The rest of the week Claude me started falling into a routine. Hey finished the first draft of his book and I organized spare parts and was fixing the bike and cloths.
In between we met Dursun and Jingis for tea and talk.
My head did not stop spinning. So much that was happening, so many news people I met. Turkey ist also the first country that feels really exotic to me. Even though I though travelling by bike is one way to avoid cultural shocks I got mine this time after all. Probably travelling by bike just softens the shocks then. It was also weird to arrive finally at the "minimal" destination. Minimal because Istanbul was the earliest point I would allow myself to return. Claudes mood also changed. It's always weird to take the plane back after a longer journey, he said. In his case it was six months and 10'000 kilometers, I mine a bit more than half.
Last monday Claude then took the plane in the early morning.
I miss his company. We had a lot of fun and it is brilliant hearing travelling stories from a pro like he is. During his 20+ years of travelling the world by bicycle he gained an amazing view of the world and its treasure of cultures.
Well after one week most of the equipment is fixed. Wolter got a new rear wheel rim, new cables for the gear-switch (runs like butter now), a better handle bar (for more natural position of the hands and wrists, hopefully avoiding some tension in my neck), a new tire (one is fucked and the slim one I had one the front wheel went back in the bag), a small mirror (for relaxed traffic observation) and some small other stuff. Furthermore I shortened the chain, greased the parts that needed some and tightened all the screws. Wolter is ready again. Me not so. My stomach got screwed up. However, as you might have guessed, I am not finished yet.
The tricky part will now be to find a route that is rideable in this season.
In between we met Dursun and Jingis for tea and talk.
My head did not stop spinning. So much that was happening, so many news people I met. Turkey ist also the first country that feels really exotic to me. Even though I though travelling by bike is one way to avoid cultural shocks I got mine this time after all. Probably travelling by bike just softens the shocks then. It was also weird to arrive finally at the "minimal" destination. Minimal because Istanbul was the earliest point I would allow myself to return. Claudes mood also changed. It's always weird to take the plane back after a longer journey, he said. In his case it was six months and 10'000 kilometers, I mine a bit more than half.
Last monday Claude then took the plane in the early morning.
I miss his company. We had a lot of fun and it is brilliant hearing travelling stories from a pro like he is. During his 20+ years of travelling the world by bicycle he gained an amazing view of the world and its treasure of cultures.
Well after one week most of the equipment is fixed. Wolter got a new rear wheel rim, new cables for the gear-switch (runs like butter now), a better handle bar (for more natural position of the hands and wrists, hopefully avoiding some tension in my neck), a new tire (one is fucked and the slim one I had one the front wheel went back in the bag), a small mirror (for relaxed traffic observation) and some small other stuff. Furthermore I shortened the chain, greased the parts that needed some and tightened all the screws. Wolter is ready again. Me not so. My stomach got screwed up. However, as you might have guessed, I am not finished yet.
The tricky part will now be to find a route that is rideable in this season.
