As I was leaving the house of Ahmet and Hatice, I had the dog incident from a couple of days earlier fresh in mind. I was climbing the same gravelled road, the fog was heavy and really limited my sight. I was just waiting for the next – or the same – mafia clan of dogs to come and eat me for breakfast.
Soon enough I could see the silhouettes of a couple of dogs showing up from the woods. Shit.
They looked at me. And I at them. Both waiting for a reaction from the other. And… nothing. Better than nothing actually. These couple of cuties just decided to join me up the mountain. Patiently they strutted along as I slowly climbed my way to the pass.
In the downhills naturally they couldn’t keep up, though trust me when I say they were really trying. However, by then I had gotten to like my new travel buddies so much that now I was the one waiting for them to catch up.
Our joint forces lasted for some three hours, before we finally parted ways. Guess they finally realised that they weren’t gonna get any food…
From here I had a clear goal in mind. Erzurum.
Why in the world? you might wonder. Well, first I had to get there to collect my Iranian visa. But more importantly, if I got there in time I would recieve a sweet visit from home. My dad! Talk about good motivation.
The road to Erzurum was really nice. Epic scenery, good climbs and flawless road quality. For days on end I rode along great mountains, and as I got closer to Erzurum I gained more and more altitude.
Soon enough the mountain tops were all snow capped and I climbed my first couple of passes above 2 000 meters. Feels so good to have had a first taste of riding in the mountains. I really can’t wait for what I know is coming up in Central Asia this summer.
I’ll let the photos do the talking on this one.
Apart from full days where I literarly felt like I was cycling through a real life screen saver, the road to Erzurum wasn’t all about the views. As usual, it was also about the people. And some pretty unusual campsites.
This one was actually really nice. Until my new neighbours started munching away on my tent that is. Luckily though, my Bergans Compact 2P prooved to not only withstand rain and wind, but also sheep teeth.
The closer I got to Erzurum, the more beautiful I experienced the surroundings to be. As I’m cycling through these landscapes I really wish that I could have all of you sitting in my panniers. These are places one have to see in reality, not on a screen. Trying to capture the magnificance of the mountains seems so silly – because it just can’t be done. Not by me anyways.
I’ve passed so many of these. Who will tell me what and who it is?
After a bunch of days I was there. In Erzurum! And I still am.
I’ve spent a few days sorting out my Iranian visa. And finally having it my hand felt so god. damn. good. I think most tourers reading this can relate. I still have a bunch of bureaucracies and paperwork ahead of me, but at least I now have this first one done.
And today – finally – came that awesome day. The one where my dad jumped on a plane and flew down to meet me! And he is just as cute as always.
The plan from here is pretty epic. While waiting for him I managed to get us a second bike – so tomorrow morning we’ll continue on my route East together. I’m so excited to get to share a tiny bit of this experience with my dad. To later have the memory of some of those views in common.
And obviously, I’m also looking forward to get to watch the poor man huffing and puffing as he’s working those hills. Sure, he works out from time to time. But I mean. He is kind of old.
(No offense, Dad. But we all know it’s true…)
This is gonna be interesting for sure. Wish us (him) luck!
Fredrika