BigonaBianchi
Yes I can, Yes I am, Yes I did...Repeat.
- Location
- Iskele TRNC & Mordor UK
What's it like cycle camping.in turkey?
Turkey
- Thread starter BigonaBianchi
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Cubist
Still wavin'
- Location
- Ovver 'thill
@SatNavSaysStraightOn may have some cautionary advice
SatNavSaysStraightOn
Changed hemispheres!
- Location
- ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ɐɹɹǝquɐƆ
thanks for that @Cubist !
Err - best advise is once there arm yourself with a long stout stick and some rocks. No-one will bat an eyelid over it and the only q's you will get is to check that you know to point the tip of the stick at the dog's nose - and they will tell you it is a good idea and be very happy that you have taken precautions. The dogs are worst in eastern Turkey, but we were heading into central Turkey when our incident happened. If you have not already seen my journal, you want day 350 part 2. And as a word of warning, the pictures are gory even though they don't show the inside of my leg prior to it being stitched back together. Tis the dogs with the spikey collars you need to be careful about. Journal link is signature and its a go hunting - I don't want to put you off any food....
Otherwise it is a wonderful country to cycle through, the people are great, helpful, polite and really kind and we loved out time there (with the exception of about 5 mins). but get out of the touristy areas and get rural - that is when it is at its best IMO. There are also some fantastic archaeological sites to be seen as well as some great natural sites (Pamukkale & Kaklik Caves spring to mind immediately). And roads are undergoing a huge 'expansion'/renovation at present and have on the whole wide hard shoulders with loads of room for cyclists - just occasionally we would meet a lorry coming towards us on one, but they would go out into the carriageway around us (this is due to a lack of access to the other carriageway, at times some 20km or more would be inaccessible even to tourers...)
Really liked it there and would happily go back - just with a longer stick next time!
Err - best advise is once there arm yourself with a long stout stick and some rocks. No-one will bat an eyelid over it and the only q's you will get is to check that you know to point the tip of the stick at the dog's nose - and they will tell you it is a good idea and be very happy that you have taken precautions. The dogs are worst in eastern Turkey, but we were heading into central Turkey when our incident happened. If you have not already seen my journal, you want day 350 part 2. And as a word of warning, the pictures are gory even though they don't show the inside of my leg prior to it being stitched back together. Tis the dogs with the spikey collars you need to be careful about. Journal link is signature and its a go hunting - I don't want to put you off any food....
Otherwise it is a wonderful country to cycle through, the people are great, helpful, polite and really kind and we loved out time there (with the exception of about 5 mins). but get out of the touristy areas and get rural - that is when it is at its best IMO. There are also some fantastic archaeological sites to be seen as well as some great natural sites (Pamukkale & Kaklik Caves spring to mind immediately). And roads are undergoing a huge 'expansion'/renovation at present and have on the whole wide hard shoulders with loads of room for cyclists - just occasionally we would meet a lorry coming towards us on one, but they would go out into the carriageway around us (this is due to a lack of access to the other carriageway, at times some 20km or more would be inaccessible even to tourers...)
Really liked it there and would happily go back - just with a longer stick next time!
OP
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BigonaBianchi
Yes I can, Yes I am, Yes I did...Repeat.
- Location
- Iskele TRNC & Mordor UK
Thanks...
I sat at the screen last night hung my head in my hands and said...mate you have to get the f outta here soon....so...the very beginning of a plan (yes another one) came to mind....I wondered if I might go to Cyprus, then get a boat to Turkey, and ride back to the uk...via Galipolli ...just for the hell of it.
Unsure about road surfaces on my 28 marathon pluses on my galaxy..I really dont want to go off road at all.
It mya just be anothe ridea that fizzles out, but right now it's in my head.
I sat at the screen last night hung my head in my hands and said...mate you have to get the f outta here soon....so...the very beginning of a plan (yes another one) came to mind....I wondered if I might go to Cyprus, then get a boat to Turkey, and ride back to the uk...via Galipolli ...just for the hell of it.
Unsure about road surfaces on my 28 marathon pluses on my galaxy..I really dont want to go off road at all.
It mya just be anothe ridea that fizzles out, but right now it's in my head.
SatNavSaysStraightOn
Changed hemispheres!
- Location
- ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ɐɹɹǝquɐƆ
road surfaces are just fine for 28c... only the minor 'country lanes' would be an issue and you won't need them. Trust me you will find far worse roads in the UK.
Just pick the time of year carefully - otherwise it will be too hot to cycle anywhere and turkey has a lot of hills with +10% gradients that go on and on and on until you find yourself at the top of a +1000m pass that is not marked on any map... and that is only western turkey near the coast. Inland the passes get considerably higher and longer....
Just pick the time of year carefully - otherwise it will be too hot to cycle anywhere and turkey has a lot of hills with +10% gradients that go on and on and on until you find yourself at the top of a +1000m pass that is not marked on any map... and that is only western turkey near the coast. Inland the passes get considerably higher and longer....
SatNavSaysStraightOn
Changed hemispheres!
- Location
- ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ɐɹɹǝquɐƆ
Oh and the one thing anyone who has cycled there will tell you is that that tarmac is very grippy - and I really mean it. It is really slow tarmac for cycling on, not this super slick stuff we have in the UK, but coarse slow stuff that you are really grateful to get off!
ankaradan
Senior Member
I cycle here regularly, about 5000 km so far this year, and can thoroughly recommend it. Compared to the UK, the roads are very quiet, although back roads can be very badly surfaced (but as I run on 2" tyres, I don't care). Driving standards are "different", though drivers generally show more courtesy to cyclists than in the UK. It does, as you would expect, get very hot in June, July and August; but away from the coast it is a very dry heat.
Then there are the dogs. Many are very friendly, and would actually make lovely pets. However, beside SNSSO, I know personally someone here who was hospitalised for several days by a wild dog attack; and two winters ago, two people were killed in the Ankara area. Keep a very sharp eye out for them, and slow down when you see them by the road, or in the fields, and get ready to dismount. Often they just want something to chase. I think that they sense your fear, or lack of it. Whilst living near Ankara, I regularly chased packs of dogs away from our housing estate, to protect my wife's cats. However, the Kangals used for guarding sheep etc, are really fierce; think Hound of the Baskerville on stereoids; walk away slowly, keeping the bike between you. Having said all that, in two years of walking and cycling around the country around Ankara, I only really had problems twice; once chased by a very intelligent Kangal, that worked out it could cut across country to get ahead of me on a bend; and once by a dog I hadn't seen that suddenly appeared, snarling, by my ankle, which got a mouthful of cleat.
Since moving to Cesme, on the Aegean coast, I've not had any dog problem; there's plenty of them still, but they just seem to laze about all day; so a tour up the Aegean coast might suit you. Cycling along roads next to the deep blue of the Aegean has much to be recommended, especially in summer, when you can cool off with a quick swim.
Then there are the dogs. Many are very friendly, and would actually make lovely pets. However, beside SNSSO, I know personally someone here who was hospitalised for several days by a wild dog attack; and two winters ago, two people were killed in the Ankara area. Keep a very sharp eye out for them, and slow down when you see them by the road, or in the fields, and get ready to dismount. Often they just want something to chase. I think that they sense your fear, or lack of it. Whilst living near Ankara, I regularly chased packs of dogs away from our housing estate, to protect my wife's cats. However, the Kangals used for guarding sheep etc, are really fierce; think Hound of the Baskerville on stereoids; walk away slowly, keeping the bike between you. Having said all that, in two years of walking and cycling around the country around Ankara, I only really had problems twice; once chased by a very intelligent Kangal, that worked out it could cut across country to get ahead of me on a bend; and once by a dog I hadn't seen that suddenly appeared, snarling, by my ankle, which got a mouthful of cleat.
Since moving to Cesme, on the Aegean coast, I've not had any dog problem; there's plenty of them still, but they just seem to laze about all day; so a tour up the Aegean coast might suit you. Cycling along roads next to the deep blue of the Aegean has much to be recommended, especially in summer, when you can cool off with a quick swim.
OP
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BigonaBianchi
Yes I can, Yes I am, Yes I did...Repeat.
- Location
- Iskele TRNC & Mordor UK
Thankyou...so what time of year is best? I'm guessing springtime before the summer heat sets in?
What about camping , wild camping and wi fi access in the towns etc?
I think I'd be likely to take my.Garmin GPS map 60 csx pre loaded with track files, what is sat reception like there?
I'm guessing I'd need to carry.more spares than the USA trip as at a guess there would be very few bike shops right?
What about camping , wild camping and wi fi access in the towns etc?
I think I'd be likely to take my.Garmin GPS map 60 csx pre loaded with track files, what is sat reception like there?
I'm guessing I'd need to carry.more spares than the USA trip as at a guess there would be very few bike shops right?
SatNavSaysStraightOn
Changed hemispheres!
- Location
- ɐᴉlɐɹʇsn∀ 'ɐɹɹǝquɐƆ
yep - few bike shops, but wireless access in hotels & cafe's was excellent to good. Better than the UK anyhow.
Wild camping is not too much of an issue, often just a case of asking permission is it appears to be someone's land. Best looking at temp charts for the kind of weather to expect for the time of year etc. for me winter was the best - I love the cold and snow etc, you might not! There are plenty of journals over of CGOAB that include Turkey and plenty of routes through the Istanbul maze to help you etc...
Wild camping is not too much of an issue, often just a case of asking permission is it appears to be someone's land. Best looking at temp charts for the kind of weather to expect for the time of year etc. for me winter was the best - I love the cold and snow etc, you might not! There are plenty of journals over of CGOAB that include Turkey and plenty of routes through the Istanbul maze to help you etc...
An area I reccommend from experience for cycling in Turkey is Goreme and Cappadoccia.Stayed and hired a mountain bike in Goreme.and toured the Fairy castle shaped rock formations and valleys.from there. Lots of Cycling holiday companies Explore etc cover that area(Download one of there itinieries for idea s and DIY) Down on on the Turquoise Coast theres Olympus famous for the Chimera (mountain of the eternal flame.it was once a hippy camping hangout.You can camp or stay in a tree house there..and cycle on the coast in that area...Expect to fry in Summer...https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=o...Ut-vDe_H7AacwIF4&ved=0CEUQsAQ&biw=905&bih=453
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BigonaBianchi
Yes I can, Yes I am, Yes I did...Repeat.
- Location
- Iskele TRNC & Mordor UK
Galipolli is where I would aim for from the coast near to Cyprus where I'd arrive from.
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BigonaBianchi
Yes I can, Yes I am, Yes I did...Repeat.
- Location
- Iskele TRNC & Mordor UK
Cool...It's very much a first idea of a plan for me at the moment...but I'd be based in the TRNC near famagusta to start with...I have no clue about routes either...or even if there is a ferry to the turkish mainland from cycprus at all...but I do fancy a trip back to uk via gallipoli
Hi, if you come to Turkey you can use EDİRNE-İSTANBUL BURSA-ÇANAKKALE -İZMİR ,CAPPADOCİA ROUTE.İn summer,Turkeys weather is good .But in winter,anatolian become like north pole lol. İn the beach cities, its easier to use lıke other country.if you come to istanbul ,just u can message to me
Creamcrackered
Über Member
- Location
- 2,000' above Gloucestershire
We cycled to Istanbul from Bulgaria then did a tour around Galipoli - loved it. Didn't have any problems with dogs. The only problem we had wild camping was people coming up and offering to put us up in their houses. You need to be careful if you are entering Istanbul on the main road from Edirne - the traffic gets a bit crazy on the last 20km (coming along the south side of Marmara and getting a the ferry from Bandirma is a good alternative). There are some good bike shops in Istanbul.
