I had a wee spring in my step as I woke up this morning despite not having an uninterrupted sleep. This was because at around 2am I gave birth to a weetabix, the first of its kind for around 4 days which would put anybody in a good mood, especially if they have to spend all day on a saddle and then spend all the night in a chamber of smells.
Don't worry though, this lasted for about half an hour until after breakfast so the monkey is still hanging on my back as we speak. I decided to go back to bed and have an extra lay in. I'm experimenting with methods of the day still and yesterday had taken a lot out of me.
I could only manage an extra half an hour as the sun was up and I wanted to get the worlds longest roadworks put behind me. I have to be honest, even though the roadworks were a right pain, the road workers were out in fine form and playing up to the novelty of seeing an alien on a bike that made cycling the horrible road actually quite enjoyable. Some may say that if they weren't larking around so much then maybe the roadworks wouldn't be so long in the first place. This point is very true but as I've travelled through a lot of countries now, I can safely say that Turkish road workers, are the same as French road workers, who are the same as English road workers, who are the same as Albanian. It takes 5 European road workers to dig a whole, 1 to sit in the JCB and dig and 4 to watch, at least the Turks were doing it with a smile on their face! The thumbs up, chanting, dancing and all round good vibe that they were giving out made cycling a lot easier that's for sure.
Turkey's landscape is very undulating. The second you have reached a peak you are heading back down into the trough. It's like that for the first 100miles from Greece. I decided to stop at a roadside cafe where again, I was given an option not a menu. This time I had rice with a selection of 4 accompaniments. I chose rice with 3 out of the 4. Soya beans, meatballs and oily potatoes were my fine decisions and I probably would've gone for all four but we struggled with getting what I got in the first place due to the language barrier. Despite the guy sounding like I had just kicked his dog and looking like he was going to stab me for it, the waitress was translating some very complimentary things to me. They offered me a big basket of bread, I went in take a few pieces for my oily sauce and they insisted I took the whole basket.
What do you do when given the whole basket? Am I paying for this all? Will you charge me by the piece? There was around 2 small loafs there, yes this would be plenty for possibly a family of four but i am eating for 6 everyday, I think you're going to be shocked what this skinny bearded runt can put away! Anyway, I ate my two plates of food and the whole basket of bread and it came to 5 euros. Absolute bargain, I'm going to like it here I thought.
After a chat with the workers and a good catch up with friends from home on the wifi I was very happy getting back on the road. Then it dawned on me or should I say repeated on me. Meatballs? Pretty cold meatballs as well, what am I doing to myself? The orifices of my body are experiencing more arrivals and departures than Heathrow airport!
Despite the gaseous exchanges I was feeling really good on the bike. Whilst enjoying quite a relaxing highway with just the odd car going past i heard the noise that makes Beirdre stand to attention, a deep throaty woof!!! I could see the two guard dogs over the road. If you hadn't seen dogs before and only been subjected to horses then you would be asking why they didn't have saddles on them either as these two were monsters. Thankfully for me they were luckily behind a chickenwire fence so after the initial shock that ran through my body I actually stopped at the relief and pointed at them both. "Ha-ha suckers, fence kept you in hasn't it!" My assurance and cockiness was soon wiped clean off my face when I realised that one of them had made his way along the fence and was now just the otherside of the motorway...the fence was no longer in play. Surely he won't cross over the motorway I thought. He was about 20 metres ahead of me which posed a problem that if I couldn't get alongside or in front, then no matter how fast my little legs pedalled, he could still get me. As a truck drove past the other side of the road, my pedal speed increased to ramming speed. The beast waited for the truck to pass and then as if time stood still (along with my heart), he leapt the central reservation and headed straight for me. I don't know how I didn't mess myself there and then but I managed to keep everything in other than a harrowing scream of "Siiiiiiit!" To anybody else it probably sounded like I was screaming what the majority of people would scream but I thought if I'm going to shout anything I might get lucky and by pure coincidence, sit in turkish could be the same and the dog could be trained to obey. As it happened he didn't have the best eyes and ran just pass me giving me a chance to break free which I grabbed by the handlebars! Nevertheless, another horrible encounter and they seem to get progressively more frightening. I'm going to have to think of some ways to counteract the rogue canines if I want to keep my sculpted calves!!
Cycling towards Mamara Eglisu from Malkara along the coastal section was very enjoyable. There were mainly gated communities between the road I was on and the coast and some of them really nice. Looking through the gates I could see tennis courts, football pitches and each house with their pristine individual garden. I didn't expect this at all from Turkey, I expected what I saw the other side of the road which was a lot of kebab houses and tacky beach shops. I'm equally happy with both but I did make it my aim to find a camping spot in between two of these gated communities so I could overlook the coast as the sun set.
I made a few more friends at a couple more petrol stations on my hunt for a dessert. I think I'm becoming, if not already, addicted to chocolate biscuits. It doesn't matter what type but ever since my hobnobs ran out I've been on a rampage. After the hobnobs ran out in Switzerland it was a "chocolate sandwich" type biscuit made by "Monarc" (available in all good Lidls) and since then its been a variation of choc chip cookies and chocolate sponges. I found a suitable packet of double choc cookies sold by a guy who claimed he "loved the England" "yeah David Beckham, Victoria Beckham" I stopped him before he named the whole family but I think he was actually done after those two.
I pulled off the road towards the beach which was only around 200 metres away. I wheeled Nigel around on some loose gravel as typically the area I decided to get off was more of a building site compared to the many perfect villages I had previously cycled past. I found an area of a beach with a few small upturned fishing boats on a grassy bank just before the sand and decided to pitch up. It wasn't a "stealth" camp by any means. I was in prime dog walking/pooing location and on a patch of grass that probably belonged to a boat that was on his way back from a hard days fishing. Well the tide was out I thought and he's got a good few hours before it comes back so I'm having it.
On top of the litter picking up rule I have, I also make a massive effort to smile, wave and say hello to the locals that happen to catch me whilst I'm in the tent putting up stage or just sat there cooking etc. This takes away any suspicions that that may have and can also spark up good conversations that you will never get otherwise. After establishing myself on the beach and a few smiles and hellos exchanged, I was happy to settle down for the night.
A great sunset only added to my very productive and pain free day. Tomorrow, the bright lights of Istanbul and a well earned shower and bed! Can't wait!
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