Day 5 30th September 2010 Breakfast outside and then away to the Steppes for more headwinds and a puncture in my front tyre caused by those wicked prickly roadside plants. Furhter down the road I repaired a puncture for Kristine. which was the fourth puncture of the group. We eventually arrived in Sultanhani after a hard day today. Total mileage 44miles, 40 of which were into a serious head wind. We were also travelling on a very busy road inundated with lorries going to and from a nearby sugar beat factory. We travelled across the steppes, a prairie which was as flat as the eye could see in any direction. Stopped for lunch of chai and biscuits near Aksaray for some of group who did not get lost (Julia). By mid-afternoon some really dark clouds ... read more

Day 3 28th September 2010 Today we set off from Urgup where we saw all the limestone chimneys, which were stuuning to say the least, and went on for miles. On our departure at 9am it was already in the 20's centigrade and we built up more heat with the steady climb out of town for several miles. A left turn at Mustafa Paxa shortly after passing a donkey pulling an old wizened man on a four wheel cart took us up onto the plateau where there was signs of recent ploughing of the wheat stubble on the vast flatlands. Occasionally we would see fields with pumpkins scattered like giant yellow ballons awaiting harvesting. Later in the morning we stopped at a village to ask a lady if there was anywhere selling chai (tea) for our ... read more

Thursday 24 September. I have been planning this trip with the CTC for some time now. I came to prepare my trustworthy Pendle Tourer on Tuesday and weighed it in the bike bag. It came to 24 kg and I had yet to put in my shoes and helmet and one of my panniers. I thought of the times in the past when I have been surcharged for it being overweight and thought that it could go a long way towards a lighter bike. I bit the bullet and went to Pendle cycles and Stephanie kindly bought me a new Specialized Tricross. I picked it up last night after having the gearing altered. It now has 30/42/52 chain rings and 11/30 cassette, giving me a direct drive (27") bottom gear, which should cope well with panniers ... read more

Day 4 17th August. This was planned to be a rest day but the weather was forecast to rain on Friday so it was decided to rest on Friday and run out to Bourton on the Water. Bourton boasts many attractions with an animal park and motor museum etc plus the picturesque town centre with the river Windrush running through the centre with several pretty bridges. The 40 mile journey was terminated on a bridleway, which ran through stubble fields and ended almost at the campsite with muddy wheels and tired bodies. ... read more

Today we went 33 miles from the Charlbury campsite to Stow on the Wold, passing through Chipping Norton in temperatures in the low 20’s and plenty of sun beaming down on us. Stow is a pretty place, busy with tourists and coaches of Japanese visitors. The town boasts the oldest pub in England dating back 700 years. On our way we passed via Ascot under Wychwood, which is a very pretty old place of thatched cottages and then we took a CNC route through the woods to arrive in the centre of Stow - very nice.... read more