Tuesday, 8 October 2013

Now it's Time for Bikes - Şimdi Bisiklet Zaman



I arrived back safe and sound but chilled to the bone on Saturday.  Winter temperatures were blowing down from the North sweeping away all remnants of summer and leaving us shivering.  I avoided seasickness  by copious consumption of dried ginger from Hydra to Piraeus, keeping completely horizontal from Piraeus to Kos and completely vertical from Kos to Bodrum.  It seems I can control by nausea  as long as I don't bend in the middle.

                    

Our village house is not suited to the cold so we decamped to Bodrum on Sunday where I had planned to take part in a bike ride from the town centre to Gümbet. The event was advertised on Facebook calling riders to meet in the centre of Bodrum to  remind the local authority that despite plenty of bikes in Bodrum we don't have cycle lanes. 


Or if we have a cycle lane, it is used as a parking lot for pizza delivery scooters. 


There was a serious amount of lycra on show and I realised that there was no way I'd keep up with these keen cyclists; I hadn't even remembered my bicycle clips, so I took a few photos and watched them set off in convoy following a cop on a motorbike.  My Raleigh "ladies'" bike only has 3 gears so I wouldn't have got half way up the hill but I wished them luck in their campaign and hopefully the mayor can get these scooters moved so that we at least have a few hundred yards to cycle safely in Bodrum. 



You can sign the petition here if you wish


P.S.  If you are heading for Bodrum, the temperatures are now racing back to normal. It should be 28 or 29 degrees C by the week-end. 
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26 comments:

  1. Idskesminis8 October 2013 at 20:47

    Nice to see campaigning for cycle lanes, long live the bicycle!
    Perhaps your P.S. means that the nicely warm weather we had yesterday and today is going your way, as they keep telling us it is going to get colder here!

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    1. BacktoBodrum9 October 2013 at 21:20

      Idske - we need some imput from Holland to sort out the bike lanes. My mum is also on her way so I hope she is bringing the warm weather with her.

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  2. Liam Brennan8 October 2013 at 23:34

    Loved reading this, my favourite phrase being "I can control my nausea as long as I don't bend in the middle."

    You bring back memories of Bodrum in a way no-one else does. We loved the old place and look forward to seeing her next year. And maybe get a glimpse of you in lycra?

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  3. Jack Scott8 October 2013 at 23:58

    I hope the lycra was worth leering at. It usually isn't in Norwich!

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    1. BacktoBodrum9 October 2013 at 21:22

      Sorry to report - it was worth a second glance. I've been spoilt by hanging out with the beautiful people in the summer.

      Delete
  4. Dee9 October 2013 at 00:22

    Dear Annie, there's so much adventure and traveling and experiencing in your life. It's quite wonderful and amazing. Peace.

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    1. BacktoBodrum9 October 2013 at 21:23

      I would give the rough seas a miss if I had the choice.

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    2. Dee17 October 2013 at 22:42

      Dear Annie, you and I both. Today I said in my posting that I'd never want to relive the 1960 months I spent in the seventh-grade classroom in Omaha but that I had learned some important lessons there. For me, learning from "rough seas" makes all the difference. I bet for you too. Peace.

      Delete
  5. Senior Dogs Abroad9 October 2013 at 06:18

    B to B, Completely horizontal or vertical, ey? I'll remember that.

    Lycra takes the fun out of a true peoples' bike ride. Wish I'd've been there - we could have gotten off our three-speeders and walked up the hill. A good cause, including getting rid of those pesky delivery bikes which litter the sidewalk in Istanbul as well.

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    1. BacktoBodrum9 October 2013 at 21:24

      I can imagine cycling in Istanbul is only for the truly suicidal.

      Delete
  6. Nikola9 October 2013 at 12:28

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    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BacktoBodrum9 October 2013 at 21:28

      The email address for the blog is backtobodrum@gmail.com

      Delete
  7. Ozlem's Turkish Table9 October 2013 at 13:17

    Glad to hear you're back home safe & sound; that nausea is no fun : ( but this bike ride does, and I do hope you get the bike lanes, I'll put on fb, hope it helps. And enjoy that weather!: ) Ozlem

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    1. BacktoBodrum9 October 2013 at 21:28

      Thanks Ozlem - I do cycle in the winter but wouldn't dare in the summer.

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    2. BacktoBodrum9 October 2013 at 21:29

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  8. Alan9 October 2013 at 16:10

    . . don't forget the embrocation and vaseline to lubricate the friction bits - but that's only if you are going cycling, of course!!

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    1. BacktoBodrum9 October 2013 at 21:31

      Can you elucidate . Where exactly does the vaseline go and where the embrocation

      Delete
  9. April9 October 2013 at 18:19

    Glad you made it back to Bodrum. Hopefully I will be able to visit Bodrum one day myself!

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  10. Anonymous9 October 2013 at 22:34

    Cycling has been quite a big thing here in Selçuk this summer but, now the weather is cooling down a bit, the Mountaineering and Extreme Sports club have declared walking season open. I don't know how they cope with cycling in the heat...

    Cycle lanes in Bodrum sound like a good thing. Hope the campaign succeeds. Here, I think, many people would be happy if motorbikes kept off the supposedly pedestrianized streets...

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  11. Janice10 October 2013 at 14:05

    I guess cycle clips aren't a requirement with lycra are they ? Glad you survived the sea journey, and I too will take note of the bending in the middle advice.

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  12. Kathy17 October 2013 at 20:33

    Much too late to wish you a good journey, but glad you got home safely. I do hope you can get those scooters moved.

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  13. Kathy17 October 2013 at 20:33

    Much too late to wish you a good journey, but glad you got home safely. I do hope you can get those scooters moved.

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  14. Ayak18 October 2013 at 06:03

    Good luck with the cycle lane campaign. I'd be grateful for road surfaces I could walk on here!

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