i bike you

So Reid is arriving in 4 days to join me in exploring this wonderful city where east meets west. At that point, phase 2 of my summer adventures will effectively begin and I guess I'll keep updating sporadically. Maybe. If my mom hassles me enough. For now, check out these pics from Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey!

Fortress in Belogradchik

They applied for World Wonder status for these rock formations...

Shani, Charles and I on top of the world.

Emanuele and I met these two Italian cyclists at a gas station on the way to Vratsa. We hunkered down there (note laundry drying in background) for many hours waiting for Phil to come get us cause Em's bike was broken.

Some rowdy Czechs on a climbing road trip in Vratsa.

My attempt at this face:

Made it about 3/4 of the way but it was getting dark

My friendly belayer

Our campsite by a little creek, nestled in the mountains in Vratsa

Shawn and Gala riding through the tunnels along the breathtaking Iskar Gorge in Bulgaria

Stopping to explore the caves inside the tunnels

The Iskar Gorge - from the edge of the cave

The view from half way up our Bulgarian mountain.

Gala making her way up the 6km road to the top of a mountain where we spent the night in Zhelen, Bulgaria.

George at the top of the mountain.

Leaving early in the morning for the ride into Sofia... check out the mist in the valley!

Just one of Gala's wonderful thank-you cards - this one depicting the ring road around Sofia that we rode in on.

The ancient amphitheatre in Plovdiv - the main highway runs under it through a tunnel.

Presenting Charles 'Cobra' Perrin and Mark 'Mongoose' Masongsong - winner of the Cutest Couple Award

Just another lunch stop :)

Group shot at the Kindergarten with the mayor of Kostenets

Hanging out with our host, Rado, in his lovely garden in Kardjali

My tent under a canopy of grapes!

Our amazing host and fellow cyclist, Rado.

Me on the front page of the Kardjali paper!

Us riding in Kardjali (I'm on the far left).

Deciding to change the route and add Greece to it...

3 countries in one day! Bulgaria to Greece to Turkey.

Edirne. We finally made it to Turkey!

The Blue Mosque at Edirne just after crossing the border from Greece.

This was one of the mosques that the prophet of the Baha'i (the folks we had our first external engagement with in Amsterdam) pronounced his teachings at.

Admiring the stunning mosque.

I have no pictures of the rest of the ride through Turkey because I got really really sick - like, unable to keep anything down for 2 days sick... so that part of the ride is kind of a blur.

But here are some celebratory Istanbul arrival pics:

Team Brodie Elan

Shani, Jake and Chris

Everyone who rode in the car at one point or another... good thing we had a car!

King Cobra and the Mongoose again - Cutest Couple Award '09

Then we all signed each others jerseys

And walked along the beach - because we were staying feet away from the beach!

And then we wandered into the city for our first rooftop terrace - complete with comfy cushions that we sank into to enjoy some chai and turkish coffee after a delicious dinner.

After leaving the campsite and getting settled in at our couchsurfing place, Jo and I strolled through the downtown district and found this charming traditional Turkish restaurant where the people sitting next to us ordered us all sorts of delicious 'must try' Turkish food. Then once we all finished eating one of them showed us around town all afternoon! What a great introduction to Turkey.

I had to take this picture, because the word 'waffle' (used as a verb) had become so common in our vocabulary by the end of the trip. It was mainly used to describe the overwhelming inability of our group to make any decisions or get anywhere in a timely manner. A 'waffle iron' was a person who forced the 'wafflers' to make a decision or insisted upon carrying on when people started to stray or 'waffle'. Maybe you had to be there.

The other day Shani, Jake, Charles, Jenika, Em, Robbie and I took a ferry up the Bosphorus to the Asian side of Istanbul: