I had my longest ‘civilisation-less’ stretch ahead of me from Sharhud. Nothing major, but more than 200km between towns. As usual the wind was pain in the back (or front, rather) and the heat scorching. I hate the lack of shade in the desert – it makes things really tough sometimes. Normally I like to … More Iran part 3: Shahrud to the Turkmenistan border (05/08/15-14/08/15)
I arrived in Tehran with only one thing on my mind – Turkmenistan visa! Essentially the missing piece of this jigsaw that would connect two sides of the world for me. There was only one feasible road to Central Asia and everything depended on it… But first I needed to find somewhere to stay. I … More Iran part 2: Tehran to Sharhud (28/07/15-04/07/15)
I cycled off from Yerevan in the burning sun. For a good while the road was nice and flat and there was only one mountain in sight – the two unmistakable peaks of Mount Ararat, the Armenian icon (that now lies 40km into Turkey). Just before the day’s climb started I stopped in a village … More Armenia part 2: Yerevan to the Iranian border (09/07/15-15/07/15)
The Armenian side of the border was a chaotic shambles, but within 5 minutes of cycling I was cycling in peace and quiet. In the evening sun everything looked golden – the fields a deep yellow and the mountain peaks different shades of blue as they faded in the distance. In one village not far … More Armenia part 1: From the Georgian border to Yerevan (03/07/15-08/07/15)
Turkey had been great, but enough was enough. I was excited about travelling somewhere new and the Caucasus seemed like a perfect place to detour while waiting for Ramadan to pass. The border official took an eternity looking at my passport, calling his boss over to check things but eventually I was let through – … More Georgia: Dodging cows, cars and thunder storms (21/06/15-02/07/15)
I left Samsun just after the election results had come in at the weekend. From what most people I’d spoken to had predicted the verdict was a pleasant suprise. Very few of the folks I’d stayed with were voting for the current party AKP, (choosing main left party or HDP) and so I was happy … More Turkey part 4: Samsun to the Georgian border (10/06/15-21/06/15)
I left Ankara with a clear target – to cycle approximately 450km to Samsun (where I always intended on passing) by Saturday, five days away. Then I could get the bus back to Ankara on Sunday, try for the second time to get my Uzbekistan visa on Monday and return the same day or Tuesday. … More Turkey part 3: Ankara to Samsun (02/06/15-09/06/15)
Well rested and with a much less hair than when I arrived, I crossed the Bosphorus and began my adventure into Asia. Istanbul had been a great city for a break, but the size and busyness of it had been a shock to the system. The city’s traffic is crazy and it was a horrible … More Turkey part 2: Istanbul to Ankara (22/05/15-01/06/15)
If the border change from Bulgaria to Greece was dramatic, the crossing into Turkey was something else. Finally I was out of the easy EU borders. This crossing had a long no-man’s land, rusty barbed-wire fencing and large ‘no camera’ signs against military personnel stencils. There were soldiers around the buildings and for the first time … More Turkey Part 1: From the Greek border to Istanbul (08/05/15-22/05/15)
It felt like spring had come and gone within a week. It was nearly 30 degrees when we crossed the border from Serbia into Bulgaria and I was struggling in the heat. We still had ages to go until our first stop near Vidin, and light would be running out soon so celebrations for ‘100 … More Bulgaria & Macedonia: 3 months and 15 countries (16/04/15-27/04/15)
JKB's Bike Ride 