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Day
1 - Istanbul (D)
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Arrive
Istanbul. Short tour of Sultan Ahmet area. Dinner
in Uskudar on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. Group
meeting in the evening. Stay in Istanbul.
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Day
2 - Istanbul – Bolu - Ankara – Goreme (B)(L)(D)
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We will
leave from Istanbul between 8 and 9am to begin our long drive
to the Cappadocia region. Around lunchtime we will stop
in the mountains between Bolu and Ankara for an hour or two to
eat lunch and to adjust and fit everyone’s bikes. We
should arrive at our hotel in Goreme around 4 or 5pm. We
will settle in and then go on a short 15k, mostly flat shake
down ride on dirt and pavement, from Goreme to the Fairy
Chimneys on the way to Zelve. We will return to Goreme
for dinner. Stay in Goreme.
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Day
3- Cappadocia (B)(L)(D)
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Around 9am,
after breakfast we will begin a ride leaving on our bikes from
the hotel in Goreme. This will take us primarily on
single track and jeep road through the fairy chimneys and the
beautiful moonscape of Cappadocia. We will begin on
winding single track, with a 3-kilometer jeep road
climb. We will then ride to an area of stunning views
and twisty single track. We will then descend into the
town of Urgup where we will eat lunch and walk around the
town. After lunch we will ride long steady climb to the
village of Ortahisar and then descend the single-track climb
of the morning. In the late afternoon we will visit the
“Valley of the Churches” on foot for a guided tour.
We will return to Goreme for dinner. Stay in
Goreme/Urgup.
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Day
4- Cappadocia (B)(L)(D)
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Another day
in the Cappadocia region, exploring and riding on mostly
single track and jeep roads.
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Day
5- Egirdir Lake – Konya (B)(L)(D)
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We will
leave early in the morning for Egirdir Golu. We will try to
stop at Kaymakli (underground cities) in the morning (if they
are open) and then continue on to Konya where we will eat
lunch and tour the Mevlana museum (Whirling Dervishes).
We will continue on to Egirdir Golu where we will have dinner
and prepare for the next day’s ride. Stay in Egirdir.
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Day
6- Antalya (B)(L)(D)
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By 9am we
will leave on the midi bus traveling south to Kovada Milli
Parki. The midi bus will drive us about 40k south into
the Taurus Mountains to the small village of Cobanisa.
From here we will continue by bike to cross the mountains
meeting the midi bus on the other side in the village of
Gebiz. This ride is approximately 80 kilometers long,
with several short climbs (1 or 2 kilometers) and one 12 k.
climb in the beginning when leaving the village of
Cobanisa. At least 50 k of this ride is
descending. The ride is exclusively on old jeep roads
through the mountains, with pavement as we near the village of
Gebiz. We will be carrying enough food and water for a
6-hour ride. If we are not too exhausted and
arrive in Gebiz around 3 or 4pm we will stop at the ruins of
Aspendos on our way to Antalya where we will stay the night.
Stay in Antalya.
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Day
7- Olympos - Kas
(B)(L)(D)
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Today we
will drive to Kas where we will get a chance to rest, staying
two nights there. We will leave Antalya in the morning
around 9am. We will drive along the coast road for 1-˝
hours, turning up into the Olympos Mountains just before the
Chimaera. The midi bus will drive us about 6 k up steep
roads to the village of Beycik. From here we will ride
up a winding jeep road, with spectacular views of the
mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. We will ride up
into a yayla, or high mountain plateau used by nomadic
villagers for grazing in the summer. We will then
return, descending to Beycik, and continuing our ride to the
Chimaera. We will visit the Chimaera then walk the beach
to the ruins of Olympos and then continue on the road to Kas,
arriving in Kas for dinner. Stay in Kas.
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Day
8- Kas – Finike - Kekova
(B)(L)(D)
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After a
leisurely breakfast, the midi bus will drive us back toward
Finike, leaving us on rural dirt road that we will then ride
to Kekova to rejoin the bus and meet our boat.
This ride is fairly flat with only a couple of short climbs
with some spectacular views and passing through some old Greek
villages. We will arrive in Kekova around lunchtime and
spend the afternoon on a boat trip around the islands and the
semi-submerged ruins. After the boat trip we will return
by midi bus to Kas. Stay in Kas.
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Day
9- Saklikent - Oludeniz (B)(L)(D)
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We will
leave Kas around 9am and travel by midi bus to Oludeniz.
On the way we will stop at Saklikent Gorge for lunch and a 1
or 2-hour hike in the gorge. We will then continue on to
Oludeniz and ride to the ghost town of Kinali and then down to
the Mediterranean sea for a swim. We will then climb
back from the sea to rejoin the midi bus in Kinali. We
will then make the short drive to Oludeniz and check into our
hotel, have a swim in the pool or visit the beach. Stay in
Oludeniz.
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Day
10- Kusadasi – Selcuk - Ephesus
(B)(L)(D)
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We will
leave Oludeniz around 9am for the long drive to
Kusadasi. We will have lunch in route and arrive in
Selcuk in the early afternoon. We will then ride either
up to the old Greek village of Sarinci, to the wine house, or
to the ancient walls of the city of Ephesus. In the late
afternoon we will take the midi bus the last ˝ hour drive to
Kusadasi. Stay in Kusadasi.
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Day
11- Ephesus - Kusadasi
(B)(L)(D)
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In the
morning we will drive by midi bus back to Selcuk to visit the
ruins of Ephesus. After visiting the ruins we will then
have lunch and drive by midi bus to Dilek Milli Parki.
We will enter the park by bicycle riding the mostly flat,
paved road to the generally quiet beaches along the way.
We will possibly explore a canyon trail to the mountain
ridgeline, if we are up for it. Later in the afternoon
we will return to Kusadasi by midi bus. Stay in Kusadasi.
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Day
12- Assos - Bergama
- Assos (B)(L)(D)
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We
will leave after breakfast on our long drive to Assos.
On the way we will stop to visit the ruins at Bergama before
continuing on to Assos. We will arrive in Assos late in
the afternoon. We will probably not cycle this
day. Stay in Assos.
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Day
13- Assos (B)(L)(D)
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In
Assos. Today is a relax day with a tour of the ruins at
Assos, swimming in the Aegean sea and an optional 2.5 hour
loop ride on the old, but still used roads crossing the
mountains and linking the villages in this region. Stay
in Assos.
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Day
14- Canakkale – Istanbul (B)(L)(D)
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We will
leave the hotel early, right after breakfast, stopping in Troy
in the late morning and in Canakkale by noon. We will
eat lunch in Canakkale and take the ferry to Gallipolis.
We will then begin a 2 to 3 hour ride through the monuments,
battlefields and bluffs of Gallipolis. A
somber yet beautiful last ride in Turkey. We
will then continue by midi bus for the rest of the drive back
to Istanbul, arriving around 6pm at the hotel. Stay in
Istanbul.
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Day
15- Istanbul (B)
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Depart
from Istanbul.
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