Kalkan and Beyond

We got an earlier start today and headed out on the familiar roads to Kalkan. The pace was steady with a slight headwind. Everyone knew what was ahead of us once Kalkan was behind us. The weather was absolutely beautiful with temperatures reaching 78.5 degrees.

Once we passed the Kalkan town line the climbing started immediately. The first climb was the toughest of the day at a 15 percent grade for over 30 minutes. We continued to roll on a false flat through a series of small villages. The second major climb was shorter and not as steep.

The second climb was followed by some great descents and small rolling climbs. It was some great riding with spectacular views. At one point a camera appeared pointless knowing it would not capture what we saw. Tom and Brian started hammering the final climbs of the day knowing we had a 11 KM descent back to Kas and tomorrow was a rest day.

The final descent was nice with a slight headwind forcing you to pedal. Corey let it go on the climb blowing by us all. I guess all that riding and climbing was not enough since Corey turned around at the bottom in Kas and took off back up the 11 KM climb.

Many thanks again to Osman Abi who drove his cab as a support vehicle for us. It was definitely a comfort knowing that there was a way to get back down from the mountains in the event of mechanical. It was also nice not to have to carry all that extra gear and water bottles, particularly on those climbs.

Tomorrow is another rest day follows by 3 more hard days.