Thanks, Kat
I'll update the titles as much as I can.
PD: that's really good to hear. Get some miles in, man.
I'm in Istanbul, at last. Well, it feels that way, anyway. I wanted to get here and organise the next part of my trip, visas and wotnot, so i pushed myself a bit across Bulgaria and western Turkey. It wasn't the best bit of cycling I've done, especially route 8 in Bulgaria. There's probably loads of really good cycling in Bulgaria, but I didn't see much of it, and on Monday I was completely defeated by the weather. Howling wind, torrential rain, flooded roads and sub-zero temperatures meant it was fucking cold, and downright dangerous. I accidentally rode along the motorway for a bit, but that was almost certainly safer than the narrow road I should have been on, where I saw an accident involving three HGVs. I wouldn't have liked to have been the meat in that sandwich. I'd already decided to pack in as soon as I found a hotel, so I checked into the cheap n nasty hotel in the depressing border town of Kapitan Andreevo after forty miles, and laid all my stuff out to dry. I mean everything. Tent, stove, you name it.
This did mean that yesterday, when I rode into Istanbul, I had a very long day. There was a bright frost when I awoke, but it was still and clear and this meant it was quite a warm day as I rode along toasted Istanbul - I saw the sea again, for the first time since the North Sea at Zeebrugge, 2400 miles ago.
But Istanbul is big. Bigger than any other city I've ridden through. I started hitting heavy traffic at about 4 pm and since it was moving slowly, I filtered my way through a bit. Six lanes, seven, eight, it seemed kinda optional. I got a bit over confident and nearly got sideswiped by a BMW when trying to filter downhill at greater speeds, but we shook hands on it, so no harm done. I just had to follow this road to the heart of the city.
Two hours later I was still on the same road, and my nerves were frazzled. Totally chaotic shit. Signs led nowhere, lanes meant nothing, every fucker was beeping at me, and there was a huge junction every hundred yards where I had to negotiate my way across two or three lanes or a slip road. I'd had enough. Luckily my good sense kicked in, so I rode south down to the bay, hoping for quieter roads to Sultanahmet where I'm staying, and though the roads were no better, when I got to the bay there was an actual factual cycle path by the water's edge, along which I rode in perfect serenity, far away from the carnage. I was another hour finding this hostel (as I'm already booked in), but that I didn't mind at all, as it was a warm night and it's a lively old place, and people were spilling out onto the streets wherever I looked. Still, I was pleased to get here and put away my bike, as I don't intend to do much riding around Istanbul until I leave.
