Last border by bike !

Friday, August 9, it’s time to cross the last border of the trip: Turkey! I’m a little nervous when it’s time to present my papers: I’m only traveling with my identity card but “no problem”. We leave the narrow and bumpy roads of Bulgaria for a superb Turkish road, well tarred and with a wide shoulder. We already feel safer. Tonight, we’re going to sleep in Kırklareli, our stopover town. Not many kilometers left, but still some good bumps in the ass. And it’s still as hot as in Bulgaria. A trucker even takes pity on us and stops at the top of a hill to give us 2L of fresh water (we weren’t loaded enough…). Once in Kırklareli, we find a room for €35 in a hotel, after 3 nights of bivouacking and showering in salt water, it’s a very appreciated luxury! But before enjoying the shower, we go in search of a bike shop to change my brake pads and my chain. Bike shop OK, brake pads to my size KO. But “no problem”, he adjusts my pads with the grinder! The Turks always find a solution. And we are very well received in this bike shop, we are offered tea and fresh water. I take advantage of Jean-Luc’s mechanical talents one last time, to have a bike (almost) like new. We can now go eat a kebab for our last evening together.

Let’s go to Marmara Sea

Because the next day our paths separate. Jean-Luc returns to France via Greece and Italy. I continue my journey in Turkey, there is still a way to go to join my Turkish family. And a path not very flat! For today, the objective is to reach the sea near Tekirdağ. 100 km. I found a campsite on Google. So after driving on gravel roads, passing small villages, a few towns, riding a roller coaster on a 4-lane road: the Sea of ​​Marmara is there! All that’s left is to go back down to find the campsite. Oh no… It’s not a campsite… Oh well, I’ve got more than 100km in my legs, 6pm, I won’t go any further. A bivouac on the beach for tonight will be fine. It’s not ideal, the beach is very small and I’m not very far from the houses. But the setting is perfect for a swim/shower/laundry in the sea and a dinner at sunset. I didn’t have the beach entirely to myself, a couple with a child were enjoying the cool of the evening. The man comes to see me and quickly offers me to sleep in their garden! That’s how I met a wonderful Turkish family. I follow them, they live a stone’s throw from the sea. I experience a 2nd evening. On their terrace, we get to know each other thanks to Google Translate. There are the (young) grandparents – those who invited me to their home – their daughter Senem on vacation here with her husband and their two children. After going to town to eat ice cream with Senem and her husband, I started to be very tired and went to sleep while they were finishing their evening on the terrace.

A beautiful family meeting

And in addition to offering me a sofa for the night, this beautiful family offers me the opportunity to stay with them. Gladly, I still have a little time before the wedding. First the famous Kahvalti, THE Turkish breakfast. Well for me it’s more like a brunch. Because we often eat it around 11am, once everyone is up. In Turkey I’m going to have to shift… the Turks live at night and get up late. I live during the day and go to bed early. I’m the opposite. After the Kahvalti, Nazlihan, the mother, suggests that we can make burek! Woohoo I’m so happy to learn how to cook this specialty! I take notes and photos. I note above all that you have to have time in front of you. And then once cooked, we can taste our superb burek!! As good as in a bakery. We enjoy the sea that evening, before another evening, musical this time thanks to a guitarist neighbor. And as often in Turkey, it is very difficult to leave! So I stay one more day. The opportunity to visit Tekirdag and share the daily life of this superb family. A few Turkish words come back to me. They renamed me Merve (pronounced Mèrvé) because Mathilde is really not easy for them to pronounce. As for me, I also have a hard time remembering and pronouncing all their first names correctly, we’re even!

Along the sea

Finally, on the third day, I motivate myself to leave. But not before sharing a last Kahvalti with them. The table is full: egg/salami, fried potatoes, cheese/onion, and the traditional small dishes: olives, cheese, honey, tomatoes, cucumber, fruit, jam. Everyone dips with bread or their fork into the dishes in the middle of the table. We enjoy ourselves. A great moment of sharing before getting ready. I don’t leave empty-handed, they offer me burek, fruit and cakes! Enough to give me the strength to move forward today. They have given me so much, I am embarrassed not to offer anything in return. But what a joy to have crossed paths with them on my way. After this invigorating break, it is time to pedal. Usually I prefer to pedal in the morning instead of the afternoon, here I set off for about sixty kilometers at noon, in the sun. And not completely flat! I go along the sea, everything is fine and then after 22km, bam! 6%, 7%, 10%, 13%… It’s not a hill anymore, it’s a wall. And a long wall. At my speed, I can admire the superb view, stop in my tracks, take pictures. Great idea. I have souvenirs and… a flat inner tube. Note to myself: don’t leave the road, there are thorns! In the blazing sun, I have to repair it. For once, it’s the front wheel, I have to look on the bright side. And it keeps climbing. Usually, I prefer to go super slowly rather than walk next to my bike. But there, I give up. Dripping, I walk a little. A car coming the other way takes pity on me, turns around and offers to help me in English/Turkish. I don’t need to be asked twice, my bike and I are loaded into the car. In 2 minutes we are at the top. The driver doesn’t stop anymore! I have to insist that he drop me off, they were ready to take me to the campsite! But I wanted to enjoy the descent and especially the view along the sea. Thanks to this burst of speed, I don’t arrive too late at the campsite. First Turkish campsite, by the sea, I love it. I can take a dip before dinner at sunset on the Sea of ​​Marmara.

And the galleys keep going…

And I can even enjoy the sunrise at dawn, I am the only one standing in the campsite. Today, I don’t have many kilometers and I have all day. I don’t feel confident about wild camping, I prefer to aim for campsites. Except that there aren’t any everywhere. So I adjust my days accordingly. Tonight, I’m heading for the Thracian Sea (I didn’t know it existed either…), it’s the northern part of the Aegean Sea. I’m heading towards the Gallipoli peninsula (I’ll tell you more about this geographical part marked by History in the next article!). 30km on the clock, everything is going well. I left the Sea of ​​Marmara to pass some hills and go to the northern part of the peninsula, on the edge of the Gulf of Saros. But there I go, again on a gravel road, my rear tire is not holding up. Two days, two punctures = low morale. Luckily I have (still) a spare inner tube. No choice, I take everything apart, always in full sun (strangely this never happens to me in a shady spot). Well I understand that my rear tire is worn out ++, it will have to be changed. But until I find a bike shop, I to keep going like that. I can’t put my tire back on, I’m starting to get annoyed. And it can’t be said that there is not a lot of traffic (an advantage when I ride a bike, but not great when I need help). Phew, a truck stops, a man comes to my rescue and helps me put my tire back on. And since I am really fed up with the gravel paths and he tells me that there are still about ten kilometers to go, I willingly agree to put my bike in the dumpster and he takes me to the tarmac. But before that, we stop to make a detour to check out his olive groves. Very nice, he even offers me something to eat (we are in Turkey, let’s not forget!). So I eat cheese, olives, honey and bread in the car. We try to chat a little, he has a few words in English, fortunately, because I only have 3 words in Turkish. No, he has never been to France, but yes to Saint Petersburg. “Russia, nice, women good, sex easy”: there you go, in just a few words he has managed to disgust me and make me feel uncomfortable. I don’t smile anymore, I don’t speak anymore, I just want to get out of this car but I’m stuck. Especially since I ask him to stop me when we are back on the tarmac but he doesn’t stop anymore!! He insists on taking me to the big intersection. Hop I get off, get my bike and thank him quickly. Happy to be alone, again. The day of cycling is almost over. Another twenty kilometers, wind at my back on a big road, it’s all good. Now I go down to the seaside (not to think about all that I’m going to have to go back up tomorrow morning…). A little detour that’s worth it. Well, I quickly understood that the campsite, once again, only existed on Google. In reality, it’s a free campsite at the end of the bay. The setting is idyllic but very, very, very windy. I’m about to go kitesurfing with my tent. Luckily a guy comes to my rescue and helps me pitch my tent. There are already other tents around me, I quickly understand that they are only men, and me, in the middle. It’s 3 p.m., I can enjoy the sea. A swim then repair my 2 inner tubes with sea water. A Turk even shows me the local “shower”: a hose attached to the toilet tap. As long as it’s free, I don’t make a fuss. And tonight, given the wind, I give up on the idea of ​​boiling water. I treat myself to some fried mantis – Turkish ravioli – in a restaurant by the sea. And given the morning that awaits me the next day, I do well to enjoy this moment of rest and simplicity…