The end of a journey – in Istanbul, Turkey

Yes!!!! Have made it - miraculously, incredibly, certainly – to the mega-metropolis that is Istanbul.

The last few days have been pure chaos. Just as the stories and adventures get really interesting, I have fallen behind with blogging and writing. Please know that the poste are in the works! The stories will get to you! … But right now… I must – rest!

Exhaustion is kicking in – just one last thing before I let my eyes shut – THANK YOU!!! Merci, gracias, dziękuję, grazie… And thank you again in every language on earth!

For all your help, your support, your encouragement, your wonderful presence – to those who wonder how I could have cycled and been on the road “alone” for so long, I can only smile when I realize that I was never alone. Not ever.

Words cannot express my gratitude!

Thank you SO MUCH!!!

Day 62 – “The Universe provides”, Pavel Banya to Sliven, 106km

Today was, yet again, another example of direct manifestation. Ask, and you will receive.

My morning was off to a grumpy start. Last night I was helped and guided all around town by an older gentleman. He was smiley, I was friendly and grateful that he helped me find a good, clean motel for 10 LEV (5€) a night. Before parting ways he asked me “please, may he come up to my room” and smiling at me held the goodbye handshake I offered him several moments too long. He left me feeling sorry for his loneliness, sad and frustrated. I recalled my best friend from high school saying once “You can’t be friendly with guys, they always take it the wrong way.” At the time I had staunchly disagreed, but my current cultural context was making me realise that perhaps she was right; perhaps the fault was mine for being too nice.

This is a land of no cyclists. Aside from Brits Les and Ruth who I met several days ago in Berkovitsa, I have yet to see other bicycle travellers. Road cyclists are also an endangered species, for I’ve noticed a total of two or three in my week here in Bulgaria…and they were older men, of course. There’s not much hope of making spontaneous friendships with other ladies, for, unless you have some previous introduction or context, most women shy away from talking with the likes of me. Gone are the days when groups of girlfriends would approach me on the street (in France or Italy, for example), in a campground or in front of the supermarket, eyes shining with curiosity and inspiration at the idea of a solo female traversing a continent on a bicycle. Here, in the former East Block, most girls are still a bit too concerned with the brand of their sandals and the sex-appeal of their fluttery tops to appreciate an idea like the Ride to Read. I get the feeling they think I’m just a bit crazy for going so long without make-up!

In short, I was in need of some company, a spontaneous encounter to brighten my day, a shared coffee with a friendly and unassuming person. I’m a Gemini for goodness sakes! I wilt if I go too long without real human interaction.

So, realizing my grumpiness and its cause, I sent up the intention for a good meeting today. To be honest, I didn’t fully believe it was possible, but I figured it “can’t hurt to ask”, as they say.

I met my friend-to-be not even one kilometer into my day’s ride. We quickly realized that we didn’t really have any languages in common, but somehow made efforts at basic conversation – a mix of Bulgarian, Russian, English and German. Most importantly though, we spoke the language of friendliness and companionship.

Slavi, a road cyclist, accompanied me to the intersection but was surprised when I turned away from my planned route to stop at the gas station instead – I needed cold water and an Internet connection. He waved goodbye; neither of us knew that we would see each other again later on.

After the break, I plowed on in the roasting sun. Tired of seeing that desert mirage-like haziness of heat panning out in the distance; I continued gulping down huge breaths of hot asphalt-smelling air. It was scorching, and I was mentally exhausted and unmotivated.

But I kept the bike moving forward. Another 20km or so and who do I see but this morning’s friend cycling in the opposite direction – he jumped the metal barrier with his bike to rejoin me and continued on the road with me in my direction.

I admit it – I was cold and distant at first. After so many encounters that have started off well and fizzled into awkward and uncalled-for suggestions, I figured I would try a different approach this time. But all was well, this cyclist was glad to simply share some time and road space.

Over the next several hours, he showed me the good water spots, the natural springs that are often off the road, took me to a little hamburger joint where I was able to get some lunch and kept me company on the road. It was the cycling with him that I most appreciated. I can’t tell you how relaxing it was to have him there cycling in front, cutting into the wind for me, but also, and more importantly, changing my view and focus. I trained my eyes on his right shoe, just a meter or so away from my nose, mesmerized and calmed by his steady and strong cadence. I haven’t felt so relaxed and calm on the road in a long time. It felt like a guide had been sent for the sole purpose of allowing me a break from blazing my own trail, and I was overjoyed to take the backseat and simply follow. Of course there was no real navigation necessary since we were simply following the no. 6 eastward, nor do perfectly paved roads require any actual “trail blazing”; it’s more the concept that mattered. It was an indescribable blessing!

We shared one more coffee, exchanged numbers and emails, he promising to learn Polish and I Bulgarian (since conversation had been extremely limited!), and it was time to continue. I took to the road alone again feeling rejuvenated – like it was only the first day of my journey, not the sixty-second!

I arrived in the industrial town of Sliven astounded by the distance I had been able to cover, and knowing that it was greatly due to the pair cycling. A hotel was not difficult to find, and the evening quickly faded with the sun…

Kasia – your manifesting cyclist

Photos:
- Slavi, lunch place and the stray who got some of my hamburger
- hiding in the shade

Day 39 – Video Blog

After my feeble attempts at riding Peter’s recumbent bicycle, he had to show us that it is, in fact, possible to ride !

Day 23 – recovery = sleep

…atleast this is my conclusion after waking up at noon today!

Yes, after a fantastic evening spent with Filippo and friend Tommy, Kasia K. and I headed to bed around midnight, sighing with delight at the sheer pleasure of sleeping in a warm bed. I was tired, simple physical exhaustion, my legs rejoicing in nightime non-use, Kasia K. however was going through inflammation, minor fever, congestion and the like, essentially experiencing the same symptoms that I went through in the first week of the ride. It looks like the body needs a certain time to adjust to constant cardiovascular activity and the repetitive muscle and joint strains involved in cycling; it needs to settle into the new rhythm of life associated with bicycle travel.

So today, waking up to a day already half gone due to sleep and with an appetite reminding you that you haven’t eaten in 14 hours… led us to the conclusion that the day would be a rest and catch-up-with-other-stuff day.

We did some laundry (photo 1) and since the gas stove was without gas we took the time building up the fire in the gorgeous old-fashioned wood-burning stove (photo 2), to enjoy our hot morning (ahem, I mean 15:00) coffee.

Also, because this beautiful 800 year-old house in the middle of a divine park deserves it, a few photos of the property too (3 & 4)

Then, deciding against taking the bicycles, we walked to town to get groceries, meeting locals along the way who pointed us in the right direction (“what are these two bella ragazze doing in Ferrania?”, they teased) and just in case you didn’t realize that you found yourself in Italy, photo 5 shows you the impressive selection of pasta’s, lasagnas, noodles, spaghettis etc. found here at even the smallest of convenience shops!

Armed with food for the next 2 days or so, we headed to the outskirts of town in a planned attempt to take advantage of wifi at Filippo’s parents’ house. He had told us that “in that big field with horses you will see big house – this is my parents’ house – there you have their wifi, and there is no pass code for it!”. It sounded too good to be true, and in a way it was since upon arriving at the horse field we couldn’t quite figure out which “big house” was the one with the promised connection to the outside world. Was it the two-storey run-down building in the next field? Or the fancy bungalow across the street? Were all my unread emails just a connection away in the little casa hidden behind high shrubbery? Deciding that it was best not to jump fences and hang around stranger’s porches looking suspicious we headed back home hoping to stop by a wifi-endowed cafe in the morning, as we take to the road again tomorrow.

So, in general, a quiet day, although with a surprising amount of unexpected guests stopping by the cascina. Since its location in the regional park puts it in the path of several nature trails, hikers and locals come by, to stop and chat and get a drink from the fountain. Unknown to them Kasia K. and I would hear their voices below and come out unto the balcony to watch them, in silence. It’s fun to see their eyes gaze up and then their whole body jump a little at the realization that there is someone, not 2 meters up, looking at them! Ofcourse we would all just laugh about it and then attempt a few more jokes in our now signature hybrid tongue of inglo-span-italian.

By the end of the day I was marvelling at the irony of receiving and personally meeting more people while at home in the middle of a park with no other houses around you, then you would living in the urban heart of a big city! I guess living in nature is a natural people magnet

Kasia – your rested cyclist, ready to continue the adventure through north-east Italy!

Day 22

So we were very tired. Very. And lost too!

Day 20 in Monaco

A short coffee break in Monaco today, but wait – I think everyone put the flags backwards!!

Video Blog – Day 11

So what does a cyclist raising funds for literacy read while on the road??
Watch the video to find out!

Pain is temporary

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”

- Lance Armstrong, American cyclist

Day 6 – and from the sky fell rain and angels

Today was a rainy and cold day on the outside, warmed by good people and encounters on the inside.

After getting a last-minute job opportunty, Philippe decided not to accompany me to his friend Laurence’s place, the organic farmer in Sigean, today. I set off on an overcast, drizzly ride alone, taking advantage of the opportunity to find my thoughts and my solitude again.

I was wearing all of my available rain gear: bright orange poncho and supposedly water proof shoe covers (that kept my feet dry for about 3 hours and wet and cold for the following 3). The rain was more drizzly than rain and the temperature bearable, all in all the riding was comfortable during the first half of the ride.

Hunger kicked in, and since living in Andalucía my internal lunch clock has been re-wired to 14:00, or later, and so I rolled into the coastal village of Leucate at 15:30 with a sinking feeling: it was way too late to eat and it was Sunday, I didn’t have much of a hope of finding store, cafe, bar or anything in terms of food and drink! Suddenly, I started pining after the numerous and easy to find “bars” in Spain, quaint and grimy corners where you can always find fresh orange juice, fried eggs and coffee (not to mention that the proportion of bars to people in Spain is like that of sheep to new-zealanders in NZ, approx 5:1). But this isnt Spain, it’s France: land of refined cuisine, fewer joints and earlier meal times….

Coming into the town, I cycled around looking for some sign of life, a group of people, a cloud of cigarette smoke – anything. The only lively place was a small joint with young guys running to and fro, they were obviously packing up for the day. I stepped in and asked if I could get anything to eat and a coffee, please.

In fact they were wrapping up after a weekend of festivities and since they needed to get rid of excess food here I was a hungry cyclist and they would be happy to feed me – for free! 10 minutes later I was chowing down a tuna and vegg wrap with a hot coffee and delicious walnut-chocolate banana bread to boot!

Proof, in that moment, that not only rain but angels were falling from the sky!

After lunch I headed to the lighthouse in Leucate where I had a meeting with a lady who was selling a used wind-jacket. I had none, and needed one desperately, I found hers perfect for my needs and even got to adopt a pair of her husbands socks when they learned of my, by this time, soaked through shoes and only pair of warm socks. I thanked my second group of angels for the day as they set me on my way to Sigean and I continued in the cold, although better for the jacket and dry socks, to meet my hosts for the night.

Staying with Laurence, her partner and their zoo of 4 kittens was very warming. Their powerful little heater warmed up my soaked shoes and clothes as the kittens curled up on my feet melting my heart, ready, as I was, to go to sleep. It was a good rest and I was once again ready to face the following day of riding.

Best wishes to you,

Kasia – your rained-on cyclist

Day 5 – How to eat raw nettles

Here we have Philippe explaining to us how best to eat raw nettles (“ortilles” in French), without getting “burned” by this prickly plant.

In fact nettles have many fascinating properties, including being a kidney cleanser and great for teas and soups. In my case it’s a readily available source of vegetable protein that grows everywhere in abundance. Generally freely growing nettles are a sign of soil overly rich in nitrogen, often found near animal-rearing spots.

Looking forward to finding this extremely useful plant during the trip!

Kasia – your practical and raw-food loving cyclist