Ankara – Şile

9th September 2014       16-26℃        463km
Ankara – Şile

After a quick, and very ordinary breakfast at the hotel, I packed and prepared to leave. As I gathered my socks to put my boots on, I smelt smoke, and then noticed that my socks had freshly burnt holes in them. I’d left then hanging on the desk lamp to dry last night. It seems the heat from the lamps had nearly bought them to combustion, and potentially the whole hotel. I unpacked again, and pulled out my backup pair of socks, tossing the burnt pair in the bin.

Fortunately, the traffic leaving Ankara was lighter than the night before, and I was out on the freeway in good time and with little stress.
The road turned into a wonderful cruise of fast twists. Stopping for lunch, I ate the longest pide I’ve ever seen, reaching from one end of the table to the other.

Turning off the main road, I reached the northern coast of Turkey, and the Black Sea. The road now turned single lane, and very tight turns. I was constantly on the lookout for erratic Turkish drivers, fast, on the wrong side of the road. Winding along the coast, I had magnificent views of the farming communities to the left and the sea to the right. Passing through valleys filled with chestnut trees.

Eventually I reached the seaside town of Şile, locating a brilliant, but cheap hotel on the side of a cliff, with a balcony view over the sea.
Just down the hill, a seafood restaurant where I had an excellent fish dinner before walking back up the hill and crashing out after a long day in the saddle.