I was very excited to be joining the festival I'd found by chance. The Pedaldaşlar Cycling Club Association's festival registrations had closed, but I wrote to the club president Mustafa Artar. When he said "I always have a reserve place for travellers", my wish and eagerness to join the festival grew even more. To take part you need to make a donation of 100 TL to the association. Apart from that, no fee is asked. It was the fourth festival organised by Pedaldaşlar, and the first organised by Mr Mustafa and his team since they took over the management. There were no hitches; I can even say everything was close to perfect. I'll happily share the details of the trip, which I completed with pleasure.
Since the festival would take place in Bartın, I first needed to plan how to get there. Although I wrote to the group, I didn't really get an answer, so I decided to go by bus instead of a shared car. I had questions in my mind about this, but first I must give endless thanks to Rahman from 700binkm and then to Kamil Koç. Long live traveller solidarity! 😀 Both on the way there and on the way back I travelled comfortably with my bike without any problems. I hope other companies take this as a lesson and make moves to support passengers with bikes.
Bike and camping gear
DAY 1
The festival was going to start on Thursday 12 October. The night before, I set off for Bartın on the 00.00 bus. We arrived at Bartın Bus Station at around 07.30 in the morning. The first meeting point was the newly built Gazhane Park in Bartın; after an 8-9 kilometre ride I reached the park.Gazhane Park, built on an area of 11 thousand square metres, is a wonderful city park with resting areas, children's play areas, an ornamental pool, the 12-metre Bartın Çektirme boat, exhibition areas with historic photos and models, and an open-air cinema; I'm noting it down as a place anyone whose road leads to Bartın should definitely go.
@Gazhane Park
As the cyclists slowly arrived, the team was coming together. We got our jersey, bike ID and buff from the registration desk and moved on to breakfast. The breakfast, sponsored by Bartın Municipality, was very satisfying, generous and filling. You could read the athletes' satisfaction in their eyes 😀We started our tour with a lovely photo of the whole team. In Bartın we continued our tour escorted by the police, and once we were out of town by the gendarmerie. Throughout the tour a sweep vehicle, an ambulance, a professional photographer and a bike mechanic were with us.
After pedalling 20 kilometres from Bartın Gazhane Park, we took our first break in the town of Kozcağız. Here the people came out of their shops and welcomed us waving. After a small treat in front of the Bartın municipality building, the mayor gave a speech, and on we pedalled…
New pedal mates
After a 17-kilometre ride we reached the town of Kumluca, famous for its trout. I'd seen lunch here on the plan, and my guess was trout. At the meal there was chickpeas with meat, rice and fried minced meat. Although the food wasn't what I'd expected, it tasted wonderful 😀 The local people's attitude was very lovely and touching. The municipality had really prepared very well for the festival, and there were unforgettable moments for almost 200 participants from many cities.
Kumluca Village
After the break there were gentle climbs and descents on the road. Until Akörensöküler Village, that is. After this village a serious climb at a 9% gradient awaited us. The kind of climb that makes you say "So you're the one who spent the summer without pedalling much!" In the last 500 metres my lack of fitness came to light, and I had to get off the bike. I walked up with the bike to the flat. Here I saw the advantage of MTB bikes once again; because they have smaller wheels and gear ratios than city bikes, they managed to reach the top in easy gears 😀
Lunch
The village at the top is Ceyüpler. All this climbing had to have a descent too. From this village we made an 8-kilometre descent to Abdipaşa. I can say it was a breathtaking descent. On the winding road I made amazing descents, right then left, then again at gradients of up to 9%. Top speed 61 km/h. It could have been more, but the bends were the unnerving kind; descending with the brakes on is a must 😀
Thanks to our tour photographer Alan Turgay!
After a short break in Abdipaşa we pedalled towards Ulus. At the end of the day the kilometres showed 65. For those without training (that is, for me 😀 it was a serious distance. After a short stroll in Ulus town centre we went to our campsite. The campsite was much better than I'd expected. We immediately set about pitching the tents before it got dark. Then, what with showers and dinner, it was already evening. They must have guessed that our batteries would run out early with the fatigue of the road on the first day, since there was no event on the first evening. That being the case, bedtimes were moved earlier 😀 class="size-full wp-image-2952" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2017-10-12-19-53-51-2.jpg" alt="" width="3264" height="2448" />@Ulus campsite
DAY 2
The fatigue of the first day was long gone, and I'd woken up at 7 in the morning without an alarm.
I was thinking of getting out of the tent, but the cold was the kind you felt in your bones. The temperature was 2 degrees and fog covered everything! We only saw the sun 3 hours after sunrise 😀
Morning warm-up
After a lovely breakfast, there would be a 51 km route similar to the first day. All the way to Ulukaya there was a continuous climb, again at a 9% gradient. We took a break at the village entrance and got some energy back.
@Ulukaya Village
Then, in a peaceful, calm wooded area, we were served keşkek for lunch.
After filling up nicely we started pedalling again. This time we'd go to Ulukaya Waterfall on trails. Almost the whole road was stony, and muddy in parts... In places like this I sometimes picked up the bike and walked; with all the bouncing my chain came off twice. But it was an incredibly fun and lovely journey.
@The trail to Ulukaya Waterfall
After Ulukaya Waterfall, we followed the road we'd come along in the morning again and reached Ulukaya Village. On the gently rolling road we reached the campsite at a brisk pace. After the tiring course a shower would be like medicine; in weather like this you need to be a bit early to dry towels and the like, as you know the sun is essential. With sunset the dew starts, and your clothes can get even wetter. The second evening ends with music, instruments, meze, laden tables and fun games around the campfire.DAY 3
The 3rd and 4th days of the festival were going to be rainy. Based on what I'd learned from those who had joined previous festivals, I decided my bike wasn't really suited to this course of mountain roads in the rain. I'd actually have loved to go, but my bike, unsuited to the season and the road, left me with no choice but to give up…
Rain victims
Among those who went, some had chains break and some were left stranded halfway. Your bike being suited to the course is the first requirement. But besides that, a good bike first aid kit and a spare inner tube should definitely be carried. Whatever you do, if you don't trust your bike and gear, don't get into adventures like this 😀 That being the case, we said let's explore the town of Ulus a bit.
@Ulus Square
@Ulus Kocagöz Mansion
DAY 4
On the last day of the festival, we packed up the tents in Ulus and returned to Bartın Gazhane Park. Passing through Ulus, Abdipaşa and Muratbey, we reached Bartın after 38 km. On the last day too, we were saying goodbye to this lovely city with rainy autumn weather.
Thanks to our tour photographer Alan Turgay!
I thank the team who organised the tour, the municipal staff who spared no sacrifice, and the friends who joined the tour, each one, for their helpfulness and their smiles. If you'd like to read about my İpsala-Alexandroupoli-Enez tour from last year, click the link.
51 km
123 km
233 km