2-8 July 2008

We’re now experts with the Turkish concept of BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper). There have been all manner of toilets (from ‘EU Standard’ roadside services to campsite squatters with unidentified rodents) experienced thus far and we are prepared that this is just the beginning.

On the topic of floaters the Aegean is very bouyant. Diving into its clear waters in a bikini is unwise if you want to protect your modesty. The Roller fears he has lost his touch with the staple with his privates taking the full hit on numerous attempts to regain his bombing form. Week five has been a coasting, cycling, camping cracker.

Kabatepe-Karacaoren (33km)
We stayed at the Kabatepe campsite for three nights and spent the time swimming in the clear blue Aegean Sea and recharging the batteries. From the campsite we conducted our own Gallipoli tour of duty on the bikes. A 6am start was worth it to beat the heat and most of the tourist buses. There are some sharp hills but they were manageable unemcumbered by our panniers.

It’s an easy cycle from Kabatepe to Ecebat, and then a short ride on the feribot (ferry) back from Europe into Asia to Çanakkale, a university city that has a good vibe and would be an alternative base to exploring the Gallipoli Peninsula if not camping. We then pedalled our way out of town and found a nice motel lawn with views of the busy Dardanelles shipping channel to pitch our tent on for the night.

Karacaoren-Behramkale (92km)
We set off for Troy and listened to a few facts and funnies behind a tour group before conducting one of our usual Spencer-Murray special speedy tours of the site. We’d spied a couple of touring bikes parked up at the cafe where we had our morning Nescafe and spent much of our time at Troy trying to spot our fellow cyclists. We met the middle-aged Dutch couple when we returned to the cafe, who were also going to follow the advice of the knowledgeable cafe owner (Helen Clarke’s personal tour guide on her 2000 Gallipoli visit) and head down to Assos, the site where Aristotle founded his philosophical thought.

We met the Dutch again after a testing 8 hours of some of our least favoured h’s (hills and heat) looking as jaded as we felt. The Stick flatly refused to climb another hill to see the Assos site and we proceeded immediately to a campsite where the hardships of the day were washed away with a dip in the Aegean and a can of Effes.

Behramkale-Oren (81km)
With determination and aching limbs we were on the road at sunrise but our ride from our campsite was a welcome pleasure – just a few rolling hills and panoramic views, and before we knew it we had reached Oren for another swim and night of camping.

Oren-Dikili (71km)
It’s getting into the peak holiday time for the locals and it’s common for them to park up at campsites for a number of weeks. Their camping dwellings are homes away from home with net curtains and tomato plants growing. We found a campsite at a holiday town and were grateful that the owner encouraged us to pitch our tent at the edge of a large open space, rather than under the tree in the centre that the team were angling for. It was quite a community there – a square of camping shacks with an area in the middle ideal for the Roller to display his football skills with his team of little buddies. Everyone seemed to be friends and everyone enjoyed the neighbouring nightclub whose mirrorball danced across the campsite while the bass shook the tent pegs ’til late. After the exertion of our day it was still only 10 minutes until we were fast sleep.