Leaving Beyneu I was both sad and happy to see the back of it; sad because it had at least had warmth, clean toilets and electricity and happy because it didn’t have much else to recommend it apart from the three things I just mentioned. I was also quite nervous about my knee failing again…
I arrived in Beyneu about five days earlier than I had expected having decided to accept a lift from someone across the desert. This turned out to be a stroke of luck as if I had only had the one rest day here that I had planned I would only have been able to do…
I spent a few relaxing days in Aktau and managed to not get involved with anything too strenuous: lots of internet surfing in cafes and a few drinks with some locals met on couchsurfing. While there I was also lucky enough to meet another cycle tourer: Helen Lloyd. Helen was just reaching the end of…
Arriving in Baku I was immediately struck by how different this city appeared to be from the rest of Azerbaijan. On the surface it seemed modern and bustling; there were impressive skyscapers and some really amazing modern architecture giving it a distinctive skyline. There was also a wide variety of restaurants serving many different cuisines…
The road into Tbilisi from Mtskheta was long and straight and mostly downhill, which made up for the crazy traffic whizzing past us. Tbilisi was going to be the first major city I had ridden into since Ankara, which had been a month before so I was a little nervous. Thankfully while it was a…
Riding across the border into Georgia I was immediately struck by the roads. They were a whole lot narrower than in Turkey and not in the best state of repair. That was OK though as it would transpire that Georgia has other things to make up for the roads. One of these is a thriving…
My next stop after Erzincan was Kelkit, a city laying between two ranges of mountains. I had planned on going further than here but the early onset of darkness had caught me out again. It was also pretty cold and I didn’t feel like pushing on for the sake of it and ending up freezing…
After Goreme I headed off for Kayseri, the nearest city. As I rode towards Kayseri the mountain Erciyes loomed closer. sadly the day wasn’t that clear so I didn’t get a great photo. The road to Kayseri was fairly uneventful, I left the wonders of Cappadocia behind quite quickly. After that there was only Erciyes…
Arriving in Cappadocia and Goreme National park it quickly became clear that I was somewhere special. The landscape is like nothing else I’ve seen, born from ancient volcanic activity there are rock formations that seem impossible and in the distance the massive volcanic mountain of Erciyes. Erciyes is one of the most amazing mountains I’ve…
In Ankara I had originally planned on getting my Iranian visa. By the time I had arrived though I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t be going via the middle east. Instead I planned on sorting out other visas I might need, getting cold weather clothes and getting my bike checked over. In the end…
Riding ROUND 