From the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea

After arriving late last night, we didn’t set off until shortly before 11:30 today. It had rained in the morning, so it wasn’t too bad, and of course, we also wanted to get enough rest.

Shortly after starting, we saw a car wash, and Shaun wanted to clean his chain and gears—afterward, he said the shifting worked much better again.

We then continued on small roads toward İzmit, which meant there were some steep climbs. One of them was so steep that I could just barely ride it. And right after that, it was just as steep going down again. As my heart rate shot above 140, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Why?”

İzmit was a beautiful city, and it even had bike lanes, allowing us to avoid much of the traffic. There were also several water fountains, probably intended for hotter days. The benches along the bike path were so inviting that we took a lunch break, even though we had only covered a bit more than 20 km. With all the ups and downs, it was hard to make fast progress.

After lunch, the terrain became somewhat flatter, although there were still occasional short steep climbs. This changed when we joined the larger road—the D100. Along Lake Sapanca, there was hardly any alternative. There was quite a lot of traffic, but the smooth road made for great rolling, and the climbs were now gentle. As a result, we made very good progress.

Shortly before Sakarya, I thought we would probably have to find accommodation in the city. I had checked in the morning, and there were no hotels between here and the Black Sea. Karasu was still more than 60 km away—more than we had covered so far—and it was already 4 p.m. After last night’s experience of riding in the dark, I wasn’t eager to repeat it.

But to my surprise, the other two wanted to keep going. “Let’s try,” Erkin said, to which I replied, “Either we go or we don’t—there is no ‘try,’” because if we go, we have to make it to the next accommodation. Shaun was also in favor of continuing. So I was motivated as well, and I wasn’t tired at all. What convinced me were three things: first, it was a unanimous decision; second, the route followed a main road, reducing unexpected surprises; and third, it was almost flat—about 150 meters of elevation over more than 60 km, which is practically nothing.

So we first rode through the city and then continued north on the D650. There was still quite a bit of traffic, but much less than on the D100, making it fairly pleasant to ride. The only thing I hadn’t accounted for was the headwind. But it was still manageable. So we continued at a comfortable but steady pace.

After the only small climb, we took a short break, and I entered a Turkish bakery for the first time to buy some bread. The sizes seem to start at “extra large”—I bought the smallest one, and it was still huge. An older man bought three even larger loaves—there must be quite a few hungry mouths at home.

Now it wasn’t far to Karasu—maybe it was the name or other place names we passed today, but somehow it reminded me of Japan, even in terms of atmosphere and houses. In any case, I started to believe we could arrive before dark. However, Erkin began to suffer more and more from back and neck pain, so we had to slow down significantly.

We arrived in Karasu shortly after sunset, but we still hadn’t found a place to stay. Erkin called a number of a guesthouse we had found on Google Maps, and it sounded like we could stay there. But when we arrived, there was no sign of any guesthouse, so he called again. The man seemed quite unfriendly and just told us to find somewhere else. Very strange—Erkin thought it might be an illegal place that doesn’t pay taxes. In the end, we found the Koç Otel. It was affordable, very clean, and the people were friendly. We could finally stay there and get back into the warmth. It had become quite cool by then—it was already 8:45 p.m.