Now we’re into the swing of this journey we have settled a routine. We’re on the bikes at 8am having had brekky if the hotel supplies it, normally consisting of white bread (lots), a couple of boiled eggs and sometimes some feta cheese – plus coffee (Turkish or Nescafe).
Then we ride for a couple of hours and stop in a village. ALWAYS a crowd will gather as we are, in the locals’ eyes, pure entertainment. These encounters between the 6 of us and up to 30 of them consist of heaps of gesticulation, crazy actions – like Jo taking over the kitchen to show the hosts how she cooks, or Dave driving off on one of the local’s rotary hoes, or Phil being cross examined about Turkeys on-again, off-again EU membership.
Then we ride for another couple of hours and do it all again in another village, invading the local men’s smoking den or holding court in the middle of the street market.
Finally by the time we’ve clocked anywhere between 200 and 370km and it’s 4pm or so we look for a bed. Not always easy and some of the hotels real dives but then beggars can’t be choosers and often they cost only 30 dollars NZ for a twin room.
So the tour is really about the villages and small towns – the cites we try where we can, to ride around.
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