muslim, with the sounds of the call to prayer and Mosques in even the smallest villages. Highlights of yesterday's ride in Turkey included riding in traffic in a busy city (practice for Istanbul) and the amazingly friendly people waving at us, feeding us and helping us find somewhere to sleep.

Today's ride, though beautiful, was a hard one. We fought strong headwinds all day and even riding downhill was hard work. It felt as if an invisible hand was pushing against us all day, whew! Here's hoping for a easier day tomorrow.

Two more sleeps till Istanbul!

The Plague! (okay, it's not that bad!)

With only 5 ride days to Istanbul, (What! Five! Crazy!) we riders seem to have picked now to get sick. One by one, we've passed the illness around. For the last week, not a day has gone by without a rider in the car due to illness. The day before yesterday, it was my turn.

I woke up in the morning dizzy with a fever and decided it was a good day to hang out with Phil in the car again. After a four hour nap I felt a bit better and yesterday morning decided to get back on the bike. As luck would have it, the day I rode in the car was 80 km of mostly downhills and some flats. One group did the ride in three hours and everyone agreed it was an easy day. Yesterday morning, I was only a little dizzy, and decided to ride regardless and see how far I could get. I rode with the group carrying the emergency phone, just in case.

Thirty kms into the ride, nausea hit, but I decided to keep on going, stopping for breaks as needed. Ironically, I felt better on the bike then when stopped. Then we rode up into an amazing mountain range, climbing up, up, up and still further up. The view was amazing! 40km or so of climbing and then riding along the mountain range followed by an amazing downhill.

All was well until we stopped for a drink break. It was as if in those ten minutes, the day caught up to me. I had hit the wall. I thought of stopping and getting a pick up, but we were less than 30kms from our destination. Those last 30 km, with 3 killer up-hills, were a struggle. I think I rode them on will power alone. Finally, one last downhill into the town Kardzhali, our final destination for the day.

Happily, today is a day off. One more day to put the dizzy behind me and prepare for the last five days of riding. Turkey, here we come!

On the way to Sofia

The Bulgarian "Alps"

Greetings from Svog, a small town 40 north of Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria. Yesterday was a beautiful ride through the mountains with plenty of stops for photos and even a little cave exploration. At the end of the day when we reached town, we arrived to find we had another mountain to climb to our accommodation. After riding the 6 kilometres up the steepest hill yet we arrived only to find we had more climbing! This time, through muddy trails on the side of the mountain. What a way to end the day! After much struggling and sweating, we made it to our beautiful mountain side accommodation. Now, on to Sofia!
















Bike portaging!

Life in a small mountain town

Spent the day off in the small town of Belogradchik today. It was a relaxing day of sleeping in, coffee in the local cafe, general laziness and exploring the local (amazing!!!) red rock formations.

Tomorrow we head for the hills and I expect the next 10 days in Bulgaria will be a lot of climbing. So far Bulgaria is beautiful. The only down side so far are the CRAZY flies that swarmed us will riding. Those suckers can fly up to 20 kms per hour! This basically means will you are riding up hill, you have the company of 20 - 100 flies. This is crazy making!

Wish me luck with the mountains, more later.


















Our beautiful camping spot

Bulgaria (country number 10!)

I am in Bulgaria in a small town called Belogradchik. It is our second night in Bulgaria and it has already been a memorable stay.

Yesterday afternoon, after crossing the border, we were meet by the police who escorted us to our accomodation. Imagine 20 cyclists riding into town following a police car, with our support vehicle taking up the rear. I felt like we were either criminals, or rockstars. We arrived at our accomodation, a puplic park on the Danube, next to a castle and just inside the old city walls. Our friendly Vidin police officers extended the escort and spent the night. We woke up to police tape surrounding our campsite (no, I'm not kidding), and felt rather like animals on display. All very amusing.

After a tour of the castle, we left Vidin for Belogradchik. It was a beautiful ride UP into the mountains, a taste of what is to come for our ride through Bulgaria, lots of climbing and then more climbing.

We in Belogradchik for two nights and then it is off to the Bulgarian "Alps". Thirteen days till Istanbul!

Day off in Belgrade, Serbia

Hello from Belgrade, Serbia!

We have been in Serbia for several days now, after quickly passing through Croatia. We were only in Croatia for one day, but the country left a good impression with its friendly people and beautiful scenery. We spent the night in Vukovar, a city heavily hit in the war. Much has been rebuilt, but there were many places in the cities and towns we rode through where evidence of the war still remains. Bombed building now vacant, and the sides of buildings riddled with bullet holes. Crossing into Croatia and then into Serbia, we had our first official border crossings with customs officers. It was quite a sight to see our riders with our bikes in line for the border crossing with all the cars! We had heard rumors that the crossing into Serbia could be long and slow because of burocracy, but we sailed through without even a question of where we were going and how long we would be in the country.

The people in Serbia have also been incredibly friendly. As we ride down the highway, divers from both directions honk and wave. When we've needed directions, people are happy to help and many speak very good English. The city of Belgrade is very busy and hectic and a little overwhelming after spending so much time in small villages and towns. Last night we went out to a strip of clubs along the river where there is a vibrant night life, even on a Monday night.

From here, we have one more night in Serbia before crossing into Romania. We will be there for three nights and then we will be in Bulgaria. (I hear that's where they've been hiding the mountains!!) It is hard to believe that we will be at our destination in less than 3 weeks!

Back in the saddle

I am happy to report that I am riding again! Yesterday I cycled over 100km with little difficulty. What a relief! I imagine my knee will continue to experience a far bit of pain, but if there is no more injury, I am happy.

We are now in Slovakia, in a small village near the city of Brataslava. We are only in Slovakia for one night; today we ride into Hungary, country number 6!

Riding in the car, on a bike tour?

The last week has been especially challenging for me. A few days ago, we had our longest ride day yet, 132kms. Although the day we long, with lots of hills and a very late arrival to our destination at 11pm, ironically, the challenges really began the next day on an easy 30km day.

We had all made it through the longest day of the tour thus far and were in high spirits. We had tackled a challenging day, had an easy day ahead of us and were staying at an amazing artist centre (CESTA) in the city of Tabor. The next day should have been a breeze; we joked that at 30kms, it was practically a day off. 6 kilometres into the ride, however, on a tiny hill, my knee gave way. I continued pedaling up the hill, trying to convince myself that it was fine, but it obviously wasn’t. Perhaps the previous day’s ride was catching up to me, or maybe it a culmination of the over 1000 kms ridden on the tour so far. In any event, it was time to stop riding for a little while.

For the last 4 riding days I have been riding with Phil in our support vehicle, trying to be patient with the fact that I haven’t been able to ride. After taking a few days off, I hope to be riding again the day after tomorrow, our day off in Vienna.

To add to the obstacle of my knee injury, I seem to have come down with a feverish, fluish, illness. After sleeping most of the day, I am feeling a bit better but I have elected to stay in tonight instead of going out on the town with the group.
It has been disappointing trying to come to terms with the fact that there will be a hole in my trip. I try and tell myself that in a 4000km bike tour, to miss 5 days doesn’t mean I will not successfully complete the tour, but it is disappointing nonetheless.

I am crossing my fingers that I will be able to ride with relatively no problems for the rest of the tour. Here’s hoping.

One Big Happy

Let me introduce you to my summer family. There are 23 of us: 20 riders, 1 support crew (driving our car) and 2 doc crew members. We are 21 Canadians, and 2 Americans between the ages of 20 and 33 (yes, I'm the 'senior'). Some of us are students, some professionals, some in-between and figuring out their next steps. Between us, we have a diverse group, from poli-science students, to rocket engineers, to filmmakers. Some of us had met before, but for the most part we are getting to know each other now, living and riding together 24/7. The group has gotten closer and closer as we face new challenges, share experiences and work out conflicts as they occur. I have been thrilled with the openness, humor and support I have received from the various members of the group thus far.

Bike and people friendly traffic lights in East Germany

Detmold, Germany

Riding on Cobblestone

Munster, Germany

The Road to Prague (You call that a @#$%*!& bike route?!?)

Hello from the Czech Republic!

Yesterday we rode 120kms into the city of Prague (Praha). The day started as all others, pack up tent, eat breakfast, make lunch, get route directions and head out in your riding pod for the day. The first leg was fairly uneventful, after riding a rough bit of the bike route, full of mud and stones, our group elected to take the highway as far as we could into Prague. Other than a flat tire which delayed us for half an hour, we were making good time. Making good time, that is, until about 40 km outside Prague. From that point it all went downhill (and UPhill!).

We were cruising along the highway in what we thought was the right direction. The wind was picking up and the hills were increasing, but we were still going at a good rate. It was then that we realized that we were off our route. We had somehow missed our turnoff and were now heading west instead of south. By the time we realized this, we had gone about 6 kms uphill and in order to get back on track, we needed to go up another 5-6 km uphill. All in all, about 20 kms was added to our route, arrrgg!

We continued into Prague. 25 km from the city, as the highways multiplied in both number and volume of traffic, we decided to take the designated bike route along the river the rest of the way into Prague. We had heard about the well established bike routes and had a mapbook to refer to as well.

Well, it started off great. A paved, wide path along the river. Scenic, direct, relaxed and awesome! Or so we thought.... 5 km into the route the path became gravel. Not as good as paved, but no problem, we could rock it. Another kilometer in however, gravel made way for a narrow single track trail through the grass on very bumpy hard packed mud. Less than ideal, but we'd suck it up. Then, we rounded a corner, and now our trail through the grass became a full on mountain biking, cross-country trail, over roots and stones, through stinging nettle and at the very edge of the river! WTF! You call that a touring bike path? The trail would have been a lot of fun with my mountain bike, but keep in mind that we were all on road bikes with 40 lbs of gear in our panniers! Crazy! Well, we got through this crazy stretch, like a bunch of troopers and the only casualties were my front fender which got totally destroyed and our bare arms and legs which got stung from the stinging nettle. By the time we got through that section of trail, we were all slightly stunned, adrenaline pumping and cursing the fool who thought that a trail like that should be put in a guide book for touring cyclists.

After that ordeal, we stopped to get directions from a Czech couple who told us the rest of the trail into Prague was much better than the one we had just ridden. With only 14 kms to go and a new sense of hope, we headed off again. False hope. The next section was only marginally better! Arrrgg! And then another flat tire!

At this point it was starting to get late. We got off the trail as soon as possible, figuring that being lost on the road, was much better than navigating more crazy bike trails in the coming darkness. Finally, after cycling up another HUGE hill, and getting directions from some helpful locals, we found the rest of the group in our accommodation for the next couple of nights.

After some hugs, a shower and dinner, the days adventures became another good story to share with the group, but I can't lie, I am soooo happy the next day was a day off!

The Hills have Arrived!

Greetings from Eastern Germany. Today is a day off after four days of riding. The riding has gotten more intense since leaving the Netherlands, both in distance and in terrain. Over the last four days we have cycled almost 400 kilometres and have exchanged the flat land of Holland for the rolling hills of this region of Germany. Two days ago I had my first really hard day, with low energy, poor weather and tough hills over the course of the 110 kms ridden that day. Yesterday, however, was amazing despite a flat tire (my first of the tour), lots of rain and 11 hours on the road.

Today we spend our day off in Hecklingen, just south west of Strassfurt. It is a day to catch up on sleep, do laundry, check email and do odd errands. Access to the internet has been a lot more difficult to find then I had expected; internet cafes are not very common in the area so we have to rely on free wireless and the use of one of the three laptops brought by the riders.

Tomorrow we head southeast for 5 days of 100km rides and within a week we will be in The Czech Republic. I will enjoy my lazy day today before heading out on the next leg of the journey.

On the Base in Ede

Well, today's accommodation is the most interesting, and I think the best yet. We are staying in an army base in Ede, The Netherland. After a 55 km ride from Utrecht, we arrived at the army base where I arranged accommodation for us thanks to my friend Rene, to find an entire building at our disposal. We are staying in army barracks complete with army lockers and narrow beds in neat, military rows. There is enough room to store our bikes inside and there are clean washrooms and towels. We are hardly roughing it here! What a great way to end a long day of riding.

Tomorrow, the real riding begins with our first 90 km day...

First few days… (85 kms ridden)

I write this from our second stop, Utrecht, Netherlands. The first few days of the tour have been great. The group is starting to gel, we’ve had great luck with accommodations and have met great, friendly people along the way.

The first day of orientation was in at a campsite in Amsterdam. The group met for the first time as a whole. Right away the vibe was friendly and excited. The next day was spent in the city on the way to our next campsite just south of Amsterdam. Both sites were great with showers, good people watching and friendly staff.

Today’s ride to Utrecht was one of the most beautiful rides I have ever done. We cycled through the Dutch countryside, along canals, through small towns, fields and even by a castle! Tonight we are staying in Utrecht with a guy named Sam in a “converted” office building (I think we may be squatting). We have access to the whole building, with plenty of room for sleeping, hanging out and storing bikes. Tomorrow we meet with a microcredit group and then we’re off to the next town, Ede.

Amsterdam – Pre-tour

The two days I spent in Amsterdam were awesome! Highlights include staying with Drae’s amazing Aunt Hanneke who showed me around the city, beautiful neighbourhoods, an amazing vegetarian restaurant, walking along the canals and bikes, bikes, everywhere! Hanneke was the perfect person to stay with. She was so welcoming, treating me like family and she was a lot of fun to hang out with.

A couple observations about biking in Amsterdam…. First of all, everyone does it! Kids, adults, men in business suits, women in dresses and high heels, parents with 1 to 3 kids on their bikes; it is amazing. Second, the city is SO bike friendly, in fact, in many places, bikes have the right of way and there are bike paths all over the city. Cycling is just part of the culture here.

Bikes in Amsterdam are great! (and everywhere)

Me and Elan arrive in Amsterdam

my Elan and I

I think it is time I introduced my travel compainion to you. Elan is everything you could want in a travel companion: reliable, strong, willing to work hard and good looking too. Who is this Elan fellow you ask? Elan is my bicyle! The Brodie Elan is a new model by Brodie, a Canadian bike company, and it is the model myself and many of my human companions will be riding this summer. For those of you who are bike geeks like me, the Elan is a full cromoly steel touring frame with drop bar shifting and a full Shimano component set. For the rest of you, my bike is strong enough to carry me and a lot of gear, has a frame geometry that is comfortable for long rides and has a range of gears that will get me up and over mountains.

Elan and I head out for our adventure tomorrow!

Check out my bike at: http://www.brodiebikes.com/2009/bikes/elan.php

The Final Countdown

Only a few more days before I head to Europe to start the summer’s adventures. I am currently away at a teaching conference in Florida (woo hoo!) which has been amazing though it is crazy in terms of timing as I get back to Vancouver Tuesday night and leave for Europe on Thursday afternoon.

Then last few months have flown by. I have been busy not only with school, but also with preparing for my trip. Fundraising and finding accommodation have been the most challenging, but I am happy to say that there has been success on both fronts.

I have reached and exceeded my minimum fundraising target of $3000 and to date, have raised over $4000! I have had so much support with this. Special thanks go to my sister-in-law Ilana, ilan, and the staff at Bikes on the Drive who pooled their tips together for my cause. You all rock!

I was able to do my part in finding accommodation in my two locations in Holland (each member of the ride team is responsible for finding organizations to host us in two cities or towns). I was able to secure us a camping location in Amsterdam thanks to the Bahai community in Amsterdam, who responded to an email I sent with an offer to find us a place to stay. Rene, a friend from Bikes on the Drive, spent many hours at my place phoning Ede, in Holland (his Dutch is much better than mine). Finally after many, many dead ends, Rene found us accommodation in an army base in Ede.

Now that the big things are out of the way, I am left sorting out the little details like packing, making sure I have all the equipment I need and countless other details associated with heading out of the country for two months. At this point, the trip is becoming more of a reality instead of a nice idea. I am so excited to think that in a few days, I’ll be in Amsterdam!

Three days and counting!

My first blog!

Well folks, here it is, my first blog!  If you are reading this you know a bit about my summer plans, to cycle across Europe with Global Agents for Change, raising money and awareness for microcredit.  

With less than 3 months until our departure, there is lots to do to prepare.  Activities to plan, accommodations to find, training and of course, a fundraising target of $4000 to meet!