Biking Around Again

My first bicycle tour on the Frig Yolu was six years ago with Banu, Deniz, Cengiz, and Dinçer.  On that trip Banu was the only woman in a group of five.  This year I was the only man in a group of five.  Ferda arranged this trip for a number of girlfriends who had never been on a bicycle tour before.  Those three cyclists were Tuğçe, Ebru, and Hacer.  I knew Tuğçe was a strong rider.  I had never ridden with Ebru before, but she’s a very competent rider who chooses to walk (very quickly) when the terrain gets steep.  I think Ebru and I were the only ones who didn’t crash during the six-day trip.  Hacer only learned to ride a bicycle this year, and she did great as well.  Everyone wants to go on another tour, and the idea was that now they’d be experienced enough to head out on their own.

Here they are.  Tuğçe, Ebru, Hacer, and Ferda in Bayatçık on the first day of the trip:

I tried to let the four woman do most of the planning, but since I was the only one who had been to the Frig Valleys before, I did get involved with the general route selection.  The main thing I wanted was to do the loop clockwise since I had traveled counter-clockwise through the heart of the Frig Yolu previously.

The route we took this year is in red while the blue route is what I cycled six years earlier.

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