Along the Sea to Istanbul

This morning I needed an alarm clock to get up on time. I had arranged to meet Erkin at 09:30 on the promenade in Silivri, which was about 11 km from my accommodation. Since I had to fix another flat tire the night before—when I returned from a walk by the sea, the rear tire was flat again—it got very late by the time I had repaired both tubes and tidied everything up. I only went to bed at 1:30 a.m.

In the end, I not only started a bit later than planned but also underestimated the time needed to reach the meeting point. So I only met Erkin and his cousin at around 09:50. We took a photo together, then his cousin said goodbye, and we continued riding together—just under 90 km remaining to Taksim Square in Istanbul.

Erkin was filming a time-lapse video with his Insta360 camera mounted on his helmet, which looked quite funny. I was really happy not to be riding alone anymore. Despite my delay, I believed we still had enough time to arrive in Istanbul “on time.” My wife Jiabin was on her way to Istanbul and would arrive at the hotel later in the afternoon, and I didn’t want to arrive after her.

As forecasted, the sky soon became completely clear—what a beautiful spring day! Since it was Sunday, there was relatively little traffic, at least in the morning and farther away from Istanbul. We often rode along seaside promenades, though there were also some very steep climbs in between. Where there was no promenade, we sometimes had to ride on small roads or even very large ones (five lanes in one direction). After about 40 km, I suggested we stop for a coffee and enjoy the sea view. I had never done that while riding alone, but it had never really presented itself. And somehow, I thought we still had plenty of time.

But Sunday also meant that the seaside promenade was extremely crowded. Some sections were completely packed. And it only got worse the closer we came to Istanbul. People here are not used to cyclists, so they were often walking on the bike lane or zigzagging across without looking. Children would also make sudden, unpredictable movements and end up right in front of our wheels. So we had to ride very slowly and carefully, which sometimes required patience. But the alternative would have been large roads with heavy traffic, which wasn’t much better either.

During a transition from promenade to road, Erkin got a flat tire—there was a sharp metal edge, which he hit with a loud bang, and then he couldn’t continue. But the tube was quickly replaced—I now had plenty of practice, and it’s much easier with two people—and we continued.

About 30 km before Istanbul, we met a Turkish cyclist who asked where we were heading. I said to Taksim Square in Istanbul, and he replied that he was going there too but wasn’t sure about the route. So he joined us. That was somewhat surprising since he said he lived in Istanbul. But the traffic situation was indeed complicated, and I was glad to have a well-prepared route. I had spent the most time planning today’s stage—and it paid off, as otherwise we would probably have ridden more on large roads or ended up in dead ends.

Riding into Istanbul was a very special feeling. With so many people and so much traffic, it wasn’t always comfortable. But somehow, it was also fun. I had never ridden into a major city before—actually, never—and so I really enjoyed the experience. Progress was quite slow, but speed wasn’t important today anyway.

In the traffic, we sometimes got separated, and as the lead rider with the GPS device, I would occasionally stop to wait for my two Turkish companions. It was quite amusing that I, as a Swiss, was leading the way here. When we arrived at Taksim Square, I waited at the turn toward the hotel—it was now only a few meters away—for the two of them. And then I saw Jiabin. She had just arrived as well, almost at the exact same time as me. That kind of timing is something even the best planning could never achieve, which made me very happy. It just had to happen that way. After a final photo together, today’s stage was complete, and we headed to our hotel.