Stage Tour II: from Cypres to Volgograd - Entries for: Turkey
23° | sunny | km 352
Museum for tractors?
on 2013-04-02 in Turkey
As it turned out, it is very hard to get motorcycle chain lubricant in Turkey. They had removed ours from our luggage at the airport so we were desperate to buy some. Apparently motorcyclist in turkey do not lubricate their chains or use old used oil. We were almost ready to give up and pour motor oil on them as well when we passed a Honda motorcycle dealer in Mersin by coincidence. He was just opening his shop and was able to sell us new Spray cans right out of the box!
In the evening we found ourselves in a small village in which we had trouble finding a place to stay. When we stopped to check our maps we were instantly surrounded by 10 or more residents that overwhelmed us with the usual questions: Where did we come from? Where are we going? How much cubic capacity, horsepower? How much for the bikes? After managing to get some of the questions cleared up they told us where to sleep and where to put our bikes. We put them into an old barn in which a lot of old worn down tractors were parked. The sight of that was very funny.
We shared some more Chai tea and relaxed for the rest of the evening.
In the evening we found ourselves in a small village in which we had trouble finding a place to stay. When we stopped to check our maps we were instantly surrounded by 10 or more residents that overwhelmed us with the usual questions: Where did we come from? Where are we going? How much cubic capacity, horsepower? How much for the bikes? After managing to get some of the questions cleared up they told us where to sleep and where to put our bikes. We put them into an old barn in which a lot of old worn down tractors were parked. The sight of that was very funny.
We shared some more Chai tea and relaxed for the rest of the evening.
21° | sunny | km 81
Hello to our Swiss friends
on 2013-04-03 in Turkey
After we woke up and went downstairs for breakfast, a bunch of people already waited in front of the hotel. We realized they were waiting for us to push our bikes out of the garage. Shortly after we got them out of the way, all of the tractors were on their way back to the fields. To our surprise no one complained that we had just delayed their work by some time.
After we arrived in Cappadocia we stopped at the first campsite that we found. The owner of the campsite tried to convince us to set up tent here. He even told us there would be a pool! We saw a couple of bikers further up that watched the scene with a lot of interest. We didn't really want to go any further and so we decided to stop and camp there.
It turned out the two bikers came from Switzerland and they were trying to go around the world! Since we wanted to know everything about it we decided to plan our barbecue together this evening. You can read more about their adventure on www.rvsz.ch.
For the rest of the day we had other plans. Denis' bike was experiencing some problems which in turn left him at 100km/h at full throttle. His acceleration was close to that of a Turkish scooter. He couldn't find the problem right away and so it later turned out this would be the first of many repairs on his Africa Twin. Even if we couldn't fix it right away it was reassuring that we were not stuck.
We bought about 3 kg of meat and with our new swiss friends all the problems were quickly forgotten. Barbecue was a blast and a new friendship was born. Later that night we went to bed excited to see what Cappadocia would hold in store for us.
After we arrived in Cappadocia we stopped at the first campsite that we found. The owner of the campsite tried to convince us to set up tent here. He even told us there would be a pool! We saw a couple of bikers further up that watched the scene with a lot of interest. We didn't really want to go any further and so we decided to stop and camp there.
It turned out the two bikers came from Switzerland and they were trying to go around the world! Since we wanted to know everything about it we decided to plan our barbecue together this evening. You can read more about their adventure on www.rvsz.ch.
For the rest of the day we had other plans. Denis' bike was experiencing some problems which in turn left him at 100km/h at full throttle. His acceleration was close to that of a Turkish scooter. He couldn't find the problem right away and so it later turned out this would be the first of many repairs on his Africa Twin. Even if we couldn't fix it right away it was reassuring that we were not stuck.
We bought about 3 kg of meat and with our new swiss friends all the problems were quickly forgotten. Barbecue was a blast and a new friendship was born. Later that night we went to bed excited to see what Cappadocia would hold in store for us.
18° | cloudy | km 253
Dwarfs?
on 2013-04-04 in Turkey
After a long, extremely wet and cold ride to the oldest underground city cappadocias, we luckily happened to find a small diner with great sandwiches and chai tea.
After regaining some warmth and strength we went on to explore the city. It turned out after a couple of minutes that we were not at the place where we wanted to be...
After one more hour of riding we finally found ourselves at the right spot. We parked our bikes and just when we got ready to leave a bunch of kids ambushed us. They wanted to have a ride on the back of our bikes, there was not a lot of time left to explore the underground city, so we tried our best to explain to them we would be taking them for a ride afterwards. With hands and feet we managed to get the point across or so we had hoped.
The underground city was impressive to say the least. About 4000 years old and 60 meters (200 feet) deep, with its own ventilation system, a stable for animals and a labyrinth of hallways and stairs. Everything was incredibly small which is why we had some troubles getting through some hallways with all our motorcycle gear. After we saw almost half of the city a security guard caught up to us and explained to us that they were closing up. Luckily he enjoyed our company and so he walked us through the rest and that all whilst explaining interesting facts about the structures and defense buildings. After about half an hour we were back on the surface and thanks to the security guard had an even better understanding of this amazing historical site.
From far away we could see the local kids from before eagerly awaiting our return. So we saddled up, each put one kid on the rear seat and we rode some circles on the parking lot. It is hard to say who had more fun, them riding on the back yelling and laughing as hard as they could or us enjoying the laughter of those kids. After every kid had his turn we went back on the road to our campground.
After regaining some warmth and strength we went on to explore the city. It turned out after a couple of minutes that we were not at the place where we wanted to be...
After one more hour of riding we finally found ourselves at the right spot. We parked our bikes and just when we got ready to leave a bunch of kids ambushed us. They wanted to have a ride on the back of our bikes, there was not a lot of time left to explore the underground city, so we tried our best to explain to them we would be taking them for a ride afterwards. With hands and feet we managed to get the point across or so we had hoped.
The underground city was impressive to say the least. About 4000 years old and 60 meters (200 feet) deep, with its own ventilation system, a stable for animals and a labyrinth of hallways and stairs. Everything was incredibly small which is why we had some troubles getting through some hallways with all our motorcycle gear. After we saw almost half of the city a security guard caught up to us and explained to us that they were closing up. Luckily he enjoyed our company and so he walked us through the rest and that all whilst explaining interesting facts about the structures and defense buildings. After about half an hour we were back on the surface and thanks to the security guard had an even better understanding of this amazing historical site.
From far away we could see the local kids from before eagerly awaiting our return. So we saddled up, each put one kid on the rear seat and we rode some circles on the parking lot. It is hard to say who had more fun, them riding on the back yelling and laughing as hard as they could or us enjoying the laughter of those kids. After every kid had his turn we went back on the road to our campground.
19° | cloudy | km 385
Off the beaten path
on 2013-04-05 in Turkey
Our goal for today was striking our tent, saying goodbye to Dani and Raphi and move on towards the black sea. The road we had chosen was terribly straight and seemed to have no end to it. After what felt like ages we finally found a small dirt road to make this days trip more exciting.
Our luck did not last for too long though. We arrived at a village which turned out to be a dead end. Even though the name of the village was the one we were looking for, there happened to be another one with the same name just 50 km air line away from where we were right now. Thankfully the villagers were really helpful and showed us the best way to the village we were looking for. We gave the local kids a pack of gums and went on our way.
Shortly before sunset we arrived in Hekimhan. Denis wanted to have a look at his Africa Twin since it still wasn't running as it should have been. It seemed like he had only 30 horsepower left. So he removed his tank, fuel pump, spark-plugs and air-filter. Other than that the spark-plugs gave him a good electric shock we were not able to find any faults. Since we were starting to get a lot of attention from the locals we started to quickly reassemble the bike and decided to postpone the repairs to another day.
The local teenagers which helped us find a place to sleep, closely monitored us whilst we got ready to go out for the evening. After a short snack in the local doner kebab they led us to a dark alley were the grownups of the village met and played billiard. A combination of no skill and some very different Turkish rules led to a 2:1 loss. Nonetheless it was a interesting and fun night. At what end Fabi celebrated his birthday, since he did not want any scene we decided to keep it under wraps for today.
Our luck did not last for too long though. We arrived at a village which turned out to be a dead end. Even though the name of the village was the one we were looking for, there happened to be another one with the same name just 50 km air line away from where we were right now. Thankfully the villagers were really helpful and showed us the best way to the village we were looking for. We gave the local kids a pack of gums and went on our way.
Shortly before sunset we arrived in Hekimhan. Denis wanted to have a look at his Africa Twin since it still wasn't running as it should have been. It seemed like he had only 30 horsepower left. So he removed his tank, fuel pump, spark-plugs and air-filter. Other than that the spark-plugs gave him a good electric shock we were not able to find any faults. Since we were starting to get a lot of attention from the locals we started to quickly reassemble the bike and decided to postpone the repairs to another day.
The local teenagers which helped us find a place to sleep, closely monitored us whilst we got ready to go out for the evening. After a short snack in the local doner kebab they led us to a dark alley were the grownups of the village met and played billiard. A combination of no skill and some very different Turkish rules led to a 2:1 loss. Nonetheless it was a interesting and fun night. At what end Fabi celebrated his birthday, since he did not want any scene we decided to keep it under wraps for today.
17° | sunny | km 463
Slow day
on 2013-04-06 in Turkey
Since we were not able to bring Denis' missing horses back to life, we decided to look for a Honda dealer to have a look at his bike. After a long ride we were only able to find a Honda car dealer. Luckily he was able to show us the way to a local workshop that repairs all sorts of bikes.
After a short explanation on our side the mechanic took the bike for a short spin and quickly told us the bike was only running on one cylinder and not both. He told us he would get on it right away and we would have to wait for one or two hours, after which it would be repaired. Confident we went for something to eat and drink.
When we got back the mechanic was just finishing up. He pushed the bike out of the shop and told Denis that he was not able to solve the problem right away. But he told him he should get some carburetor cleaner since it was possible that the carburetor nozzle was clogged up.
To make a long story short, after the first placebo effect Denis soon realized that there was no use to the carburetor cleaner. The bike ran exactly the same way it did before. The worst part for Denis was that after all those boring straight roads we finally got back to some mountain roads. Basti and Fabi soon started enjoying the road and Denis was even more miserable than before since he had to climb those mountains on what felt like a 50cc scooter.
In the end we all arrived at a nice hotel on the black see. And since we were not able to celebrate Fabi's birthday so far, we clinked our beer glasses to another good Day and to another year of great adventures! Wishing for more to come.
After a short explanation on our side the mechanic took the bike for a short spin and quickly told us the bike was only running on one cylinder and not both. He told us he would get on it right away and we would have to wait for one or two hours, after which it would be repaired. Confident we went for something to eat and drink.
When we got back the mechanic was just finishing up. He pushed the bike out of the shop and told Denis that he was not able to solve the problem right away. But he told him he should get some carburetor cleaner since it was possible that the carburetor nozzle was clogged up.
To make a long story short, after the first placebo effect Denis soon realized that there was no use to the carburetor cleaner. The bike ran exactly the same way it did before. The worst part for Denis was that after all those boring straight roads we finally got back to some mountain roads. Basti and Fabi soon started enjoying the road and Denis was even more miserable than before since he had to climb those mountains on what felt like a 50cc scooter.
In the end we all arrived at a nice hotel on the black see. And since we were not able to celebrate Fabi's birthday so far, we clinked our beer glasses to another good Day and to another year of great adventures! Wishing for more to come.
21° | sunny | km 230
Pleasant coincidence in Trabzon
on 2013-04-07 in Turkey
We had a huge buffet waiting for us in the morning. We had not seen any other guests so far so we were puzzled over the amount of food to choose from. We grabbed a bit of everything and dug in. Invigorated from the delicious buffet we set out for the last journey in turkey.
Not to soon after arriving in Trabzon we managed to loose one another whilst looking for a new place to stay in. As is the rule, Denis and Basti waited for Fabi at the lost spot we had seen one another. Fabi was still lost but coincidentally our Swiss neighbors, Daniel and Raphael, from Cappadocia ran into them. They couldn't believe when they walked up to them. What a coincidence in a city with 230.000 inhabitants!!! It later turned out to be an even greater fortune that we met them again. Fabi quickly managed to find the odd group on the side of the road and not too much time later we checked into the same hotel as the Swiss guys already looking forward for a night out with the guys.
Denis once again decided to take his bike apart and inspect it even further. But the crucial tipp came from Dani and Raphi. They told us they had heard of some Africa Twins having a ripped carburetor membrane. We took the carburetor apart and soon found the source of our problem. It turned out to be both membranes. Both had a big cut in them and therefore caused the bike not to get the right amount of fuel. Since it was already getting dark again we decided to delay further repairs and go out for a couple of cold ones.
Not to soon after arriving in Trabzon we managed to loose one another whilst looking for a new place to stay in. As is the rule, Denis and Basti waited for Fabi at the lost spot we had seen one another. Fabi was still lost but coincidentally our Swiss neighbors, Daniel and Raphael, from Cappadocia ran into them. They couldn't believe when they walked up to them. What a coincidence in a city with 230.000 inhabitants!!! It later turned out to be an even greater fortune that we met them again. Fabi quickly managed to find the odd group on the side of the road and not too much time later we checked into the same hotel as the Swiss guys already looking forward for a night out with the guys.
Denis once again decided to take his bike apart and inspect it even further. But the crucial tipp came from Dani and Raphi. They told us they had heard of some Africa Twins having a ripped carburetor membrane. We took the carburetor apart and soon found the source of our problem. It turned out to be both membranes. Both had a big cut in them and therefore caused the bike not to get the right amount of fuel. Since it was already getting dark again we decided to delay further repairs and go out for a couple of cold ones.
20° | sunny | km 0
Maintainance and Repairs day
on 2013-04-08 in Turkey
This day was all about repairing and maintaining our bikes. Fabi had his clutch changed and Denis had to repair his carburetor membrane. It turned out to be impossible to get new ones or spare parts so he decided to follow instructions online. All he needed was a condom, a can of deodorant and a tire repair kit. And about 5 people with 10 Hands.
After cleaning the lube of the condom and drying it, he had to cut out a piece which he would use to fit on the ripped membrane. Spreading the vulcanizer evenly on the cut out piece of condom and fitting it on top of the tear. We were able to fit it on the desired spot within the second try! And with the other membrane fixed just as quickly we were ready to put everything back together.
The tension was high and Denis went out for a quick spin on his Honda. When he came back and took of his helmet one could easily see by his big grin that we had managed to fix his issues. Fabis clutch replacement went also smoothly and so we had three good as new bikes ready for all the adventures that lay ahead.
We had another dinner with our Swiss friends and prepared for our journey to Russia the next morning. They also went on their way to the east.
Once again the Link to their website for everyone who wants to read more about their adventures.
After cleaning the lube of the condom and drying it, he had to cut out a piece which he would use to fit on the ripped membrane. Spreading the vulcanizer evenly on the cut out piece of condom and fitting it on top of the tear. We were able to fit it on the desired spot within the second try! And with the other membrane fixed just as quickly we were ready to put everything back together.
The tension was high and Denis went out for a quick spin on his Honda. When he came back and took of his helmet one could easily see by his big grin that we had managed to fix his issues. Fabis clutch replacement went also smoothly and so we had three good as new bikes ready for all the adventures that lay ahead.
We had another dinner with our Swiss friends and prepared for our journey to Russia the next morning. They also went on their way to the east.
Once again the Link to their website for everyone who wants to read more about their adventures.
15° | cloudy | km 300
On rough seas
on 2013-04-09 in Turkey, Russia
After we managed to pack our chaos back up, we said our goodbyes to Raphi and Dani and went our separate ways. We were heading out on the ferry to Russia today!
Loading the bikes and gear on the boat went relatively smooth and with a delay of just two hours we set off across the black sea. With high hopes and in a good temper we talked to some Turkish businessman and were looking forward to our arrival in Russia for the next day. No one expected what was about to happen soon.
Just half an hour into our crossing the ferry started to heavily bob up and down in the water. We cannot say how high the waves were but we can tell you that it felt like a roller coaster. You could notice the other passengers slowly getting seasick as well. Some went outside, others grabbed a plastic bag or went to the toilets. For Basti and Fabi it was enough to stay outside and Denis had absolutely no problems whatsoever.
We were lucky to have had invested into a bit more expensive tickets with our own sleeping cabin for the trip. We decided to go to bed early since Fabi and Basti were not feeling too well. We passed a lot of people puking their guts out over the railing, into some bags or the ships toilets. We have seen a lot on Oktoberfest in Munich but this was utter mayhem!
Loading the bikes and gear on the boat went relatively smooth and with a delay of just two hours we set off across the black sea. With high hopes and in a good temper we talked to some Turkish businessman and were looking forward to our arrival in Russia for the next day. No one expected what was about to happen soon.
Just half an hour into our crossing the ferry started to heavily bob up and down in the water. We cannot say how high the waves were but we can tell you that it felt like a roller coaster. You could notice the other passengers slowly getting seasick as well. Some went outside, others grabbed a plastic bag or went to the toilets. For Basti and Fabi it was enough to stay outside and Denis had absolutely no problems whatsoever.
We were lucky to have had invested into a bit more expensive tickets with our own sleeping cabin for the trip. We decided to go to bed early since Fabi and Basti were not feeling too well. We passed a lot of people puking their guts out over the railing, into some bags or the ships toilets. We have seen a lot on Oktoberfest in Munich but this was utter mayhem!