to Kayseri: cycling further east

June 15, 2015

Goreme was as far east as Patrick cycled on his RTW trip in 1992-94. Back then he was advised not to go further east because of Kurdish separatist activity. Today we have read blogs of cyclists having trouble with locals and their dogs, but it seems to be further in the southeast of Turkey. All information we have is that from here to Malatya is fine, after that we'll just keep checking.

We have a bit of a hiccup this morning when we cannot get to our bikes which are locked-up in the laundry room. At 7:30 the cook shows up and unlocks the door. We are off. "It's good to be back on the bikes" after 6 days sightseeing in Istanbul and 3 days in Goreme.

The sky was clear early this morning, but dark clouds moved in and we feel some sprinkles on our way to Avanos. Then starts a long gradual climb for about 25kms, followed by a 4kms downhill when we see Kayseri and a sign that the town is still 30km away. The road continues down and then follows the railroad for the next 20kms. We have a close-call with a truck that comes way too close when the shoulder all of a sudden narrows. For most of the day, the road was rough asphalt and no nice wide shoulder until we get closer to Kayseri.

After settling in, we walk through the bazaar and invited by a carpet seller to have tea. He doesn't have much luck selling us a carpet, but we had a nice visit and experience.

Hot air balloon rides seem to be "the" thing in Cappadocia these days. But at between $150 and $200 a head to be crammed in a basket with 19 other people, we cannot be convinced this is something that is on our bucket list.

There is a real bikelane between Goreme and Avanos, even though most everyone just treat it as another car lane.

Headed east into eastern Anatolia. Big sky country!

We meet a Turkish guy and his family who lived in Holland for 15 years. He still drives a car with Dutch license plates.

The old caravanserai now part of the bazaar in Kayseri. These buildings are 800 years old.

A Syrian refugee kid working in a carpet shop in the Kayseri bazaar.

Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 3,672 km (2,280 miles)

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