Summery ride
distance: 34.21km
duration: 5h 29min
(Bravo! Well done! Gratulations, gratulations! You are brave!)
I just exited a village shop when a mountainbiker in full gear approaches me, speaking german with a swiss dialect. I'm pretty puzzled to hear my own language in the middle of nowhere. Turns out the fellow cyclist has been working in Switzerland for 28 years and now enjoys his pension at the age of 50. We join as we both go to Kasimpasa, where he was born and where he has come back to and built a house with his wife. Inevitably, i get invited to a fantastic homemade lunch at his home - hands down, i ate for two. It's 3 o'clock in the afternoon when i finally leave, but i should rather have taken the offer to stay for the night at his house, as i don't get far in the remaining two hours before sunset. After shopping for dinner in Adapazari i have to hurry and only find a mediocre campspot on a field, close to a loud street.
Today's short ride was smooth sailing through green hills - for the first time since the "Magic Valley" i enjoy cycling in warm weather with a blue sky away from traffic and cities and remember how much nicer cycling under summery conditions in true nature is. The nights are as cold as they're supposed to be for early November, but the new sleeping bag does a very good job at keeping me warm. The weather-report says there'll be similar conditions for the rest of the week - perfect for my planned route through the mountain-ranges between here and Ankara.
