Day 10

We really hate to keep saying this but today may have been the best yet. What can one expect from this beautiful country. We got our act together and left as one group this morning - before 10am. Rustem was drooling as he tucked the day's cue sheet into his back pocket. This would be our last riding day and we were heading for the mountains.

After a brief warm-up on the main road out of Kizkalesi we turn upward. Unfortunately just as we started climbing, Bobby Mac had gear problems and was forced to turn back. We were sad for a moment and then remembered that he is in Turkey so having a great day is inevitable. The rest of the group continued on and the adventure continued.

These were serious climbs which forced us to stop often to regroup. The sights were unbelievable. After climbing for a while we arrived in a small town for some cye. While we were there Gary, John and Tom decided to visit the local barber. Tom and Gary went under the knife for an amazingly close shave while John got the best haircut of his life. What an experience.

Back on the road for more climbing. Soon we arrived at another small village with a small store where we stocked up on drinks and Turkish treats to sustain us for the rest of the ride. Just as we were leaving the school kids were let out for recess. They flocked to us and the cameras came out for the usual photo session.

As we continued we were forced to stop for incredible scenery and ruins dating back to the 5th century BC. The final decent of the day was wild as we plunged down to sea level. The first part of the decent was on dirt and rock. Only Rustem suffered a puncture. The rest of the decent was just high speed fun. We climbed for 2.5 hours and it only took us 25 minutes to get down.

Back at Hotel Rain we enjoyed an amazing dinner prepared by Sherin and his wife Melike. Over dinner we again came to the realization that tomorrow we would be traveling back to Adana to begin our return to America. All things must come to an end some time. Hopefully, we will be able to bring some of this weather back with us.

Since we will be traveling for the next 2 days, we will do our best to give you a few updates. If we are unable for various reasons, expect a recap once we hit the states. Thanks for hanging with us.