June 29, 2015
to Kars: wildflowers as far as you can see
The road continues to follow downstream. Just as a climb starts 4 dogs surround Patrick. He has his stick that he's carried since Romania out and waving at the dogs. Rachel continues to cycle around past the dogs and stops ahead to pick up some rocks to throw, then the owner of the dogs finally comes out to call them off.
We navigate through the road construction by riding on the section the construction crew is working on until asphalt again. There is a long straight stretch with a crosswind and then the road turns just enough to make it a headwind. We make good time to the outskirts of the town.
Getting to the city center usually takes going through an ugly part of the city. Everywhere the same building construction of a block building 8-10 stories high with 4 apartments on each floor. Patrick is amazed that this type of building is allowed in a earthquake zone.
Finally, after weaving through the streets, we arrive at the Konak Hotel. Bikes are safely stored, bags off stacked in the lobby and then we wait. There is a power outage and our room is on the 5th floor so the elevator is out of service. We are asked to sit and tea is brought out for us. Then we are given the key to the room and we take the panniers with what we need first and climb the stairs. The staff eventually shuttles the rest of the gear up in the elevator when power is restored.
We walked around a bit and even though it is Ramadan, we find a spot for a donar kebab for lunch. We are getting into the area where there are many Kurds who aren't as strict. We get an email that Frans and Eveline, Dutch cyclists, have also arrived and are one floor below us. They are interested in joining us on a tour of Ani tomorrow.
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Today's ride: 58 km (36 miles)
Total: 4,408 km (2,737 miles)
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