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Go East
  • Herbert E
  • Meike Grothe

Go East

A 175-day adventure by Herbert & Meike Read more
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  • Go East
    Leaving the storm behind
    Feels like being in GermanyPalace resortBikepath into AntalyaOne of the many picknick spotsCampspot for the night

    Crazy holiday cities

    November 4, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    If you want a holiday at the beach in a warm country without missing anything of "good old Germany", the area Northwest of Side is the place to be. We cycled through this part in the morning. Again, one resort next to another and many shopping malls. But here, most of the offers and signs are in German.
    Next, we had to cycle on the highway for some 20km which totally felt like Turkey again - busy villages with no tourists.
    Then we turned into a different "holiday city" again. This one was called Belek and caters to golfers and professional athletes. It's full of resorts, but you can't see them because of the huge, fenced golf courts around the buildings. Plus, there were many sports complexes for football, tennis, rowing etc. We also saw some triathletes training on their bicycles (slightly faster than us...).
    After the golf resorts, we passed an area which we call "presenting your money". Resorts were called "[something] palace" and had walls around them and shops were boutiques selling leathers, fur or jewellery. Interesting to see how different areas cater for different type of tourists.
    Then we finally arrived in Antalya. We feared another huge city, but actually really liked it, especially as we could enter via a 20km long bike path along the sea. There were parks with benches, outdoor gyms, cafés, restaurants and lots of places to stop for a picknick. The old town and the harbour also looked nice, but we didn't spend much time here. We are going to spend a couple of days in Antalya before flying out.
    Instead, we cycled through the city and headed to the mountains. Winds were crazy and we had to fight hard. In the end, we found a campspot in a pine forest where we can hopefully get some good sleep before we have to do a lot of climbing tomorrow.    Read more

  • Go East
    Fighting the wind and the mountain
    Cooking in a corner protected from the windCosy wine party

    The organic wine party

    November 5, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Unfortunately, our night wasn't quiet at all due to some nasty gusts that blew against the tent and kept us awake. And the wind hadn't calmed down in the morning either, so cycling wasn't fun at all. With those strong headwinds and an ascending route, we barely moved.
    It also got colder and colder while we climbed. At above 1500m, it was below 10°C plus an icey wind from the North. We were happy to find a camping option with a hot shower! It was an organic farm led by Can and his parents who did everything to make our stay comfortable: We could pitch our tent behind the house to be protected from the wind and they gave us tea, home made potato salad and additional warm jackets. The day ended with a wine party in the apartment, with a fire, snacks, music and quite a bit of their great homemade organic wine.    Read more

  • Go East
    Late starting at Can's home
    1Fethiye harbour

    Hangover cycling

    November 6, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    After the wine party last night, we had a late start. We slept in a little, had breakfast and coffee - and still felt tired when we started to paddle. Luckily, the wind was on our side for most of the time today and we descended back to sea level. The views were stunning, so we were distracted and didn't think too much about our tiredness.
    We arrived in Fethiye and decided to check into a hotel. The town is nice and there's some things to explore, so we may stay here for a couple of nights.    Read more

  • Go East
    Breakfast at the seafront
    Lagoon in ÖlüdenizBlue lagoonOld Greek village in KaraköyDownhill to FethiyeRock tombs and sarcophagus

    Exhausting beach day

    November 7, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Time to explore the area around Fethiye. After breakfast at the seafront, we cycled to Ölüdeniz. İt's a bay with a beautifully blue lagoon, an absolutely stunning location surrounded by high mountains. In order to get there, we had to climb across one of them. And the mountains here are very steep, so we were very happy we didn't have to carry our luggage today. At the beach, we went for a well deserved, nice and refreshing swim in the clear blue water.
    Afterwards, we had to climb up the mountain again. From this side, it was even steeper. Within only 2km, we gained over 300m in elevation, some sections were about 20%.
    On the way back to Fethiye, we took a detour via Karaköy. There's an old abandoned Greek city you can visit. As we have already seen similar sites here in Turkey, we only stopped for a couple of photos and continued our scenic ride.
    One more steep climb and we could roll into Fethiye. Just before the city center, we stopped again. This time, we visited the rock tombs. There was also an old Lycian sarcophagus in the middle of the road. Rather than burying their deads in a Necropolis outside of the city, people in Lycia used to get buried in between the houses. So up til now, you can still sea those sarcophagi in some of the roads in Fethiye.
    We spent the evening at the seafront watching people and strolling along the restaurants. Some of them offered live music and were lit in colourful lights, so it was nice walking around.    Read more

  • Go East
    Stray dogs sleep on the non-operating boats

    Season closing

    November 8, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    You can tell that the season is over here in Fethiye. Some bars, shops and restaurants are already closed, some start getting everything ready for the winter. The vast majority of the boats don't go out anymore either. However, we were lucky enough to find the last one operating. And today, it went out for the last time this season.
    Again, we enjoyed being on a boat and seeing the seaside of Turkey. We passed many islands (probably 12 as that was the name of the tour), stopped at 4 of them for a swim and had some yummy fish for lunch. It's getting colder, the water as well, so we were the only ones (I think) who went swimming at all 4 stops. Many people didn't swim at all.
    For us, it was probably the last boattrip on our biketour and a relaxing day for our legs as well.    Read more

  • Go East
    Beautiful morning ride in the mountains1Saklıkent canyonThe cat followed us, jumping from one rock to the nextTurkeys everywhere

    Saklıkent Canyon

    November 9, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We left Fethiye today in order to continue to Saklıkent. The ride was beautiful as we could take remote secondary roads through the mountains and villages full of greenhouses.
    Saklıkent is an impressive, super steep canyon. The first 500m are easily accessible via a wooden bridge. It's also possible to hike further into the canyon and climb up a couple of waterfalls. However, even for us it's too cold at this time of the year.
    As all campgrounds and most of the restaurants around the canyon were already closed, we decided to continue to Patara. There's some ancient ruins which we skipped this time. Instead, we tried to access the beach, but only got to a huge sand dune we couldn't cross with the bicycles. We found a small campground run by a couple of friendly hippies. They shared some of their delicious dinner, cake and lemongrass tea with us.    Read more

  • Go East
    Kalkan marina
    1Gorge behind Kaputaş BeachKaputaş BeachRelaxing at one of the beaches in Kaş

    Seaside cycling

    November 10, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    After a cup of coffee with our hippie hosts, we left the campground and cycled towards Kaş, our next stop. We had breakfast in Kalkan, a touristy, but at this time of the year pretty chilled out town. From here, the road led along the coast, so we could catch some really nice views.
    There were some thunderstorms in the far distance which caused a really cool light. You don't get this incredible turquoise coloured water on a day like today, but we didn't mind.
    We passed Kaputaş Beach, usually crowded with tourists because of the colour of the water and a narrow gorge behind. But at this time of the year it's empty.
    In Kaş, we went to one of the beach, relaxed in the harbour and walked around the little streets. It's a tourist town as well and really quiet now as season is over.    Read more

  • Go East
    Breakfast at our guesthouse
    Beautiful colours on the peninsula roadRelaxing in the waterClimbing to the rock tombsView over Kaş1Sunset view from the amphitheatre

    Plaji day

    November 11, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today was a rest day. We had breakfast at our little guesthouse, cycled around the peninsula and spent some hours relaxing at one of the beaches. The water was absolutely great for swimming!
    Afterwards, we explored a bit more of Kaş, visited the rock tombs and the amphitheatre. For dinner, we treated ourselves with some delicious kebab at a restaurant.    Read more

  • Go East
    Final view of Kaş
    Kaleüçağiz (little harbour town)View over the bay of Andriake BeachYoga at Andriake Beach

    The sunken city

    November 12, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We left Kaş after breakfast and went on another really nice day of riding. A stunning final view of Kaş - and we climbed up the mountains along the coast again. We could ride on a quiet scenic secondary road with lots of ups and downs, but enjoyed it a lot.
    Around lunch time, we did a detour to the coast. There's a sunken city under the water (Theimussa) which was caused by an earthquake many years ago. We would have loved to go kayaking around the islands and ruins but couldn't find an open operator anymore at this time of the year. As there was no beach in the little harbour town either, we decided to continue.
    In the end, we found a nice campground in Demre, right next to a sandy beach. So we could go swimming and do some yoga here.    Read more

  • Go East
    1FinikeAdrasan Bay

    Endless awesome bays

    November 13, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Our route was very scenic again today. For most of the time, we cycled directly along the coast. First on a highway which wasn't busy at all, then on an absolutely empty and stunning secondary road. We had our breakfast stop in the bay of Finike and a swim stop in one of the turquoise bays for a swim.
    Before the descend to Adrasan, we had to climb one more steep hill with 9-10% elevation gain. Adrasan is another beautiful bay surrounded by mountains. It's touristy, but 90% of the hotels, campgrounds and restaurants are already closed for the season. However, we still found a place to camp, went for a swim and ended with some yoga on the beach.    Read more

  • Go East
    Mountain route in the morning
    Breakfast at the beachBeach side of Olimpos ruinsChimaera fire mountain

    Olimpos

    November 14, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Another day in Turkey = more things to discover! After a short, but extremely scenic ride with a steep climb and a fun downhill on a dirtroad, we arrived in Çiralı. It's another beautiful turquoise bay in this area of Turkey, surrounded by steep, green mountains. We first had breakfast at the beach before looking for a campground. Again, most of the tourist places are already closed, but we were lucky enough to find a nice place for our tent in between some orange trees.
    Afterwards, we went out exploring and checked out the beach side of the ancient site of Olimpos. The scenery is quite impressive as the ruins are located next to a river coming out of a canyon and basically right at the beach.
    Then we went for a swim, had a quick lunch and went to the next highlight of this bay: the Chimaera Fire Mountain. It's a natural phenomenon where flames come out of cracks in the rock caused by the combustion of gas. This is definitely something we had never seen before!
    Finally, we did some yoga at the beach and went for a swim again. Once the sun hid behind the mountains, it got really cold, so we had to put on a warm jacket.    Read more

  • Go East
    Campground after the rain
    Breakfast at the beachDrying our stuffView of Mt. Olimpos

    A stormy night

    November 15, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    The night was horrible. At about 1am, the bay got hit by a huge thunderstorm with thunder, lightning and a lot of rain. Sometimes, we even felt the ground vibrating which was kind of scary. It went on until 6am, so we didn't sleep much.
    In the morning, it finally stopped raining and the sun came out straight away. The campground was full of puddles, our tent dirty and soaked. Therefore, we had to spend half of the day drying and cleaning our stuff.
    Our neighbour had even more bad luck. His tent was completely under water so he had to spend the whole day drying his stuff.
    As we weren't too motivated to cycle anymore, we decided to stay another night in this beautiful bay. We went to the beach, did a workout, went for a swim and watched the waves.    Read more

  • Go East
    Morning swim
    Hiking on the Lycian WayDinner time

    A hike on the Lycian Way

    November 17, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Yoga, swimming during the sunrise, breakfast at the hotel - definitely could get used to this morning routine! Afterwards, we wanted to hike a little bit on the Lykian Way which we've been crossing every day since Fethiye. It's a long distance hike of more than 500km in this area of Turkey.
    We only wanted to hike a tiny part of it. Therefore, we cycled to a bay some kilometres out of Kemer where we wanted to start. The part we chose led directly along the coast with some stunning views of the sea as well as of the ruins of Phaselis Antique City. It was an easy hike and we generally prefer our technical hikes in Alps. But today it was a good alternative to cycling all day.
    Once back in Kemer, we went swimming again, had a coffee on our favourite harbour terrace and cooked dinner at the beach. We ended the day with a local beer. The Bomonti isn't too bad after all, for sure a lot better than the well known Efes.    Read more

  • Go East
    Bike path along the beach
    Old city of AntalyaLast swimAntalya harbour2Takeaway dinner on the quay wall during sunset

    Last day on the bikes

    November 18, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today, we cycled our last stage on our epic bike trip: From Kemer to Antalya. The cities are only about 45km apart and we could see our destination pretty much all the time.
    The road wasn't too interesting. It led through a couple of resort towns that are already closed for the season. Furthermore, the highway was busy and led through some tunnels, so cycling wasn't too much fun.
    However, once we got to Antalya, we were pleasantly surprised again. There's a bike path along the long Southwestern beaches with lots of cafés and many people exercising in the outdoor gyms. We really liked this area.
    We checked into a hotel in the old part of the city, had the obligatory Covid test done, went for a last swim (probably) and explored the harbour during sunset. The atmosphere in Antalya is very enjoyable overall.    Read more

  • Go East
    German weather in Turkey
    BreakfastGökhan brought us 2 bikeboxesGood to have a hotel with a courtyard with a roofLunchDinner - Can you spot our little "guest" reaching for the fish? 😉

    Getting ready for Germany

    November 19, 2020 in Turkey ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    As expected, our Covid test results were negative, so nothing here that could extend our stay in Turkey. In general, our timing isn't too bad as the weather here changed completely with rain all day and temperatures dropping under 20°C. Thus, we could already acclimatize to German weather conditions today. Plus, Turkey is going into some kind of a lockdown again tomorrow, so travelling wouldn't be that much fun anymore I guess.
    We made the best of the day and had some of the delicious food we could find in Turkey: Su Böreği for breakfast, Çiğköfte for lunch and grilled seabrass for dinner.
    Furthermore, we prepared our bikes for the flight. Luckily, we have a good network of cyclists in Turkey by now. Gökhan, who we had met in Side, owns a bikeshop in Antalya and delivered 2 bikeboxes to our hotel. So I guess we are ready for the very last leg tomorrow morning.    Read more

  • Go East
    Waiting for the taxi
    Checkin timeLeaving TurkeyArriving in Frankfurt

    Back home in quarantine

    November 20, 2020 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    We left Antalya in the morning. The taxi company had sent the wrong car at first although we had talked to them twice the day before and even measured the different cars. This one was too small to fit our bike boxes. But good we are in Turkey, so they just called their colleagues and asked for the cab we ordered. It only took 3 minutes for it to get to our hotel, so we were still on time at the airport.
    Some of the mountains around the city were covered in snow, so the view from the plane was beautiful. When we arrived in Frankfurt after an uneventful flight, it was pretty grey though.
    For the next 10 days, we'll be staying in quarantine as per current law. At least, there's some stuff to do at my parents' house, so we won't get bored.

    Anyways, our trip is over and here's some stats for the GoEast trip:

    9 countries
    13.394km cycled
    799:48 hours on the bikes
    131.172m climbed

    In sum (including our Americas trip), these are the totals for the last 15 months:
    20 countries
    28.000km (exactly!) cycled
    1655:33 hours on the bikes
    283.578m climbed

    It was an unforgettable experience and we already have a few ideas in mind. But first, we have to get back to a normal life again 😉    Read more

    Trip end
    November 20, 2020
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