(^22) Altintas - Inonu – 82 kilometres
The weather turned bitterly cold, and we woke to ice on the tent. Following more tea,
the time was quarter to eleven before eventually departing. En route to Inonu, we
met two cyclists from Germany (the first since Sudan) on a six-week holiday. Each
year, they did a cycle trip, picking up where they left off the previous year, which I
considered a marvellous idea, especially with limited time.
The Altintas and Inonu area was well known for porcelain production, and we
encountered various porcelain factories. It started raining and we were offered
accommodation by an older man living in a container divided into two rooms—how
immensely kind of him as he was a man of few possessions.
We, nevertheless, opted for a roadside motel where the room was warm as toast. The
light in the room was, however, fitted with an automatic motion sensor. Meaning one
had to keep moving about. How strange. Ernest fixed (or broke) it, and we could at
least read in peace without jumping up every few minutes, arms flailing.
Inonu - Inegol – 112 kilometres
Once again, it was late in the day by the time we got underway. The weather
remained icy in the high-lying areas, and hard to make one’s way out the door.
Ernest had taken to picking up all kinds of things, mainly tools. He claimed a number
ten spanner fitted all the nuts on his bike racks, and an adjustable wrench is a tool no
man could cycle past.
We also met one lonely cyclist on his way to Beijing. The rest of the way mostly
descended until we came upon a grassy patch suitable for pitching tents.
leana
(Leana)
#1