Collioure to Istanbul (& back!) 2023

When I set off on these rides….the planned distances and ascents always seem just too big to contemplate. 4,700kms and 50,500m were the respective plans! And so much to go…

The final day!! A nice slow start today after our late arrival last night! Managed to get the blog up to date before ambling to our local cafe for a…

Haha…Strava congratulated me on my longest ride ever!! (…just nice to have the complete picture!) The original Sardinia plan had been two days up to Bosa for a rest day…

The last full riding day of the trip….alas!!! Not sure I am at all ready for this to end! After yesterday’s absurd hotness…..the BBC put out a warning….(& these are…

Another hot hot day. Seriously seriously hot!! We got away early….and headed for the Sinis peninsular…home of (amongst other things!)…Tharros. An old Greek settlement dating to around 800bc..or earlier. A…

A rare treat today…with breakfast at the hotel…and an omelette instead of the usual sweet pastry! So a slightly delayed start…which we would pay for later! A gentle climb out…

…for real? What a name…! And……the day started with a big Bugger You to Mr Google Maps as he took us down two long dead ends! To be fair…In Italy,…

A rest day really…and more restful than most! …don’t you love that 29m journey time!!? Average speed over 800km/hr!! Haha…a Strava spaz! After a quick breakfast en route…we were on…

A very memorable day! For all the wrong reasons!! In between those bits…it was actually a lovely ride…through the high country of Sicily…full of hugely productive farms in the full…

Recognise the godfatherly destination? A suitably  remote town up in the hills! What a wonderful, beautiful ride!! Not quite as planned of course (is it ever?)….but fantastic all the same! The…

A rest day. Lots of admin, too many emails to catch up on, blog, washing… …….then beach!  Lovely! Planning a big day for tomorrow!!

We knew we had another 100+km day ahead…so got away relatively early….!  Lovely early morning ride……. …..before breakfast at the 26km mark.  Always interesting to see the Autostrada running paralell…

A good early start…..for a day like a game of two halves…except it was rather a game of four quarters…with a prologue! The prologue involved a lovely early morning ride…

Day one with Alan! And a relatively ‘easy’ day…and everything went to plan…for the first time in yonks!  I could make reference to Nae on maps…!! But that would indeed…

Nae and I have been cycling together for 19 days. Without a break!! That was not really the plan…with breaks on the Mani peninsular, and in the Ionian Islands. But…

Nae’s last day of biking! Alas! That went quickly! But not so far to go today (we thought!)..so we had a relaxed breakfast and did not leave until 9.30 or…

South coast to west coast today….a big moving day, with…Mr Google advised…only a moderate 600m hill en route! A fairly ordinary 30km along the coast….shifting on and off that main…

After the deflating dramas of yesterday, it was good to wake up and squeeze Nae’s rear and find it was still hard as a rock! Maybe that last shock of…

Today was intended to be a nice short day between two must-see places, to allow plenty of time for visiting. That was indeed the plan…but…(Robin’s favourite bits!)… Shennae has once…

For all its failings…the ferry did arrive on time! Strava however went to sleep for most of the journey, which lasted a full 8 hours longer!! Complicated exit from the port…

Our last day in Greece! And it has been as wonderful as ever! After our efforts to get to Ammoudia yesterday…we did not really have far to go today…40km or…

Another early-ferry start to the day…..as we resume the journey in earnest.  They had put on an extra sailing today (good for us!)…but we had to wonder why when only…

The last of our lazy days in the Ionian islands today! Our dear apartment host arrived with a monster plate of pastries for breakfast (sort of onion-ring shaped donuts sprinkled…

Another quasi rest day today…in that we were diverting from the journey…but not such a quiet day really! So we have come over to Ithica….Kefalonia’s immediate but much smaller neighbour,…

A rest day today! Haha….at home I’d think I’d been out for a bit of exercise with ascent like that! We tried to visit the Melissani Cave Lake?..but it was…

Last year….the road between Pyrgos and Patras was probably the worst we rode on. A nice two lane road…with good shoulders…was in the process of being converted into a three…

We had planned a big one today. But certainly not this big!! A record-breaker…in terms of kms in a day!! And a few metres of climbing to boot! We had…

Wind!! Now for many of us it is beans - of the baked variety, or (f)artichokes…but for Nae it is cheese! And yesterday she managed a chilli feta dip for…

We are here in Lagia for two nights…to give us a chance to explore this wonderful area a bit more!! It truly is one of the most spectacular…and empty…parts of…

I have been looking forward to today. Last year….we did an epic ride down the East coast of the easternmost of the Peloponnese peninsulars…inspired by a cycling blogger. The best…

We excreted today! Twice each! Hahaha.  Once quickly in the apartment….and once - for seven hours! - on a ferry. Very discretely of course…! No concrete reason to secrete our…

Not far to go at all today…just back over the island..to our departure port of Kissamos. So a very lazy morning….doing little but emails, reading…even sleeping a bit!  And then…

A long day today! We pulled into the bike shop in Chania just after nine. And they could sort out our wheel!! Yeeha!! But they had the wrong axle set…

It turned out to be a big first day for Nae!  A double-ton!! She was expecting no less of course! But having  not been to bed at all on Friday night (before…

Five nights here…my mid-term luxury break….. Martin left on Wednesday morning……off to Gatwick and straight on to Holland for a family camping gathering! He left with his back wheel….to leave…

Martin’s last day! And a double-ton to boot!! Last year, his last day involved 1,349m of climbing, before our terrifying plunge down to the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro…..so we…

A 10km climb first thing this morning. Not steep. Probably around 4% gradient. But a strong wind turned it into a tough 14% hill. So by the 10km mark I…

OMG….Martin has only two riding days left before he leaves!!  That went quickly! But today did not.  We bought two of these!! And cycled across the water all the way…

The weather thankfully cleared today. Rain threatened…but held off! But still surprisingly cool…so cycling with a second layer until well after midday!! Another lovely ride…up into the hills….. ….and down…

A beach day today!! But….at “it never rains here in May…and certainly never rains here in June” Charaki…it rained!  The weather will come right one day! So a lovely lazy…

I generally have a rule. On rest days…I do not get on a bike!! (That would appropriately be called a busman’s holiday!) And last year…we broke that rule just the…

When we tipped off the ferry last night…we found a gem of a place to stay right in the middle of the old town of Rhodes. This was Martin at…

Three countries in one day”…..reminds me of an NZ song with a more Vivaldi-esque title…!  And not expected at all. Overnight in Marmaris…then ferry to Rhodes in the morning.  That…

Lazy day. Or…lazy dog day!!? Question……there are a heap of street dogs here…and elsewhere in Turkey. Not under-fed. Not unhappy……but where do they shit? In UK, NZ, Collioure…let dogs go…and…

We were up bright and early…to get to the ferry terminal an hour before our 9am ferry. And at that time of day….on a Sunday…and election day to boot…the roads…

A lazy start to the day…for it was only a short hop to Gumusluk..at the end of the Bodrum peninsular. Good job really….for the Turks are late risers…and usually breakfast…

Martin slept. I slept a bit!  The hotel saga got better! We had opted for an early-ish start…to get the hell out of this immemorable place (actually very memorable!). So…

(…..a double-ton day when Strava stopped working….12km short!!) A breakfast-less start to the day! I was worried…for Martin is not one to move on an empty stomach! But the nearby…

Foca was a place I could have stayed a while. Such a great house (AirBnB…however much I hate how they operate!)…in a wonderful location. But we made an early start….with…

A lazy day in lovely Foca! This is certainly the sort of place I could come and have a great holiday for a week or two. Away from the awful…

Only 79kms today…..wrong by 10% once again!  Not the nicest riding today really. A fast road for the first 23kms after which we had no choice but to join ‘the…

An even better breakfast today! A full buffet spread….everything you might wish for..for breakfast…and a heap of things you might not ever have thought you might wish for…for breakfast! But…

What a day! A BIG day…and only Martin’s second! But it was a really special ride! After our first “proper” Turkish breakfast! …through countryside which I would never have picked…

Funny (weird) day today.  Iain left. And then it was Martin and I setting off…apparently on the ‘back to Collioure’ bit! Actually…I am really only a third of the way…

Phew…….!! Funny to think that despite the cold…and despite all the raindrops…and threatening clouds….we have not once (yet!) had to put on our waterproofs whilst riding! It was very wet…

We made it!!! And rode straight to Sultanahmet Square….where the famous Blue Mosque (above) faces the much older Hagia Sophia (below). We had planned to do this trip over two…

A day of two halves today. Firstly a glorious 50km ride through to Tekirdag….. ….along the coast… ….and then a battery-sappingly steep climb up into hills Glorious scenery….and an almost…

And nothing happened! Indeed Murefte was all but closed.  All but dead…..except of course for the wind….which blew - very coldly - for most of the day! Middle of May…in…

Turkey is famous for its wonderful breakfasts, so I had been looking forward to our first delight! Well…I had been, until we arrived in our hotel….and feared that as the…

We had originally planned to spend two nights at our Greek idyll on the coast…..to warm up….relax on the beach etc….until we got there. So  we decided to move our rest…

Another freezing start. And we were quite glad to have a long slow gradient to keep the blood flowing!! As we approached the Greek border…the road steepened - of course!…

A relatively slow start this morning….doubtless reluctant to brave the cold! We had decided over beers last night…that the chill was simply too much! So we decided to select our…

It is all in the name…..so it is said. And Plovdiv somehow fitted its bill rather well. Say it very slowly…….Plooovdiiiv. It brought to mind a Miranda-esque “plunge” (you need…

It was a rough and early start this morning. Well, the same aim for 7…but leave at 7.30 sort of start….except of course we had lost our hour yesterday…so it…

A hurtle down the 25% hill…even for only two kms…certainly blew away a few seedy cobwebs, after our fantastic night at our monastery hotel. What a place! Truly world class…so…

We made a good early start today in brilliant sunshine! Cold….but we have not had many clear skies as yet, so felt good! And - despite the lack of any…

Another big up and down day today!  And despite the wee graphic above….it started all down. At about two o’clock in the morning…..and again at 3.30…..and again…..as my delicious Mexican…

A day of rest!! We needed it! Indeed…I cultivated a cold…so - with lots of rain forecast - we opted to stop an extra day. Very little to report really….lots…

Not much sleep last night. Was that a bed bug…? Or a flea? And the pillows smelled rank. “You’re getting soft in your old age” chirped Iain. Too bloody right…!!…

What a day!! A real monster! Indeed various Google searches had confirmed that this was always going to be huge….but when we asked our host last night…he advised (correctly) an…

Most of the folk on the boat were big fat truck drivers! I know….Roald Dahl is no longer able to use that term…but it is true! Try navigating around the…

I forgot to mention…at the bar last night, they were playing some cool music. Not that I could name any of it. But suddenly Iain burst into song…getting every word…

A lazy morning after Roby had supplied us with a huge breakfast…and Mrs Roby kindly took our washing…..Before I wandered into town to explore.  Apparently Corinaldo was voted the prettiest…

A late start today, as we awaited delivery of our included breakfast! So for the first time this trip, we left with full tummies. Another instant climb out of the…

A very steep hill took us out of Arezzo….breakfast-less…and freezing cold (but sunny!). So our sore digits were pleased to stop for breakfast in the sun. A delightful cafe, packed…

As we were having our first coffee of the day…Iain was approached by an old woman who gave him a bunch of greenery she had collected. “For a beautiful boy”…or…

Slightly later than planned, we ventured out from our fantastic city centre apartment (only one floor up to lug the bikes) for our first real day of cycling. And it…

 Well…we did cycle nearly 30kms…so I felt it counted as our first day! A later start today….so after crashing down the six flights of stairs from the apartment we had…

And we’re off!! Father and son for four weeks of delightful bonding, arguing, laughing…and biking….all the way to Istanbul. We stopped for a quick farewell-to-Collioure on the way to the…

  The fourth Mad Bike Ride!! Back in 2018, Collioure to London seemed impossibly far to me! On a bicycle. So…I gave it a go…..and it was a revelation! Simply…