Day 27 - Water from the Sky

We woke to the sound of rain on the tent. That was expected as we'd braced for our first wet day of the tour. But as we hit the main road again (it was another 170km of dual carriageway today) the rain stopped and then the sun came out! Blessed, we continued through what felt like cycling through treacle on the rough road uphill until we'd smashed enough sugar to wake the legs up. Like a lot of sugar - I stopped at a shop for provisons and Emma kept on going. While catching her up, I had nearly two full bars of chocolate and half a packet of biscuits in the 30mins until I caught her, but the legs did indeed come online and soon enough the first pass was done.

While she was solo, a driver pulled over, posed on his car and offered Emma an apple, then promptly asked for her phone number. She just took the apple. We've split up similarly a fair bit and that was the first time. Turkey otherwise once again delivered on that hill though. I was going along craving a cup of tea after said sugar hit, and just as I thought it a car pulls over, and produces a double thermos - would I prefer tea or coffee? A short conversation later and I also had two juices, a pastry and water pushed upon me! I did disappoint with my knowledge of English football though.

On the way down we stopped at a roadside tea station for a couple more teas each. A wood fired oven with big jugs of tea on it and nice tables was a fun vibe. As we finished the tea and set up to eat our lunch on his covered picnic table, the heavens opened. By the time we'd finished eating the sun was out again and the roads had dried. This cycling in the rain thing isn't so bad when you miss all the rain!

Now, do you remember the Swiss tourer from yesterday? As we were climbing the next pass he passes in the passenger seat of a car, leaning out the window and waving! That took a minute to place let me tell you given he was cycling the other way 200kms back yesterday... Turns out he'd had to go back to Georgia in a rush and was hitchhiking back. He gave us his excess food and sped off.

Then our luck ran out and we got wet. VERY wet. Just as we started coming over the top of the pass the rain really starting bucketing it down. Up until then I wasn't that impressed with Turkey's "rain". But raining for the first time in 5 months, it really went for it! Descending 1000m vertical on 3cm of water down a dual carriageway with trucks and cars going past in the freezing cold was rather unpleasant to put it mildly. You know when you pass a lorry on the motorway and the windscreen gets completely covered and you can't see anything? Well yeh that, except my glasses don't have windscreen wipers.

Eventually we got down and stopped at a petrol station to warm up. Shivering violently we were ushered into the back room and fed tea until we were warm enough to continue. It was more smoking inside but we weren't about to complain as he cranked the heat up for us!

In the meantime the Swiss tourer was networking for us, and I received a message from a random Turkish number - someone he'd met who was out of town but trying to arrange for us to stay with his friend! Sadly the friend had to go to hospital so it didn't work our, but it was a very nice try!Now we're tucked up in a cosy hotel, after a long hot shower and we've turned the room into drying carnage! Bliss 😁

Food spend today: 27.45 euros