Unplanned and Unprepared 2008

If you wish to follow kris on his solo bicycle crossing of the states please visit www.sf2florida.blogspot.com

Day 74: Gravesend, UK!!!

After breakfast Kris returned to bed to nurse his hangover while Bas and I explored the Grand Bazaar for a couple of hours. The whole bazaar was under cover and made up from thousands of little alley ways with every one being made up of the same stalls. We wandered around getting more and more lost and hassled by every store owner to looky looky! We left with a couple of souvenirs which were unfortunately breakable perhaps not the most sensible idea seeing as we had to somehow get 2 bikes, 8 paniers and 2 bar bags to the airport. We returned to the hotel to find that Kris had made it out of bed and was attempting to pack the bike boxes with as much of our gear as possible. We managed to squeeze the majority inside leaving just hand luggage for the flight that should save time and effort later on. We showered and met our private taxi at 1pm which meant finally saying our goodbyes to Bas. Well it was more of a see you later as we are sure to visit him in Athens or New York in the future. On arrival at the airport we were made to put all luggage including the bike boxes on a conveyor belt and through an xray machine. Thankfully no problems so we continued to tape the boxes up until the tape ran out! We had lunch and waited to check in. Again we had no problems at check in as we were under the weight allowance however, we were asked to leave the boxes at the desks which was quite scary abandoning all our possessions. We cleared passport control and waited in the lounge to board the plane. We were both gasping for water and after counting out the remaining pennies we had 1 euro and 1 ytl which after pleading with a man in cafe we had a small cold beverage. The flight was 4hrs but was filled with movies, drinks, free daily mail newspaper and dinner which tasted surprisingly good. We landed at Heathrow Terminal 5 and had serious doubts over the collection of the boxes but were very excited to see them there in one piece and ahead of everyone elses luggage! We manouvered the oversized trolley through customs with nothing to declare and were met by my mum and aunty Jill along with several helium balloons, hugs and smiles. After a short struggle we managed to squeeze the bikes in the cars and drove home sharing hundreds of stories. We followed yellow ribbons tied to lamposts all the way to our front door where we unloaded and enjoyed a nice cuppa english tea! Glad to be home.

Day 73: Istanbul, Turkey

We again made full use of the buffet breakfast in the hope that it would see us through til dinner. After updating the blog we walked up to the blue mosque this time to venture inside. We covered up in sarongs and removed our shoes. The atmosphere inside was really quite special so we sat and absorbed it for some time. We then ventured to the Basili Cistern which is a massive underground chamber with hundreds of columns and was used to supply the city with water. It was amazing down there so again we took our time especially as it was cool! We then went to the Topkapi Palace which is where the Sultan used to live with his Harem! This was especially interesting and very grand. Exploring this with Bas is like having your own personal tour guide as he is so knowledgable. We booked a private airport transfer for tomorrow which is necessary due to the large amount of luggage we have! We watched Hamilton win and the golf, attempted to pack but gave up then took a taxi to the Galata Bridge again for sunset via a kebab stand. We chilled and chatted til late in the bean bag chairs with a few beers then strolled back to the hotel for more on our personal roof top terrace. We sat and reflected on the various highlights of the trip and discussed future plans...

Day 72: Istanbul, Turkey

We made it to breakfast at 8.30 and took full advantage of the lovely buffet. We walked to the other side of town in search of a bike shop and stumbled across 10 all on the same corner! We cunningly managed to get 2 boxes for free together with some tape after being quoted ludicrous prices for boxes they would otherwise have simply thrown away. We returned to the hotel and dismantled the bikes attempting to fit them in the slightly too small boxes. Once they were in and we were covered in greese and dripping with sweat we chilled out in the hotels air con and updated the blog.
We had a quick drink on the roof terrace of our hotel soaking up the sea view to the front and the blue mosque view to the rear.


We headed to the restaurant for kebab lunch and on to the Hagia Sophia which is quite a grand simple structure from the outside but is impressively decorative inside.

We walked to the Galata Bridge for sunset and chilled on the comfy bean bag chairs with a few beers. Hours passed as we watched the fisherman cast and recast and life go by.

Day 71: Istanbul, Turkey!!!

Stats... 60km in 3hrs. We woke up to yet another bright blue sky and made our coffee on the gas cooker for the last time. We dismantled the tent and loaded up the bikes feeling very emotional. For the first time in 71 days I experienced cycling with the trots! I pumped myself full of immodium and just thought of the nice hotel waiting for us at the end. We were on the road by 9am and after a couple of loo stops we started to get somewhere. I must just mention that we discovered a loo that has a plastic bag wrapped around the seat and after you have finished, it rewraps itself... ingenious. We followed the D100 highway up and down severall huge hills into the city heading for the airport. For most of the way we could use the hard shoulder which was not too bad however it kept disappearing which is when it became a bit hair raising. The most dangerous part is the millions of junctions and slip roads to join and leave the highway. Generally we have a quick look over the shoulder, hope not to wobble too much then heads down, hold your breath and peddle as fast as poss... seems to work! We witnessed a car crash which really is not suprising given the way in which the cars cut and weave their way along. To top it off the road has huge drain covers with slits just wide enough for your tyre to slip through, cats eyes that are solid glass and stand approx 5cm out of the floor and very uneven tarmac surface with a few very large potholes to top it off. As we stopped at the top of a hill for a breather, we saw a small quiet road turning to the right towards the coast which looked very desirable. We decided to head that way which was a great decision. We were of the opinion that as long as we kept between the coast and the train line we would be going in the right direction. We had another short stop when we had the finishing line in our sights... the blue mosque. We cruised on round the coast with only one minor mishap where a car nearly took Kris off his bike which meant he nearly used his dog protection throwing stones as not very happy with the man in the car throwing stones!

We arrived at the blue mosque shortly after feeling triumphant, sad and relieved. We sat and absorbed the atmosphere almost in silence. It wasnt an anti climax as such but we just kind of felt numb. So much so, we forgot to take any photos! We sat and reflected on the 900,000 revalutions, 250 hours saddle time and 4,400 km (2,800 miles). Somewhere along the line we did an extra 600 miles more than expected! Once we had regained our strength we cycled the city to find a hotel. This was not a pleasurable experience as there are millions with each one trying to bleed you dry! After searching far and wide from hostel dorm to 5 stars, we settled on the Amiral Palace where the receptionist was friendly and helpful. It was a little more than we intended but we also felt as though we deserved it bearing in mind we have not showered for 3 days and we have cycled 12 days without a day off. After unloading for the last time we enjoyed some R&R before heading into the town for a celebratory dinner and to watch the sun set over the blue mosque. We had a few beers at the cheers bar and a couple of games of backgammon. We made it!

Day 70: Kamiloba, Turkey

Stats... 73.38km in 3hrs 51mins. We woke up about 8am only to find that Kris had a puncture in his front tyre! Now was this vandalism or a slow puncture? We shall never know. Once repaired we cycled 14km to a shell station for a short break then another 21km to another gas station for another short break. The wind was more favourable today and the terrain was less hilly. Our aim was to get to Silivri and update the internet. We arrived there about lunch time and found an internet cafe with a very nice owner who gave us discount and free tea. Bas needed the loo and was shown into a pretruding cupboard in the middle of the room! We had a 2ft long turkish durum kebab each and dined at the port on the waters edge. We continued for 17km to Kamiloba and found a cheap campsite. We were shown to a patch of gravel inhabited by several chickens, cats and dogs! The campsite appeared to be more like a travellers site. As we set up the tent a local introduced himself and his friends and promised to treat us to live music later on. We were then roped into a game of volleyball and dodgeball with approx 20 locals which was great fun and suddenly the atmosphere of the site improved ten fold. As the sunset we were given food from various families and taken to the beach where the 2 erols and memet sang and played the guitar for us til late. This evening was definately one of the highlights of the whole trip so far. Thanks!

We have very mixed feelings about tomorrow as we only have 50 km left to Istanbul. We anticipate the traffic to be a nightmare and we hope not to experience our first accident in 71 days on the last leg!

Day 69: Tekırdag, Turkey

Stats... 98.76km ın 5hrs 24mıns. We set the alarm for 7.15am but were wıde awake at 6.30am due to a massıve thunder and lıghtenıng storm. We made ıt to breakfast by 8am and thankfully the raın had stopped but the wınd was stıll very strong and of course ıt was a headwınd! We left at 9am after a quıck play wıth lında. We made ıt 26km to Malkara and had a brıef stop at a gas statıon then a further 12km to a gas statıon for another break where we sprawled out on some grass. Another 23km and yet another quıck gas statıon stop. Shortly after whıch we met 2 Turks cyclıng to Tekırdeg. We followed them to theır cafe and were treated wıth free drınks and some presents. It turns out the owner was also an artıst and wrote our names on some tıles as a gıft whıch we now need to get home ın one pıece! They also gave us a turkısh flag whıch we have attached to our bıkes. Thanks so much! We dıd not get far up the road when we stopped for a supermarket sweep and then as the heavens opened we had our eyes peeled for a campsıte. We were close to the coast so the fırst sıte was not too far thankfully. We set up camp and cooked dınner but unfortunately the campsıte was not the most clean or hygıenıc. Today was a struggle and took a real effort. Not only have we been cyclıng 10 days on the trot we have had a very tough headwınd the whole day and about a mıllıon uphıll then downhılls all about 200m hıgh. We are unable to check exactly here but we are sure we have clımbed over 1000m today... hard work.

Day 68: Kesen, Turkey

Stats... 78.06km in 3hrs 53mins. We were up early havıng lıstened to wıld owls perched ın the trees above our tent tweet twooıng all nıght! We showered and once feeling human again Kris and Bas went off in search of a bike shop. They managed to get Kris rear spoke fixed wıthout too much hassle. We all met and used the ınternet and had breakfast and were on the road at approx midday. After 40km we stopped to confirm directions to the border wıth a man wıth one tooth. We were invited to join them for a beer. Thıs turned ınto 3 beers, fresh crab, sausage, ıce cream and watermelon! We were fınally allowed back on the road a couple of hours later thanks to theır extreme generousıty and made ıt to customs. Thıs border crossıng was an ordeal as there were approx 5 gates where we had to queue and show our passports, cross a brıdge ın no mans land and were told to buy vısas. We arrıved ın Turkey beıng our fınal country number 17 and cycled on for a further 30km to Kesen. The road was slıghtly undulatıng hılls all the way untıl we found hotel lında as the sunset. We bartered wıth the prıce and rıghtly so as the hotel was extremely average. However, ıt was named after theır dog lında who was gorgeous and made up for the hotel! We had a trıp to the hypermarket next door for anythıng that contaıned sugar then a luxury second shower of the day and went to sleep ın the smallest bed ever.

Day 67: Alexandroupoli, Greece

Stats... 88.02km in 6hrs 1min. Wow... what a day. We left around 8.30am and managed to find small country roads which we headed on for about 10km until we reached Messi. During this ride we clocked over 4,000km so far on the trip! This is only approx 1,000km more than we had expected! We stopped and asked for directions from a family sitting in their front garden. They invited us to join them for a glass of cold water which ended up being a plate of salad fresh from their garden and a bowl of watermelon... mmm! We continued to the coastal road which had amazing scenery and a lovely cool breeze. We could not withstand the sea for long and crashed on the beach under a wicker umbrella for a couple of hours. We had lunch at a cafe which consisted of a bowl of chips and salad for us and 3 ice creams for Bas! We finally got on the road having only done 40km at 3pm. We got a further 10km then we were faced with the decision to take the shorter 15km of unfinished dirt road along the coast or the longer over two mountains finished road. We deliberated and decided to go with the dirt... which in retrospect may have been a poor decision! We made it 5km in when Bas with his mountain bike tyres got a puncture! We repaired the puncture then just round the corner it was flat again so we were forced to replace the inner tube. A car passed and gave us a bottle of water and looked concerned for us but on the other hand he had a look on his face of its your own fault for cycling this road! We were held up again as a rear spoke had snapped on Kris bike! As his wheel buckled more and more the rear brake seemed to be on all the time and any bump at the wrong angle would collapse the wheel. We offloaded as much weight from his bike onto ours and continued. As the sunset we came reached the other side and kissed the tarmac as it was a sight for sore eyes, bums and all muscles for that matter! We were amazed that our thin touring tyres survived. We were losing light but decided there was too many benefits by making it to the campsite at Alexandroupoli so we soldiered on in the dark with head torches illuminating a few inches of road infront of us. With Baz wearing the high vis we cruised on into the town, found the campsite at 10pm, set up the tent and cycled along into the town in search of food! We sat and had dinner on the seafront then returned to camp at 12.30am. I finally decided on a name for my bike today... Betty.

Day 66: Lagos, Greece

Stats... 107.28km in 6hrs. We up and left at 8am only to stop 1.6km up the road for breakfast on a comfy sofa outside a closed restaurant. We carried on for 20km to Kavala where had an internet and ATM break. We biked on to Krini where we were all feeling hot, hungry and exhausted so we had meatballs and veal with chips and as much fizzy drinks as we could consume! We made it to 6km outside of Xanthi before we found a closed garage and slept in the shade on the forecourt. We turned off the busy highway onto small country roads that weaved across to Lagos. Although sign posting was not so great we found our way with the help of Bas who flagged down cars and asked several locals for directions. A very nice man gave us a bottle of water as we witnessed his friend boast about the size of his humungous fish he had just caught! We endured a few hills that were not so bad and joined the highway again into the Port of Lagos. We saw plenty of stalks along the way which we believe may have been delivering babies across the country. We did a supermarket sweep and found the Lagos beach which was nicely concealed by a tree area. Socks and shoes off, beer in one hand and a lump of feta cheese in the other we paddled in the sea and chatted until the sunset. We cooked pasta on the beach as the water retreated then found a nice spot in the trees to camp.

Day 65: Nea Peramos, Greece

Stats...71.72km in 3hrs 41mins. Today was our day off... well it was supposed to be! We thought rather than having the whole day to relax on the beach we would get a few clicks up the road and then have the rest of the day off. However, as the road was right on the coast and very flat we kept going and going and going! We stopped for a while at a great spot on the beach under a grass roof shelter for lunch. We also attempted an internet stop but the very nice old lady who ran the place had no idea about computers and they did not want to work properly for us... frustrating. We made it to a campsite just before Nea Peramos and after paying we were shown to our spot which was the carpark so we got our money back and rode on. We got 5mins round the corner into the town and there was a slightly better campsite with a much nicer owner. We went to the beach and jumped straight in the sea then munched on a whole water melon between the three of us. We relaxed on a bench on the beach until the sunset then we retreated to the campsite for showers. We walked into the town for dinner in an extremely busy restaurant with the staff literally sprinting around the place all stressed with sweat pouring off them... it was madness. We gave up on ever being served and went to the counter and got a takeaway then sat at their tables to eat! After a pleasant stroll along the bustling seafront we crashed.

Day 64: Asprovalta, Greece

Stats... 87km in 4hrs 24mins. Today we did everything in reverse order as we had paid 50 euros for the hotel we wanted to make full use of it. We had a slight lay in and then went for a buffet breakfast. We walked into the city in search of a map shop, internet, an ATM and a postcard which was all very successful. We had a quick nose of the highlights of Thessaloniki then check ed out of the hotel at 1pm. We had made it two minutes up the road already having difficulty trying to escape the hectic roads when we met Basil. Basil is cycling from Athens to Istanbul and he is Greek but currently living in NewYork teaching economics. We immediately latched onto eachother as it was extremely helpful having a local speaking companion together with saftey in numbers on the highways! We had no choice but to follow the M1 equivalent again for a few kilometers which it turns out Basil is used to as he has followed this road all the way from Athens... madness not to mention illegal! We finally got on to a nicer road and chatted while cycling. We past two massive lakes as we crossed inland at the Halkidiki peninsula one of which had almost entriely dried up. We had various stops for food, drink and ice cream as the weather was hot again today. We finally made it to the coast haviing won our battle with the strong headwind and stopped at the first campsite we came across at approx 8pm. We camped on the edge of the beach and made pasta and sauce for dinner.

Day 63: Thessaloniki, Greece

Stats... 145km (90 miles) in 6hrs 57mins longest distance so far! We woke up and we thought it was still early until we realised that Greece was an hour ahead. We saw the sun rise over the lake which was beautiful. We followed the perimeter of the lake until it met the highway and we followed that to Edessa which was 40km away. This town is famous for waterfalls cascading around the city so we took a look and had a bite to eat. We continued along the highway past Pella like we were possessed! I was on a high for about 1 and a half hours at a speed of 27kmh and that was with no music! We crashed out for 10mins in the shade to recover but only to realise that we had sat on an ants nest as they were enjoying feeding off our stinking sweaty skin that has now been unshowered for several days! This was probably a good thing as it made us get back on the bikes even though we did not feel like it having already done 100km. We continued along the highway until it said no bikes and we took a diversion along some country roads that according to our map would cross a river. Half hour down this road it joined the National road which is equivalent to the M1! With no choice we dressed in high vis and put our heads down for 500m in order to cross the river. Still shaking we made it and after taking the first exit it turned into a gravel road with stray dogs barking at us left, right and centre! Kris was ready and waiting with his newly acquired dog battering stick. We made it through to the centre of Thessaloniki being the second largest city in Greece after Athens. We walked the main street until we found a niceish looking hotel that would take us in with our bikes. Thankfully it had air con which we wacked up full blast and showered until the water was leaking under the bathroom door! We dined up the road on Greek salad and meat and a couple of beers which was well deserved after the last couple of days.

Day 62: Pandeleimonas, Greece

Stats... 119.33km in 6hrs 14mins bringing us to a total so far of 3,580km! Not the most successful morning as we set the alarm for 5am, snoozed til 6.30am then on the road by 7am. We climbed and climbed uphill to over 1,000m then enjoyed the decent to Resen which we reached after 20km. We passed straight through and continued along the flat for a while until another climb over a pass which we hoped to be our last uphill of the trip! The road then gently rolled down into Bitola where we stopped for lunch and a nap. Our lunch included 2 pints, salad, burger, omlette and spag bol! We had lots of Macedonian money left so we ate like kings however it made subsequent riding uncomfortable! On the road again we rode along the flat for 15km to the border into our 16th country... Greece! We continued for 35km until a 2min break to decide the best route forward as we had no money and no water. We headed for the closest large town Amindeo which was a further 15km downhill where I reached my maximum speed so far of 58.2kmh! We found an ATM and water which we downed! We found a sign for camping on a lake which was in the right direction and only 7km away so we set off into a headwind which was a great way to finish a long day! It turns out the campsite had closed so we technically wild camped for a second night on the deserted site.

Day 61: Zavoj, Macedonia

Stats... 88.06km in 5hrs 46mins. We sneaked past Amanda at 6.30am as quiet as a mouse. We climbed the road for 40km to the border for Macedonia... country number 15! There were some steep climbs taking us to approx 1,100m. We saw our lives flash before our eyes as a humungous black very fierce looking and barking dog that was thankfully chained up went for us! Straight after which we found the best dog stick we could, mostly to make ourselves feel safer! At the border we were situated on the west of lake ohrid and we needed to get on the east side and could not decide whether to take the North our South route. After a flip of the coin we headed north. This turned out for the best as we began descending on a lovely sweeping road for 15km and then the terrain was flat into Ohrid town centre. We found a market and a perfect shade stop under a tree on the grass and relaxed for 3hrs! Half debating whether to stay in Ohrid we managed to get up again and continue for another 15km assisted by a great tail wind. The scenary was mountainous, covered in trees and the road snaked the side of a river. As we were losing light we set up camp on the river edge and experienced our first wild camp of the trip. We played with the bikes, had dinner with chilled beer from the river and studied the maps to ensure we were on track. As darkness fell and Al overcome the fear of bears, snakes and wild dogs, we had a great nights sleep with the clear sky, sparkling stars and fire flys dancing round the tent like christmas tree fairy lights... wow.