Day 51-53: Dubrovnik - 3 miles

We got a vacation from a vacation in Dubrovnik. Our friends Connor and Lona joined us for Memorial Day Weekend. It was a fabulous weekend and it was difficult getting back to reality afterwards. Highlights included cliff diving at Cafe Buza, the courtesy executive lounge at the Hilton Imperial, the massive wall the protected the city for so many years, and the kind hearted taxi drivers (the last one is an example of sarcasm that is difficult to illustrate in text). All in all, great weekend. Much needed for Brady and Sarah and great thanks to Connor and Lona for making it out.

Day 50: Kotor to Dubrovnik - 47 miles

More rain. A hilarious amount of rain pounded us from the sky. Our prize: Dubrovnik.

Day 49: Kotor - 0 miles

Day off to see the walled city of Kotor. Highlight of the day was killing a scorpion in our room.

Day 48 - Niksic to Kotor - 65 miles

Another tough day. We got rained on in the highlands so hard that we couldn't see and the rain beating down on us was painful. We were in the middle of nowhere without a soul around and only one car per hour traveling this narrow road. There was little opportunity to get out of the rain except for a few vacated buildings. After over an hour we made it through the rain with little to show for it. It was exhausting, especially after two hard days. At the end of the day there was a harrowing decent into Kotor, which is at the head of the greatest Fjord in Europe. It is breathtaking to say the least. We are staying in a bungalow of the house of Branko. He has a striking resemblance to Fidel Casto and the funny thing is he spent a couple years in Cuba during the times he worked on a cargo ship.

Day 47 Hum, Bosnia to Niksic, Montenegro 57 miles

Today was a tough day. We had to battle through a lot of climbing and a headwind. We made it to Niksic in Montenegro pretty late and we didn't think we were going to make it at all. Today was the most beautiful riding for me of the entire trip. We passed through 58 tunnels today. The ride was along a massive canyon with an impossible road etched into the cliff. I am not sure why this area is not more well known.

Day 46 Sarajevo to Hum, Bosnia 62 miles

Back to biking. Long day almost to the border of montenegro. We found a rafting camp to bunk up in a cabin for the night. Rafting along the Drina river is a big activity here (along with the famous Tara

canyon). There are a group of men from Slovakia in our camp that are rafting for the week. Today was a beautiful ride up to 3700 feet then back down to 1500 feet. We were riding along a river for most of the day.

Day 45 Sarajevo 0 miles

Day in Sarajevo. We really like this City. The first picture is common of a lot of buildings. If it isn't obvious, those pockmarks are bullet holes. Many buildings have been refinished and many haven't. The second picture shows the good nature of the Sarajevans. We were lucky enought to stay adjacent to a set where they were filming a music video for the most popular musician in Bosnia. In the picture there is a sign at the top that is our pension/guesthouse. Tomorrow we leave for five days of riding through Bosnia and Montenegro before we arrive in Croatia.

Day 44: Sarajevo - 8 miles

Sarajevo is recovering from a viscous war from 1992 to 1995. Buildings are pockmarked with an alarming amount of bullet holes (still today). The old men play chess with mortar rounds. Despite this history, Sarajevo has been a very charming place for us so far. It is the Jerusalem of Europe with a peaceful (today) mix of muslim, christian, and jewish populations.

Day 43: Istanbul to Sarajevo, Bosnia - 0 miles

We changed our itinerary from a ride through bulgaria to a ride through Bosnia and Montenegro. We had to jump west from Istanbul. This required back to back overnight train/bus. Total travel time was 34 hours. But this meant we would arrive in Sarajevo, which would support our liberal profile (ha ha). This is rather than Belgrade, which was an option as well , but is far less fond of Americans and Bill Clinton (1995 the US shot down 4 Serbian planes). The Bosnians are big fans of big Bill for helping them end the war.

Day 42: Istanbul - 0 miles

This is a little side note, as brady does not have anything to write on the blog for today. I wanted to take the opportunity to let all of our friends and family know about the ALS Double Day Bike Ride that we will be participating in once again this summer. Here is a bit of detail...it is a 2 day ride (July 26th and 27th), about 40-50 miles a day through skagit valley (La Connor and tulip fields on day 1, around Big lake and more east Mt. Vernon on day 2). It is one of our favorite events to participate in every year and I can honestly say that I really look forward to it! So, if our bike ride has inspired any of you to do a little bike riding in support of a great cause, please join in. Here is the website below and our team name is "Believe in Miracles", our team captain is Shaana Wiley and you are more than welcome to contact her if you have any questions, wileys@bsd405.org.

Thanks again for all of the support and comments to the blog.

http://webwa.alsa.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=4450

Day 41: Istanbul - 0 miles

Another day in the city. we visited a lot of sites. One spot not to be missed was the Basilica Cistern. The people built this gigantic underwater area to store drinking water. It was rediscovered when somebody researched further why people could lower buckets through a hole in their living room and pull up clean drinking water. One of the cool things about the cistern is the two strange large medusa heads that were brought from another location and stuck under pillars to help stabilize the structure. The picture is one that is sideways. There is also one that is upside down.

Day 40: Istanbul

Istanbul has loads of history. It is a city that feels very European, but a few blocks down can be bustling and overwhelming, which gives the feeling of Asia. The city is packed with history and sites. We visited the Aya Sofya on the first day, which is a church dating to 532 ad. The beauty and size of this church is overwhelming. It was converted into a mosque when the Ottomans took over in 1453 then turned into a museum in 1935. Both pictures are of the church.

Day 39: Selcuk to Istanbul - 4 miles

We took transport to Istanbul. It was supposed to be two trains and one ferry. It turned out to be two trains, one ferry, and two buses due to repairs being done on the railroad. Moving our bikes and bags that many times was exhausting. But now we are in Istanbul and all is good.

Day 38: Selcuk - 8 miles

Ephesus is glorious in many ways. It dates back to 6000 bc, but the ruins are dated over the past 2000 years. The prize of the site is the Celsus Library, which held important historical texts for the region. There were two exterior walls for the building with a one meter thick open air divider between the two. This was to ensure constant temperature for the texts. The museum has statues of Constantine with a cross etched into his forward at a later date. He was the byzantine ruler that brought Christianity to the region. The crosses were etched into the statues when they were broken and thrown into the deep halls of the churches (turned mosques) by the conquerors from the Ottoman Empire who brought Islam into the region.

Day 37: Nazilli to Selcuk - 60 miles

Selcuk is the base for Ephesus, which is one of the great ruin sites of the Mediterranean. We arrived to Selcuk on market day, which was dizzying. We couldnt find our hostel because we couldnt see street signs through the tarps and the fast crowds were turning us around. We finally found our Hotel and got to enjoy the market. The energy of the market was great as every street was taken up by fruit stalls, baby clothing, shoes, spices, nuts, and power tools.

Day 36: Pamukkale to Nazilli - 55 miles

Special thanks to Pavia Systems for sponsoring the ride. They have been a huge help in the whole process. We couldnt have done it without them... or we couldnt have done it as well.

Day 35: Pamukkale - 0 miles

We took a day to visit the travertines and Hierapolis. The travertines is a natural phenomenon that was created by excess calcium in the natural water flows on a hillside. It created a huge white

embankment. The water flowing down it created hundreds of small pools. The ground is hard and white and the water is a natural hot spring. Hierapolis is a ruined city dating from the 2nd century BC. İt is spectaculary perched on the travertines.

Day 34: Korkutelli to Pamukkale - 12 miles

We took public transport for the first time (besides ferries). We will be doing in the next couple of weeks to speed us up to Croatia. Gas prices in Turkey have thinned out the roads so it is a joy to bike on. Prices here are a scary $8-10 US/Gallon. İn Greece it was cheaper at $6-7/Gallon, but İtaly was still $7-8/Gallon. İt makes $4/Gallon seem like its free. İt has had an affect on many Turkish people. Seyhan is a good example. We met him in Gombe and he owns a motorbike and car, but he still bicycles to work.

Day 33: Gombe to Korkutelli - 55 miles

pleasant day of riding on a high plateau through apple orchards. All towns here have muslim prayer five times per day. The prayer is played over the loudspeaker for the whole town to hear. The surprising thing is that the prayer is a comforting song of sorts (except for the 5am prayer, which often wakes us). It is like a religious chant similar to St Marks in Seattle. It has a calming effect. Turkey is 98% muslim, but separates religion from state. Women are not often seen outside of their home and they always have all limbs covered and the vast majority have headscarfs as well. Men dont talk directly to Sarah until they have talked to me first.

Day 32: Kas to Gombe - 42 miles

Big climbing day into the mountains. Total gained was 6500 feet (up, down, up). The high point was 5000 feet. Sarah did great. Strong as an ox. We spent a good portion of the day removing large turtles from the road (as high as 2000 feet in elevation). Somehow they always wanted to be in the middle of the road. It was slow going for most of the day, but in general we were faster than the turtles.

Day 31: Kas - 0 miles

We spent the day kayaking over the sunken lycian city at kekova, which was created by a massive earthquake in 200 AD.

Day 30: Patara to Kas - 26 miles

Day 29: Patara - 3 miles

Patara beach is 12 miles long and mostly deserted. İt is half a football field wıde. İt is pure bliss. And to add to that good old St Nick was born here. That is right, Santa. as in Santa Claus. I didnt believe it either.

Day 28: Fethiye to Patara - 46 miles

Day 27: Gocek to Fethiye - 25 miles

Faces of Turkey