22 August, Bayburt to Gϋmϋşhane, 83km
Öğretmenevi 76TL

Despite two punctures and two irresolvable mechanical issues, we had a super ride today. A pass lay in our path, though the overall trend is downward as we head toward the sea. The top of the pass, only 200m higher than Bayburt, came at the 40km mark. From there we had to do very little pedalling to assist gravity drop us into Gϋmϋşhane, 600m lower and another 40km on. The scenery before the pass was quite different from that after the pass. Before the pass, the hills were rounded and gentler, the fields cultivated and, at the tail-end of summer, shaded mustard with touches of green. On the west side of the pass, the hills were closer to the road and rockier, on occasion topped by a castle. Another broken spoke exacerbated Charl’s back wheel wobble to the point that today it began to rub against his bike’s frame, making for a tougher, rougher ride. And my saddle, creaking since week two, finally collapsed under me. I use a Hamoc saddle designed by a South African especially for women. When my original saddle gave up the ghost and I found Hamoc was no longer in operation, my cycle shop traced a second-hand Hamoc which I have been using for several years. Sixteen kms from our destination a section of the metal frame snapped off, leaving me awkwardly perched. Both Charl and I limped into town and after dropping our luggage at the Öğretmenevi went in search of a bike repair place. Not 500m from our hotel, the rest of my frame snapped, and that was all she wrote (perhaps “the fat lady sings” is a more appropriate phrase here?). Anyway, Charl is no longer wobbling and I have a new, though cheap saddle about which I am not very optimistic.

Between Bayburt and Gϋmϋşhane

Between Bayburt and Gϋmϋşhane