11 May, Bandirma to Biga, 74km @ 11.2kph, 11 hours on the road!
Hotel Köşdere 95TL (breakfast included) (negotiated down from 120TL)

We began our day in cool weather, ended it in hot; began it in optimism, ended it in shattering exhaustion. Despite two punctures within the first 20km, and the relentless hills that climb and dip between Bandirma and Biga, we enjoyed the first half of our day. Enjoyed the green cultivated hills beyond which we could on occasion see the sea; enjoyed the 5km downhill run we had worked so hard for all morning, and the bean soup lunch that awaited us at a garage restaurant at the end of it. In the burgeoning heat of late afternoon, however, with another puncture and a slow leak to add to our woes, all the inclines grew longer, all the declines shorter – reality is immaterial; perception is all. Too tired to go further we paid 2/3 of our daily budget at the first hotel we came to. Usually, having been asked where we come from and having answered “South Africa”, comprehension results in “Ah, Mandela!” At our Biga hotel it resulted in “Ah, Charlize Theron!” 

Between Bandirma and Biga

Between Bandirma and Biga