Day 53 – Arnavutkoy to Istanbul – 35km 527m

Crossing continents

And so to the valedictory ride, starting in the little town next to the airport. We saw off my family in a taxi so that they could get rid of the baggage and arrive in Taksim Square ahead of me.

The first part was motorway riding, not much fun, especially when a roadside repair on a puncture was required.

Taking the off ramp, we began our wiggle through the side streets of Istanbul. There were markets we had to walk through, steep hills to plod up, busy junctions, and at one point a set of steps.

Soon we saw signs to Taksim Square and the tourist trap restaurants began to appear. Pasta on the menu, an indicator.

We negotiated one more busy street and then were free on the square, riding towards my family with their sign! The end of the road!

5,714km

48,853m climbing – 5.5 Everests

16 countries

53 days

Zero falls or accidents

Hundreds of bureks and banana sandwiches.

Innumerable meetings with incredible people who immediately and unquestioningly showed such kindness to a total stranger.

Scores of  barely believable remote landscapes and views all to myself on misty mountain mornings that I’ll never see the like of again.

I didn’t know if I could do this when I set off. Things can go wrong very quickly and easily. The only kit issues I had were yesterday with my jammed chain and my GPS issues in Italy. Both were eventually surmountable.

The amount of potholes I dodged… I can’t tell you. When riding, there is a *constant* vigilance you must maintain on the road ahead. One heavy hit on a pothole, a rock, or one of the many vertical road ravines and one buckled wheel later in the middle of nowhere you’re in trouble.

What is the road surface like? Are there any junctions from which vehicles might emerge? What’s the gradient and optimum speed? Any overhanging vegetation? What could be around that corner that could be risky? All of that thought in microseconds, on a continuous reel.

Your brain can never switch off from constant risk assessment. It’s a practiced unconscious flick of the eyes to 50m ahead on the road, immediate assessment, adjust, then enjoy the view for a second, then back to assessing – a continuous cycle of that.

Of course the ride required a lot of physical and mental effort, but I surprised myself in never really reaching the end of my reserves for either. Perhaps that’s the endorphins of Type Two Fun talking… but actually I don’t think so.

We went back to a tourist trap for lunch. A colleague of mine and Phil’s whom we had met in Islamabad 15 years ago came to join the fun. What a joy to meet Wajiha again after all these years!

Jenny showed me a video with loads of you sending messages of congratulation. Thanks to everyone who did that, and especially to all of my regular and irregular correspondents during the ride. All the messages I’ve received have been so welcome and motivating.

Thanks also to my wingmen: Tom, Steve, Andy, Phil. A privilege to have you along!

In the early evening Phil played Tour Guide brilliantly, meeting us at the docks, from where we took a sunset boat ride around the Bosphorus. At the golden hour, seeing the ancient city buzzing whilst the sun dipped over Hagia Sophia was very special.

Wandering up through the spice market to the Blue Mosque we found a rooftop restaurant. A million dollar view awaited. Honestly I’ve never seen anything like it. To one side the atmospheric lights on the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, to the other the Bosphorus with the stream of boat traffic and waterside palaces spectacularly lit up. As we dined a pink moon rose over the water.

How lucky am I?