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Why Was Tbilisi Such a Beautiful City in Deep Winter?
January 23, 2008
When Sylvester, the Polish cyclist we met on Christmas Day in Batumi was explaining that conditions were difficult for local people in Georgia, coping with the cold midwinter, I thought: people in places with extreme weather conditions are obviously tough, live and learn to deal with it.
I also remember thinking, is what we are doing, trying to cycle round the world equally difficult. In hindsight I suppose I was comparing the life of staying in one place to a life on the road which seemed a much more abstract concept.
Tags: WinterSnowVagabondTbilisiTravelEnvironmentGeorgiaclimate-changeWWF
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Cold Nights and Notes from Sinop
November 16, 2007
I smell pretty terrible but I’ve got a fishing boat to sleep on tonight and I have just bought a new blanket which I hope will keep me warm. The nights have been uncomfortably chilly recently.
Normally camping is a perfectly fine option for our sleeping arrangements but I’ve been dubious recently. I’ve been cold in my thin sleeping bag, no matter what combination of clothing and headwear that I adorn. This is important because we don’t have the guarantee of a comfortable bed to sleep in each night but it is nice to know that I will be warm. Luckily the Turkish are living up to their reputation of hospitality; almost every day we have had a warm place to sleep, been fed incredibly tasty food and always offered chay.
Tags: HospitalityTrampingVagabondFishing boatSinopTurkeyCycle touringTravelCycling
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Cycling the Black Sea Coastline of Turkey in the Dark
November 15, 2007
The other day I was cycling towards Trabzon. We cycled in a number of dark, ominous looking tunnels. I’m cycling along, and then there it is, another black hole. My blood pressure rises, the hard shoulder thins and squeezes me off onto the road to share it with the multi-tonne trucks flying past, spraying me with muddy water. I check over my shoulder, hopefully I will make it through, before being chased by the next vehicle.
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How I Ending Up Staying on the Turkish National Skin-Diving Instructors Fishing Boat
November 13, 2007
Although people are helpful and friendly, we often get looked at like we have three heads. I find it funny, and it’s completely harmless and utterly understandable. Two bearded English men turn up. One is wearing a fluorescent sock on his head and looks like a traffic cone; the other is wearing a ridiculous helmet with go-faster-stripes, and Klingon-esque air vents. Why would someone on a bicycle want to wear a helmet anyway? They don’t go fast enough, there’s no engine. Both weirdos have multiple yellow luggage bags attached to their bikes, and one bike has three wheels.
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Looking East and West in Istanbul
October 24, 2007
I am in Kadikoy on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. We have reached Asia by bike! Today commences our third week in Istanbul. It is a multi-layered and vibrant place; enough to make one consider staying longer.
However, the open road and adventure beckons once again. Crossing a whole continent is a significant milestone in the journey. Reflecting back, the feat seems equally absurd as it does real. I feel like I have lived a lifetime in the last 4 months. It has been a great learning process. Random occurrences have been commonplace and becoming accustomed to living with uncertainty is a fundamental theme.
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Getting Romania in View
September 26, 2007
We arrived in Romania a couple of days ago. We crossed the border and had a long night after realising we had crossed at the wrong place and had to return to the official crossing and cross there. It was dark and wet; lightning was striking around my feet and the officials were stroking their moustaches with intent.
We have the addition of a new member of Ride Earth called Maria who we met in Budapest. She is cycling along on an old touring bike we picked up for twenty quid from the local scrapyard.
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What to do Whilst Waiting for Wheels to Arrive in Istanbul
September 25, 2007
Staying with a family on the way to Istanbul.
We arrived in Istanbul after cycling along a dangerous highway, through 75km of suburban sprawl, which was a traumatic experience. We rewarded ourselves with a gourmet kebab that we couldn’t afford from a small place full of old men drinking, smoking and chatting.
It had grown dark in the city after watching the sunset on the cycle in. We needed to get to our accommodation with a Couchsurfer, which was about 25km away, in Besiktas the other side of the Golden Horn. Tom and I were both tired, so we decided to split up to find it.