An early start 7:50am after a relatively early night finishing off the bottle of JD on the balcony of Andy’s room. We had set our route to follow the coast around the Northern side of the Sea of Marmara to end up at Canakkale a city that spans the Dardanelles and hence spans two continents; Asia and Europe.
Canakkale is almost at the tip of the Gallipoli peninsular or as it is spelt in Turkey, Gelibolu. The first 30 miles was hectic, manoeuvring through the early morning Istanbul traffic. Just as we thought we had got through the worst of it we would hit another busy patch. Eventually though the traffic peetered out to the equivalent of the M25 and we felt more comfortable. Both Andy and I have almost identical Garmin Satnavs but we have found that even though all our settings seem the same, the route they offer up is rarely the same. Perhaps because of this, and me saying “right” and Andy saying “left” we stopped at the side of the road, coincidentally, but not that we had noticed, outside of a police station.
Whilst trying to work out a route that would avoid the HGS toll roads, which we still hadn’t worked out whether motorcycles could use them free of charge, we heard a policeman in uniform shouting at us to move away from the front of the police station. So we started up. moved about 25 yds up the road, parked and were about to resume our discussions when another policeman approached us. Andy, who still had his helmet on and couldn’t hear the conversation, thought we were in bother. I could hear the policeman saying “I love England, I love motorcycles I am a policeman let me help you” He proceeded to show us his badge and although his English was not great he was very enthusiastic and clearly wanted to help us in any way that he could. We tried to explain to him that we were checking the route to Gallipoli but weren’t sure whether we could use toll roads without a pre- purchased tag. After a bit of to and fro-ing we think he got the message, because all of a sudden he said we should follow him in his car and he would get us on the right road. About 6 km he said. We jumped on the bikes and started to follow him, as the speed increased and he went faster and faster. Desperately trying to keep up with speeds often reaching over 90mph and way in excess of the limits of the roads we were travelling down he eventually slowed down and pointed us to the road that we should use; the toll road! Still unsure whether this meant we could use them without pre-paying, Andy and I thought it best not to argue and headed down the route he indicated waving our thanks and relieved we could slow down to more reasonable speeds still unsure whether we should have a prepaid electronic tag.
50 miles later we pulled up at the services and after a quick coffee we noticed a motor cyclist wearing an HGS electronic tag on his chest, the toll road pre-pay ticket. Deciding that he would probably be a good person to ask whether the HGS tolls applied to motorcycles we approached him.
It turned out that he was a Turkish gentlemen probably about 70 riding a Chinese 250 cc motorcycle, very willing to help us but about as clueless as we were about the need for an HGS electronic tag. We pointed at the HGS badge he was wearing which prompted him into shouting questions at several Turkish people nearby, all of whom appeared to be shrugging their shoulders as to not knowing the answers to the questions he was asking. Resorting to Google translate , conversation mode, some progress was made. He didn’t know whether we needed a pass, despite him clearly having one. He didn’t know where we could purchase a pass but if we followed him he would be able to explain to anyone of authority that challenged us, that we were trying to comply with the rules if only we could understand what they were; or at least that’s what We think he was saying. Anyway for the second time that day we decided to follow someone offering to help. What a nice guy although not the best rider I’ve ever seen. He would stick in the outside, irrespective of drivers trying to get past, flashing their lights at him, and eventually forcing them to undertake to make any progress, while we watched on in horror. However we remained close to him and we passed through the HGS toll road checkpoints thankfully unchallenged. Eventually he signalled for us to turn off and pull up. Thinking this was where we went our separate ways, he surprised us by asking if we wanted to go to his home for something to eat. We thanked him profusely but said we were keen to press on toward our final destination, so he enthusiastically shook our hands wished us well and we went our separate ways.
To get to the main side of Canakkale you pass over the largest suspension bridge in the world which is very impressive. We stopped in Canakkale for coffee and a snack where because if it’s proximity to the ancient city of Troy was gifted the life size model of the Trojan horse used in film production which is displayed near the waterfront.
After refreshments and consulting the local tourist office we rode 30 km further down the peninsular to the ancient city of Troy. After taking a few photos there but deciding it was too hot to look around the museum we were about to return back to Canakkale to catch the ferry across the Dardanelles when Andy, by chance, noticed a nail sticking out of his tyre. Andy checked the air pressure being indicated on his motorbike dashboard which seemed normal and deciding that it was best not to pull the nail out until we were near a garage air supply we headed back to Canakkale to find a garage. Parked next to the air supply with puncture repair kit to hand we pulled out the nail and thankfully it had not pierced the inner wall of the tyre. While refuelling at the same garage however, as is routine in Turkey, an attendant pumps the fuel then gives you the ticket to go an pay. Leaving the pump unattended for a few seconds however, the nozzle fell out of the tank, spraying me and the bike momentarily with fuel. He was very apologetic and stopped my seat down and it was probably only a cup of petrol, but it could have been worse.
The day ended with us purchasing bread, ham and cheese from a supermarket, catching the ferry for the 10 minute ride across the Dardanelles. We must have just missed one as we ended up sat on the ferry for nearly 50 minutes before it finally departed. On arrival at the guest house only 5 minutes from the guest house, we quickly unpacked before finding a table in the patio and eating our food outside. £20/ night, twin room with breakfast, for both of us!
The weather today has been extremely hot and although not too bad when we are travelling, it can get uncomfortable after stopping. Still after the poor weather at the start we aren’t complaining.
