Turkish hinterland

This morning I wanted to set off early, as rain had been forecast for the later afternoon. In the end, however, I didn’t leave that early and only got on the road shortly before 10 o’clock. I had arrived late yesterday and went to bed accordingly late, which caused everything to be a bit delayed in the morning.

Instead of taking the main road D100 directly from Edirne to Lüleburgaz, I decided to ride through the Turkish countryside to avoid traffic. This meant that instead of about 80 km, the distance became more than 120 km, with 1333 meters of elevation gain. To be honest, I underestimated today’s stage a bit. The distance didn’t look too intimidating, and I didn’t think much about the elevation either. In the end, however, the day was more intense than I had expected. On the one hand, it was almost constantly either uphill or downhill; on the other hand, these small, traffic-free roads were sometimes in terrible condition. There were also longer sections of wet sand where my bike seemed to stick to the ground—similar to riding with low tire pressure, a feeling I know all too well after my previous punctures.

However, the weather was better than expected. I occasionally felt a few drops, but it never really started raining. The first proper rain only came in Kırklareli. I just put on my rain jacket and continued riding in shorts, as I had all day. That turned out to be the right decision—after only 10 to 15 minutes, the rain stopped again, my legs dried quickly, and I never felt cold. The temperatures weren’t particularly high yet, but for such a short time and with a warm upper body, it was perfectly fine. After that, it didn’t rain again until the end; only after my arrival did the forecasted rain finally set in.

About 18 km before the day’s destination, I contacted my host for the evening. He told me he would only stay for about another hour before going home. So I increased my speed and rode slightly above my comfortable pace with a somewhat elevated heart rate to make sure I would arrive before 17:30. In the end, I managed it, arriving with about five minutes to spare.

In Lüleburgaz, I was able to stay with a Warmshowers host for the second time. This time, the accommodation was quite special: there is a municipality-sponsored project in Lüleburgaz where people can rent bicycles in a bike park and ride them on designated tracks. My host works there, which is why he goes home in the evening.

The area is quite large and includes several buildings. In one of them, there are rooms available for traveling cyclists. There is also a kitchen for cooking and all kinds of items a cyclist might need, such as tools. Samuel from Germany and Gabriel from Argentina were also staying here tonight—incidentally, they could have let me in if I hadn’t made it by 17:30, but I didn’t know that beforehand.

Samuel has been on the road for about half a year and is on his way back to Germany. Gabriel from Argentina has been cycling for two years, and his ambitious project is to visit every country in the world by bicycle. Within a continent, only bicycles and ferries are allowed—no other means of transport. In Europe, he still has the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Iceland left, so his route continues northwest. I talked with the two of them for quite a long time. It was fascinating to hear about their experiences and also inspiring, as they travel in a completely different way than I do.

I still feel a bit uneasy because I have only planned my daily stages up to Istanbul. I only have a rough idea of what comes after that, and I’ll probably have to decide the details day by day. I’m someone who likes to plan and know exactly what I’m going to do. But this very challenge of doing things differently will surely be enriching as well. I’m curious to see how it develops and am looking forward to it. But first, I still have two planned days before reaching Istanbul on Sunday.