On the evening before I left I got some lessons in Chinese from the two girls from Singapore who were also staying in Nasta’s flat.
I left the same at about 12 in the noon and made it to the next bike shop where the gear of the Rohloff Speedhub was changed the first time after a bit more than 5000km. I am really satisfied with my technical gear so far - not a single defect, not a single puncture after nearly 6000km! The only negative aspect about it is that I have taken with me all the repair stuff and replacement components for nothing so far - but I can live with that 
Leaving Thessa (as thelocals call it) I saw n accident of a big SUV crashing into a normal car only meters away - I have been lucky not to be directly involved!
It was a hot and wet afternoon and I was happy that the terrain was mainly flat so that in the evening I had made about 85km on the little frequented highway. I found a room in a million stars hotel about 50m besides the street and had sweet dreams.
When the other hotel guests from various backgrounds woke me up in the morning with the loudest they could sing it was about 4 to 5 am and nop traffic on the highway - after 50km I stopped in a small village and got food from a bakery and a supermarket. Some kilometers later I started an extended siesta at the beach that compensated for the somewhat short night - the Greeks came and went while I was sleeping under my sun umbrella.
In the afternoon I continued along the coast with many uphills, one of them about 300 meters in altitude passing Kavala. When it was already dark I arrived at a fuel station where I got a cold drink and a Coke for free and where I had to realize that I wouldn’t survive the night in that area because of too many mosquitos. So I continued to cycle through the night on the empty highway. The only problem on these new super highways is that there are sometimes no stations for 50km+ and if you don’t want to leave them for a smaller city on the site you will get quite a supply problem.
In the morning I slept for an hour and arrived then in Alexandroupoli, a Greek city about 50km from the Greek-Turkish border. There I went on the internet and had a laaaaaarge melon of over 10kg which I ate during my long siesta on a building construction site where I had shadow and silence. This finished my second largest 24h distance of 272,25 km and 1610 altitude meters - always up and down, really grueling.
In the afternoon I then continued and was lucky to find a bridge that protected me against a heavy thunderstorm - so Greece ended as it had begun - and much rain in between also.
I came to the border and could pass it quite fast compared to the car drivers who were standing in a long row even in the evening. In Turkey I found out the exchange rate of the Euro and Lira when I had a dinner for 5 lira, about 2,50 Euro and shopped at a fuel station for 12 Euro - worth 2 days of food.
I just rode my bike into a building next to the road when a man came to me and invited me for a tea and an omelette that he prepared in no time - exactly the right thing for a hungry cyclist like me.
Asking some Turks about the terrain to Istanbul they all replied that it was flat, FLAT!!! But on the next stage I made 125km with 1323 hight meters! That’s in no way flat - that means one hill after the other on a 4 laned highway with not that much traffic but a sun that knows no mercy! The terrain was therefore not very interesting and I just tried to make some kilometers, stopping here and there for a tea or refueling the water bottles and having a chat. Once I stumbled upon a police (polis) officer who wasn’t wearing uniform but insisted on seeing my passport - a perfect example for Turkish mentality in my eyes - his name was Mehmet and after some time of chatting he got more open.
In the evening I arrived at the Mediterranean border in Tekirdag, I think, where I had dinner on a bank on the promenade and watched the Turks passing by. I then saw a wrong parking car being towed away - they are taking so much space everywhere!
The middle to upper class lives in special villages along the beach which are separated by a large fence and guarded by security - but that is not the only sign for the large inequalitiers in between the Turks - many are driving their cars when there are still some riding their horses with trailers along the highway.
After a hard day at 35 degrees + and more and more traffic in the direction of Istanbul I arrived at Isa’s flat in the evening where I met some of his Turkish friends, where we went to the supermarket and had some interesting conversations.
Hi Dan!!
I forgot how I came across this site! I guess, I found you on the CouchSurfing site, via bicycle groups or so…
Wow!!! I love what you’re doing! Crossing Italy, Greece by bicycle is just awesome! I’ve never done such an enormous ride! I’ve only done like 10-14 day trips… and never 24h-270km rides!!! Haha!!!
I wish you good luck for your journey!! And I will follow your trip like every day!!
I would have invited you, but you won’t be on my way… I’ll be in Germany by the end of July.
hit the road, big traveler!
cheers,
mathis
Hey Mathis!
It is just so much fun to experience other countries by bicycle! I think only through human powered means of transportation can you come so close to the locals and the way they are living right now. I don’t care very much about how they lived here a thousand years ago, therefore I don’t visit too many archeological sites and tourist spots. CouchSurfing is a perfect way for getting an openminded person/guide who can tell you a bit more and whom you can talk about your experiences in hi country so far with.
what is your nick on CS and where are you from?
For me the distance doesn’t matter too much. I just cycle for fun and when I am in the right mood I just don’t want to stop
Hey Daniel!
Currently I’m living in Canada, Ontario. You will find that with my nick “LAIHO” on the CS site.
But basically, bin ich Deutscher, haha. In der Gegend von Heidelberg aufgewachsen.
Ich werde ab Ende des Sommers mein Studium beendet haben und mir dann wieder mehr Zeit fuers Radfahren nehmen! Nach Griechenland wollte ich sowieso schon immer!
Und yeah, ich konnte Dich auf CS irgendwie nicht mehr finden… lass uns eventell connecten, vielleicht sieht man sich ja mal!
alles Gute! Ich steh voll hinter Deinen Vorstellungen vom Radfahren und Laender besuchen!!
mat
Hey Daniel,what’s up man?I am enjoying my holidays in Igoumenitsa with my gf.Unfortunatelly i start job from friday:-( but i have to go in England,i hope you will have a nice trip there……Enjoy your trip
Salam aleikum!
And by the way: That way you could find out much more about salads in other countries and maybe you will find one that tastes even better than the greek one to you *g*
@Mathis: what kind of cycling do you like most? me, i am interested in nearly every kind and also very much in the extremely rich culture in many places around the world - i can spend nights on youtube, flickr, myspace and cycling related homepages or listening to cycling podcasts!
@home i’m an everyday cyclist,commuter, mountainbiker (with my good friend Adrian) and of course recumbent cyclist
@Michael: why do you have to work to go to england? i have a suggestion for ya bro: get yourself a bike (doesn’t need to be very expensive, better get a good,stable one worth the price - it can even be a bit heavier), start your trip very soon and try to stay with the many friendly and hospitable people from the hospitality club and couchsurfing everywhere in europe! make many many friends not only in london but everywhere in between, too and get to know so many more places worth of it! and i think it will also be very interesting for your companions.
Just an idea how i would do it
Salut les gars!
hum, first of all, I’m an all day biker, unless my homecity is not like Berlin (which has never been the case), i do the all-day stuff by bike only!
Normally, I’ve always been in a Track&Field club doing running! But
after high school, I had the spontaneous idea with a friend to do the mediterranean coast by bike! we rode from marseille to la spezia. La cote d’azur is soo beautiful!
later while i lived in Grenoble, as a huge fan of the (nowadays you have to say IDEA) of the Tour de France, I could climb a bunch of those mountains! mostly in like day-trips. once, i took a week to go further! A dream is to do all the famous mountains of the Pyreneas and suisse and French alps.
I’m riding not too fast, but with a natural amount of sports ambitions, I always end up taking a day without luggage to ride some mountains faster. If you have a certain condition, it’s like a drug! I can’t wait to do that again and will take like 10 days in August for that.
I’ve also lived in Karlsruhe and did quite a few trips in the Black Forest and on the French side.
I’ve never had the time (sad to say but…) to do really crazy things and go further! but life will still last for a long time, so I got
plenty of possibilities left!
yeehaw, I let you know about my tiny trips
later in august/september!
wish you nice weather and nice people along the road!!!
mat