October 1, 2015
Into Turkey: A Windy Day
Today was a long, tough day. It wasn't about distance, as I only rode 52 km. It wasn't about hills, as I only climbed 208 meters, and the grades were fairly gentle. It was about wind!
Yesterday I resolved that I wasn't going to dwell on the wind, and even avoid complaining about it too much. I didn't make that resolution today. The wind was coming from the north east. I was heading to the north east. So it was in my face all day. The forecast was showing it approaching 20 mile/hour all day, and that's what it did.
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For those of you more comfortable metric units, that translates to almost 9 meters/sec. It's a strong wind for cycling. If you've ridden a loaded bike, you know that all that extra area from the panniers really catches the wind. A bike with front and rear panniers and a handle bar bag is anything but aerodynamic. So I struggled today.
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There really isn't much else to say about the ride, other than that I'm in Turkey! The border crossing was complicated, with 2 stops on the Greece side, a bridge, and then I think 5 stops on the Turkey side. I stopped for border crossing pictures on the bridge.
One advantage to the wind is it gave me a good view of the Turkish flag.
There was a lot of Turkish military about, but the guards on the bridge were friendly. In fact everyone was, except for the final gate keeper. I'm not too sure what his job was. I had been through immigration, had my visa checked and my passport stamped, had waited in line at customs and then been waved through. When I reached the final gate (and it was literally a gate) the car ahead of me appeared to just talk with the guy and he opened the gate. When I got there, he asked for my passport and rather gruffly asked me where I was going and how long I would stay and what I was doing there. Then he gave me back my passport, but didn't open the gate. I asked him to, and he indicated I should go through the gap between the car gate and the truck gate, which was on the other side. I think all he needed to do was push a button. He made a bad first impression for Turkey.
There was a hotel not too far past the border where I thought I might stop. When I got there, it was on the other side of the road and there was a barrier that made crossing difficult. It also looked like it might not be open, but sometimes its hard to tell. I went on to the next town, which is Ipsala. I stopped at a gas station, and asked about a hotel. There is one shown in Google maps a few kilometers past the town. The guy at the gas station said it's not really a hotel. It's a taverna with rooms above, and that I should go into the center, which is also a couple of kilometers off the road. He even told me the price for the hotel in town, which made me wonder if he had an interest in the hotel.
I went into the center. Ipsala is a very dusty town and comes across as disorganised. I don't yet know if that's just how Turkey is. I didn't find the hotel right away, and asked some random old men who were sitting on a wall talking. They explained in Turkish how to find it, motioning this way and that way, and then one of the men walked with me about 5 minutes until we could see it. He improved my initial impression of Turkey.
I'm at the Sebat Otel. It's in an old building that has seen better days. I was offered a single room without a shower for 20 TL, or a double with a shower for 50. He said the singles with shower were all booked up, and he wouldn't bargain. I took the double at 50 TL. That's about 15 euros or 17 USD. It's quite a climb up the stairs to my room. My bike is in the lobby, and I only brought up the panniers with my clothes and toiletries. The hot water system is something I've never seen before, and only provides hot water through the shower. Its one of the kind that inevitably results in the bathroom floor getting wet.
There is Wi-Fi in the hotel, but not in my room. I need to check the forecast for tomorrow. If the wind persists, I may check into taking a bus.
Today's ride: 52 km (32 miles)
Total: 3,225 km (2,003 miles)
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