hello fellow travellers,
I am cycling in mid March from Istanbul towards China. So turkey, georgia, armenia, iran, and the stan states.
I am not sure about the weather, the scenery along the way and the traffic. Would you guys reccomend to cycle along the black sea coast or is there any better option than that?
Cheers, mini
If you only stick to the black sea coast the first bit will definitively get you in shape. The coastal road from Eregli to Samsun is narrow, winding with lots and lots of climbing, turning, hairpins, small villages. Lovely if you're in shape, doesn't go very high either, so it won't be too cold. Some blog claims doing the whole road is more climbing then crossing the himilayas. It will likely be very wet anywhere directly on the black sea coast. But very scenic
From Samsun to the Georgia border it's easier. It's main highway East and if you don't mind doing 140km days, you could ride from cheap hotel to cheap hotel. There's not a whole lot of camping along side the road, you're sandwiched between the sea and a mountain range. Hotels are about 6 to 10 euro's a night, if you find the cheap ones. I reckon most people take the highway from Istanbul to Samsun, it's a good quality road, but you will have to climb higher then 2000m, so it will be cold.
I concur with Hoogerbrugge. The first stretch along the Black Sea out of Istanbul is quiet but REAL tough. You will never go very high but it's non-stop steep hills. I think going the whole way along the coast is a bore. Anatolia is to me the real Turkey and you'll get a taste of Central Asia once on the "Plateau" (which is not, lots of ups and downs to be found up there). Please note that March equals winter in Turkey, even in Istanbul. Maybe you should consider starting your ride in Izmir, ride along the Mediterranean as far as Mersin and then head inland from there.
