Wenesday, 19 July, 2017 --- Day 02 -- Istanbul Otogar To Trabzon

ΚΑΤ’ΕΜΠΟΡΙΑΝ ΚΑΙ ΘΕΩΡΙΑΝ

ES MUSS SEIN

CARTAGO DELENDA EST

Nos perituri mortem salutamus

Istanbul Otogar To Trabzon
Stats
Day dist: 13.55km
Riding time: hours  7mins
Avg speed: 14.18 km/hour
Max speed: 38.77 km/hour
Beg day odo:  1700 km
End day odo: 1714 km
Dist covered so far: ??? km
Coordinates: 40.953557 N 39.882711 E

The bus arrived at 6:30. For the first time I did not have to put Spithas together, as I had not taken him apart, in the first place, and the only οι thing I had to do now ws to hang the paniers and ride.

The next thing I had to do was to find a bus to Trapezous (Trabzon).

The Istanbul Otogar is rather big

Istanbul Otogar

I went aroung asking for a bus to Trabzon. I  foud three different companies and ended up choosing a company called Metro, as it was leaving at  10:30 rather than 13:30 as the other were. I found an ATM took money out and went back to buy the ticket.

At 10:30 went to the bus and when the employees show Spithas started complaining, one of them, looked like the conductor but ended up being something different, he did not ride with us, very aggressivly started gesticulating and talking in Turkish asking for money. He seemed to be explaining and justifying his actions to the other two fellows that were there. I am not sure I had to pay anythingbut I bargained him down from the 50 TL he originally asked down to 30. I think I was taken for a ride.

It was a long ride (21 hours.) We crossed all of Turkey and I was asleep for a good deal of the time. At the tsai stops I made the acquaintance of another passenger who was a musician. I knew that already because he got on the bus with a guitar and I believe a saz. He was very interesting and he made the otherwise boring tsai stops interesting. His name  (short form) was Magic.
We arrived at Trabzon at 3:00 in the mmorning
Spithas was landed and rigged.

Spithas in the dark

I decided, rather than looking for a hotel at that time, to ride to Surmene instead and find a hotel there

So far rather than delivering the promiced bike riding Ive only dekivered a lot of bussing. Time to change that, let the biking begin.

It was late night and the traffic was light. I rode as fast as I could. At some point, however, about 14 kms later my hip started hurting. It was natural, After having sat still in a pulman chair for 35 hours, my damaged hip behaves this way.

I decided to call it a day and stopped at a place on the side of the road to take a nap.

ΕΙ ΘΕΟΣ ΥΠΕΡ ΗΜΩΝ, ΤΙΣ ΚΑΘ’ΗΜΩΝ; Προς Ρωμαίους 8:31

IF GOD BE WITH US WHO CAN BE AGAINST US? Romans 8:31