Gürün

I felt much better this morning as shown by the return of my annoying habit of waking up just before the first call for prayer at 5:30am or so.

I'd seen a couple of touring bikes locked at the hotel entrance the night before. They were serious looking numbers. I felt rather jealous as they seemed better suited to my planned path than my own (the lessons one learns). I wanted to try & meet the owners. Sure enough as I brought my stuff down to get ready to depart a Dutch pair, Stella & Joris appeared. They'd been on the road since last year! They were also going through Iran & Central Asia then to China. I wonder whether I'm just a follower of fashion with my route. After chatting with them I set off for the next town. They were on a more relaxed schedule than me & were resting over in Pinarbasi.

The weather in the morning was just as cold as it had been the day before. The clouds had lifted a little, enough to see the fresh snow 100m or so above on the hills. Stella & Joris had a map that showed that there were a couple of high passes to cross on the way to Gürün. I'd be in snow country for the first time. It would also be cold.

The ride to Gürün was fantastic. Soon after leaving town I was waylaid by the Police, just to be given some çay. I'd imagined from my inadequate map that it was an important route. Mostly to my fortune it was very quiet. The only downside was that there no services on it. I could have done with a rest in a warm interior at certain times, as cold as it was in Pinarbasi it got much colder later.

The road climbed up from Pinarbasi on the valley floor at 1500m to the high point of the ride at 1950m. The climb was in very overcast sky. The snow cover on the land around increased. I could imagine high mountain peaks around but they were hidden in cloud. For much of the ride my view was snow covered slopes of mountains, on which no crops appeared to be grown. There was almost no cover the entire day, hardly a tree until I came to the valley floor. The road was crossed a couple of times by buzzing high tension electricity cables on tall pylons. It was beautifully bleak & I had it to myself.

After dropping down from the pass at 1950m the snow disappeared. I had the coldest 300m descent. There was another short climb which I enjoyed for the chance to generate some body heat. Then it was down into the small market town of Gürün.

I cycled 106km in 6 hours & 48 minutes