Pedaling from the Black Forest to the Yellow Sea

the days’ distance: 0km
total distance: still 5005km
riding time: 0h

The last couple of days were slow ones … as the ones before and I must say that I don’t mind. The wheel is on its way and there isn’t much that I can do but wait for it to arrive and clear customs.

The main thing this weekend was food … first the Koefte festival. Haluk had been eagerly awaiting to show off his Koefte-making talents and he didn’t promise too much. They were absolutely fantastic. We had dinner at his brother’s house who also plays in the same band as he does. They go and play in a fancy hotel in Antalya in the summer, while at the same time able to enjoy the niceties of said hotel.

Here is part of the Koefte ceremony …

The final product was blocked by some Turkish filters …

(just kidding, I forgot to take a picture)

Sunday was my cooking day. Haluk had hinted at one point that I should step up at one point. I had suggested one thing, his eyes wide-open he asked mockingly whether it was dangerous. It came down to some yummy stir-fry - given where I was heading I thought I would give the Westernized version of Chinese food a try. We had some trouble finding ginger, but eventually came up with a dried version - not ideal, but it did the trick ultimately.

today’s distance: 0km
total distance: same old, same old (5005km)
riding time: 0h

Given that this day was slow … speaking of which, take a look at the sticker on the VW Beetle (just click on the picture for a larger view).

So, back to the slow day. Because it was slow, it gives me a good opportunity to let go of some thank yous to those who have given me words of feedback as of late. The blog now has a good number of regular readers and your comments and messages (by way of email, comments on the website or otherwise) are always greatly appreciated. One subscriber for example reads the messages while taking a break giving swimming lessons in Spain, some read printouts while waiting at the doctor’s office, others are too tired to read the long-winded texts I am producing, but they really like to take a look at the pictures here and on the flickr site. Yet others have taken a liking and can’t seem to wait for updates after finding it quite frustrating to have a new message pop up every day or so in the beginning. Others (e.g. here and here) are touring themselves and are having similar experiences in a lot of ways. Thanks for letting me know about all this and keep the comments and questions coming.

There are two people who have sent me a particular uplifting and challenging message. M & M’s anniversary is approaching in about three weeks time. They are as they say “avid” readers of the blog and have decided to forgo an expensive dinner on the occasion and instead make a donation that day (for more information on the charity portion of this project, go here). Specifically, they will donate the amount of kilometers I am covering that day in Euros. Thank you M & M for this and I am planning on not making it a rest day I suppose.

The remaining day was filled with visiting relatives in the sprawling mass that is Ankara, passing by the country of bread among other places and eating yummy chocolate banana cake to top things off.

today’s distance: 0km
total distance: same old, same old (5005km)
riding time: 0h

Off to a late start again. It’s sleeping time these days and a) I am catching up a lot it seems and b) it is deeply necessary it also seems. Take today. I slept for about 9 hours during the night and then in the afternoon for another 4 hours. I usually never sleep in the afternoon. But it seems like my body is telling me to do something so it gets what it asks for right now. And that is food and sleep.

Before my comatose afternoon, I wanted to get some information on my US visa from the embassy here in Ankara. I figured that information wouldn’t really hurt and that I might as well start the information gather process. My questions largely centered around time issues as I will need to apply for a longer visa if necessary in some part of Central Asia. So here we go - Haluk drives me to the embassy, I am sort of prepared with prior internet research and know that the Ankara embassy operates by appointment only. So much for rules. There have to be exceptions. I show up and ask whether it is possible to speak to a consular official. Turkish security tries to direct me to the internet and the phone. That didn’t work I explain. They say no. I ask for the supervisor. They send me to a different gate. I speak to the Turkish security supervisor, a nice guy as it turns out. His name is Murat. I explain the situation … bike tour, not much time due to visa restrictions, try to have things in one place, yada yada. His first reaction: “You’re crazy! I used to be a bike myself, but not a 15,000km one!” He also says that speaking to a consular official is impossible. They changed the rules a couple of years back - no exceptions. I try the “I’m a lawyer and know there are always exceptions to the rule” angle and he says he will see what he can do, speaking to his boss. If he says no, it would be a no. He seems sympathetic due to the biker bond. The little Turkish I have picked up so far makes me realize Murat is going to bat for me. He explains the situation in great detail. When he turns around, he says: “Go back, my people will let you in!” A big thanks to Murat.

I get my answers that I need from the consular staff, know that things are generally possible now and that it is possible to not leave the passport with the embassy for purposes of issuing the visa (kind of hard in former Soviet countries, where you need to have the passport at all times as I have found out in a subway station in Tashkent at one point; milita asks me for the passport, things are OK - but an old lady curses them out for pestering foreigners for no reason - great scene) and that I should be able to have a visa issued within no more than 3 weeks with all documents being in order. That should be possible in the end.

As Haluk needed some things from the mall we also entered one of the countless of such consumption temples here in Ankara (you know you’re there when you see a big mobile phone company store starting with an N, a mobile plan provider starting with a V, a Swiss formerly very hip watch company, a sweat-shop producing athletics store and the ubiquitous coffee company with a Seattle, WA HQ). You also know you’re there when hip young Turkish couples try to get fit by using a game console to get fit.

The trip here was also an exercise in being catapulted from the Turkish hinterland (where biking shorts are looked at suspiciously and with a derisive snort at times) to the fast-paced and extremely modern face of Turkey.

today’s distance: 0km
total distance: 5005km
riding time: 0h

I slept. Slept like a stone. My body needs rest. Even when I didn’t sleep, I felt tired and it is as if waves of tiredness are washing over me. I am thinking now that I am hesitant to take breaks for that reason. When I do - mostly on the second day of a break - I get extremely tired. On the other hand I should be taking more breaks. I know that - rationally. But biking is just a lot of fun and most of the time I have this urge to keep moving.

The rim is on its way now and will hopefully arrive early next week. In the meantime, Haluk showed me the Ataturk Memorial. Funny places, these memorials.

Tombs … most of them have tombs of course. This one happens to be empty. The real one is below the main hall somewhere, but the reverence will always be a public one in this hall. I somehow can’t do much with such national symbols and find them in some sense comical. I don’t want to arouse any misgivings, but a lot of times wonder whether and why we seem to need such places as an expression of some kind of national identification. Call me post-national or whatever, but it just doesn’t do a whole lot for me. This sentiment has only become stronger the more I travel in places with strong national feelings engrained in people. Add to this that the title of the whole project - Cycling Without Borders - is an expression of a deeply-held personal belief and you get the gist of what I am saying.

Alright, enough pondering for the day … here I am in front of the tomb of Ataturk.

The rest of the day was quiet. We got back to the apartment and I got a better look at my wheel, making sure that the brakes were in good shape still getting to work on phone calls to the University of Miami administration to get the ball rolling on my US visa that I will have to obtain in the process of this trip. I hope to be able to do this without having to fly back to Germany for some reason. Keep your fingers crossed.

today’s distance: 9km
total distance: 5005km
riding time: less than 1h

Murat and I had breakfast and this time we parted ways personally instead of over notes. I rolled slowly to the bus station amidst the construction sites dotting Kayseri. When I pulled up at the bus station (a sleek new building with security all over the place), the security guard inside the front entrance wasn’t too happy about me placing the bike near the entrance instead of the bike racks 100m away. I wasn’t going to do that in order to buy a simple ticket. He was standing inside the glass front trying to impress me with wide-open eyes and by pointing to his badge (a company logo) and then to the bike rack. I motioned to leave it here and locked it. He came out: “Problem!” I told him I will buy a ticket. “OK.” That was it. Bought a ticket, boarded the bus and five hours, a lot of climbs and a break later I arrived in Ankara. As I get off, Haluk comes out of the terminal and greets me with a cheery hello. We make our way to his similarly cheery yellow car, somehow manage to get everything inside and head to their apartment in the center of the city. I will be able to stay here until the replacement arrives, thanks a million for this!!!

Believe it or not - no picture today. Zero. Nada. Keines. I had expected to mull things over in my head a lot more, but I have pretty much accepted the situation (was there anything else I could do?) and figure that the rest is welcome and probably necessary.