Believe it or not, we are in Istanbul!  We entered Turkey a few days ago, riding up a steep climb to the border after staying in a very dodgy “hotel” in Malko Tarnovo Bulgaria.  Peter, our fastest rider was stopped by Bulgarian military who suddenly materialized out of the woods.  Peter explained what he was doing and mentioned that there would be about 25 more riders coming up behind him.  We never saw any guards before the border, but it was a bit eerie knowing that we were being watched!  The main reason for the military presence around the border is the issue of many refugees trying to get into the EU.  Clearly they realized that we couldn’t carry any refugees in our bike packs!

We crossed the border without further incident.  Riding through western Turkey was beautiful and tough.  It was the land of hills and headwinds.  Some of the time we had remarkably good roads with little traffic so the descents were sweet.  Basically though, we were either going up or down…there was really no flat riding at all.

We stayed one night in a small town called Vize.  We had our first introduction to the all-pervasive call to prayer.  Five times a day, including at 5:30 am, the call to prayer is sung over loud speakers.  The landscape is dotted with minarets.  We found the Turkish people to be very friendly and welcoming.

Most vehicles that passed us in either direction tooted their horns in a very friendly fashion.  Once again, the locals were fascinated by our recumbent bikes.

We sat with the gentleman who owns this fruit stand when I stopped by to tell him how beautiful it was and ask if I could take a photo.  He quickly set up an impromptu tea area in front of his shop along with a local restaurant owner.  They summoned tea from the tea seller..tea is strong, sugary, sold everywhere and constantly consumed.

We also hired a driver on our rest day and went to the Black Sea about 30km away.  We waded and laid around to read books.  One of the ubiquitous dogs adopted us and laid under our chairs for several hours.    Made us quite lonely for our pups.

The next day we rode on to a Turkish resort only 50km from the finish.  We actually had a pool there and all took advantage of the chance to relax poolside.  Had a few very entertaining moments when some goats from their petting zoo got loose and came over to hang out at the pool.

Not only did they drink the pool water but the big billy goat

helped himself to one of the patrons French fries!

Finally our last day of riding arrived.  We rode into the outskirts of Istanbul, a city of 24 million people, and boarded

a ferry on the Bosphorus to our hotel.  We had a final dinner with the group

overlooking the Bosphorus.  The last couple of days we have luxuriated at our hotel in the center of old Istanbul.  We have been resting, eating great food and seeing the sights.  Today we had a walking tour with a wonderful English-speaking guide.  We were able to see some of the great mosques  , the markets,

and the underground cisterns.

Our guide also told us a great deal about the current political situation in Turkey along with its amazing history.  It was fascinating.

It is still hard to believe that we actually made it.  Those of us who rode the entire way received an EFI (Every F—– Inch) medal from our trip leaders.

I could describe the trip in terms of statistics:

Roughly 3700km (2300 miles), 2500 meters of climbing (and descents), temperatures from 5 to 39 degrees C (40 to 100 degrees F), 10 to 15 pounds lost, countless peanut butter sandwiches and ice cream cones eaten, 12 countries represented (riders and crew), riders age 19-73, 8 countries ridden in, one nasty falling rock, several bike crashes, no bones broken, numerous bruises and scrapes, many wonderful new friends and acquaintances.

But regardless of the numbers, it has been an amazing epic journey for us.  Thank you for joining us along the way.  It has been a great pleasure to know that you have been with us for the trip.  Thanks for indulging and inspiring me.

Warmest wishes & Ciao!  Barb & Jim