Turkish hospitality

After getting my bike equipped with the new wheels on Wednesday (thanks to Peter who helped me with the job on the very day he departed home for Germany) I joined the group again after a bus ride to Yakakent on a wild beach campsite near that town. Rainy awakening the following morning in our tents! But at cool weather and with a moderate tailwind on an almost flat road we made the 90 km to Samsun fairly quickly. People are so friendly that they literally pull off the road and offer us tea (at least) and even food! Motorists are also friendly to us and display this by a lot of honking but seem to be helpless in dealing with cyclists on the road otherwise, especially near the busy crossroads. And there are a lot of them here in Samsun, biggest city on the Turkish Black Sea coast! So ıt requıred the help of the local police and a good connections of one group member to a local acquaintance to safely get us to 19th May Sport Stadium (the date refers to Atatürks landing and the beginning liberation from the occupying forces in 1919) and it's annexed hotel for a fully sponsored stay.

No spectacular view on a rainy day: the Kizilirmak river near Bafra, known in antiquity as the river Halys

Cycling through the suburbs of Samsun

GPS-track and more photos of the last two days: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=25712