DickyB's Turkish Delights

.........................



and my new best (mechanised) friend arrived




Of course I had to let Jasper know that he was still top dog. The black cat about to fall off the chair is fairly nonplussed though!



Cheers,


Dickyb

Enforced inactivity also got me mulling over previous rides. This touring malarky all kicked off with a coastal run of the UK. A lardy bloke on a lardy bike:eek1



Confidence gained we headed further affield but there was no way this Polish border guard was going to let us into the Ukraine on an even lardier bike



So we headed off to Goa where they will let anyone in. Even old knackers riding old knackers



But of course the ultimate road trip had to be.............

.....................riding across Arizona on a three week va..heh..heh cation
Deluded hippy type on his "Hog"



Ah, memories.............

Cheers,


Dickyb

Just getting over a shock to the system:eek1 The wife paid 1750YTL for a three year visa. Burkhard, the German, paid 98YTL for a five year visa:eek1

Anyway, me and the cheap one are planning a trip to Mt Ararat in June from Kas. Anybody got any bright ideas regarding routes? Anybody fancy coming along/meeting up?

Cheers,

Dickyb

After we had settled into our new abode we decided to head for one of the many of natures gifts to this amazing country. After touring Europe on Gold Wings, Valkyries and other assorted big capacity machinery we jumped on the only machine we had at the time, a Honda Falcon NX4. 400cc's of raw Japanese power. Looking after the wallet, credit cards and other essential was Cluj, the pooch we had acquired on a trip to Cluj Napoca in Romania


Juliet, God bless her, decided to forego her usual luxuries of everything including the kitchen sink. Everything we needed for a week on the road was packed into a pair of throwover Oxford panniers, a tank bag and Cluj's tummy.

We eventually arrived at Cappadocia and took in the scenery. The change hits you immediately from "normal" countryside to something else:eek1











Cluj, however, seemed fairly nonplussed by it all:eek1 or maybe he was missing Jasper, Bique, Lucky and the rest




We stayed overnight in a half cave half house arrangement where we met.................

................Burkhard who just had to do some confined space riding on his bike:eek1



With Burkhard was Monica. They had just come from a tour to Nehmrut Dagi and were slowly, in Burkhard's terms, wending their way back to Kas



We, however, tootled about at a more leisurely pace and headed off for Alanya then down towards Antalya and eventually Kas. On the way we headed inland and found the most amazing hotel in a village in the hills. The name of the village escapes me but the hotel was fab. B&B for two for 100YTL. The views were to die for and we were the only residents!









Cluj had a good nights kip and the following morning it was time for the off



Back home along more spectacular backroads






The more observant will notice that Juliets helmet has a couple of dogs ears attached. This was not as the result of a high speed (on a 400cc bike?) collision with a canine chum!



3000kms in just under a week, two up on a 400cc bike. A couple of years ago I would have said it couldn't be done

Cheers,

ickyb

Hi Dave,

Great pics, Cappadocia is on our TO DO list, but still have not gotten around to it, does your Mrs. really ride around with dog ears stuck to her helmet.....I feel a story comming ??


Cheers


Dave..

Thanks Dave,

She'd happily ride around with a sidecar strapped to the bike containing our five pooches and four cats. She has a thing about rescuing waifs and strays which is probably where I fit into the picture

The Dalmatian ears were originally bought by our daughter and Juliet first wore them on a blast down various autobahns to Romania. They brought a smile and a giggle to the occupants of various 4 wheeled conveyances as they flapped about in the breeze above Cluj on her back. Worth wearing just for the happy faces.

Cappadocia is special. We went in October, warm enough and quiet enough.

Looks a bit soggy down your neck of the woods. Played any water polo on your badminton court recently? Having a fair bit of precipitation here too.

Cheers,

Dickyb

Good safty feature, I'll see if I can talk my Mrs. into it !

Good point Dave,

What does tend to happen is that overtaking cars tend to slow down as the driver is coerced by their passenger, or the excitable kids in the back, to slow down so that they can get a good look. The situation hasn't yet arisen where the driver, 'cos he ain't looking where he should be, has slammed into an oncoming car or veered in front of me causing me to inhale his exhaust gases from close quarters

Cheers,

Dickyb

The rain has stopped, it's Sunday the sun is shining, time for a ride



Jasper, however, is none too happy



The loose plan is to visit Phellos, an ancient settlement half an hour away. Then to meet up with Cevdet from Kemer who for some reason is coming from Fethiye where he has had some business with the Turkish Enduro Federation. We head off and pass some strange looking trees



and up a valley towards Derekoy



Now, we haven't been to Phellos before so we have to ask for directions. Turns out the chap in the watch tower is a friend of Mehmet's, I've yet to meet somebody who isn't



No, we didn't phone him for directions. Just turns out that he was on the phone to another Mehmet when we bowled up

Directions gleaned we headed on..................

..................past the first toadstool on the left, right at the third airport, up past the railway station, left at the submarine and you should be able to see the tombs on the far side of the moon:eek1 Maybe I need to work on my Turkish. Somehow I don't think my interpretation quite matched what was said.

Anyway, we eventually arrived here



(Mehmet on the phone again ) and saw some of these



Now, there were loads of these dotted around what is known as Phellos. The problem being that they were 500m away on the other side of a deep gulley. This being a Sunday wasn't a walking day so we decided to let those who had been kipping in the area for the last couple of thousand years catch up on their beauty sleep. We went off to meet Cevdet.........

.........who was innocently tootling back on his DRZ400S from Fethiye.

We were a tad warm after engaging in some lighthearted tomfoolery. Cevdet, however, was dressed for Siberia:eek1



Cevdet est un tout circular bon oeuf et un grand fromage in Turkish enduro circles so it was nice to have him along to see what three buffoons get up to on a weekend. The weather was clear and the ground good, good enough to eat off in fact. So we did



Though Zeki was less than impressed with Mehmets blowj.../firestarting abilities........................

..............the food was a while coming but the picnic location was nice



After lunch Zeki treated us to his Darth Peach impersonation. We were not fooled



wrong colour boots

.................

.......bellies full, we decided to upset them and head for the hills






though they were steep hills



Turns out Cevdet is the same age as me. We really ought to find something more adult to do on Sundays



Cheers,

Dickyb

Hey Dave,

Looks as though you had a great day out..nice pics as always !

Cheers

Dave..

Thanks dickyb

same picture ı put








Ho is soft yumurta ı think this sunday me
this link tours video
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6223675943847671053

Popped in for a chat with Cem, my spannerman, today. He is usually either up to his elbows in axle grease or up to his axles in elbow grease depending on which project he is working on. Today he was having an easy time spraying office furniture



Cem breathed new life into my TT with a head rebuild and by replacing/repairing broken parts the previous owner had damaged/forgotten to put back on:eek1

His hobby is taking these



and with a bit of work





converting them into these



..........................

.............on the way back home I found a new route. However, along the way my nostrils detected an odd odour. Ever wonder what happens to household rubbish over here (probably not). I found the answer as I did a right and headed up a track:huh








After reflecting on the fact that this may well have been the final resting place for the Yam, were it not for Cem's spannering skills, I headed home to squirt some bleach up my nostrils:eek1

Cheers,

Dickyb

Hey Dave..

I have never been asked what I was wearing before happens to the Mrs on the internet all the time:eek1

Almost the same as you..T-shirt then thin fleece, then jacket..the fleece comes off quite soon normaly....yep tried expensive gear years ago and its a waste of money....thin layers works much better



Cheers


Dave..