Bikepacking Turkey: A creepy encounter, mad saddle sores & a hospital visit are driving me crazy!!

I don't know life has a weird way of serving up a mixed bag of joy and setbacks and in this episode I will have some unfiltered moments from my recent cycling Adventure in Turkey I am giant Cheerio a bicycle Traveler exploring the world since 2021 I once again hit the road solo the mission is to cycle 700 kilometers from Istanbul to Cappadocia in Turkey because I really wanted to see the famous balloons rising over there but let me drop a little spoiler I did not reach my destination [Music] I am on my way to Cappadocia today is day one after spending 11 days so yeah day one I think it's seven or eight hundred kilometers to Cappadocia I gotta mention that I took a ferry uh to get out of town because Istanbul is such a huge City yeah I didn't want to cycle within that traffic for like 30 or 40 kilometers so I just hopped on a ferry from yanikapi and went to yaloba and now I'm here as always I hope let's go let's go furthest [Music] afternoon nah [Music] and there's more [Music] I am searching for a camp spot oh and I found it here uh just took a little puff which was leading away from the main road and ah well here I am okay that's perfect I'm just gonna go and get my bike I left it over there because I didn't wanna push it up here uh yeah so I'm gonna get it now and then it's time to pitch the tent and yeah eat some bread and go to bed ew what a rhyme [Music] what a day I started cycling today uh at nine o'clock and now it's 4 30 and I only cycled 30 kilometers this day is a pain in the Earth Day like literally pain in the ass uh I took 11 days off the bike in Istanbul and then I cycled yesterday and this morning when I woke up my sit bones were kind of swollen like both of them and yeah uh each kilometer hurts like uh it's really painful I don't want to sit on the saddle actually but I have to today I'm always cycling like 10 kilometers then I'm taking a break and I get back on the saddle uh that's my day today uh 10 minutes ago I was just cycling through that very very small town a man just stopped me and he was like he forced me to go to a supermarket and I should just pick something and yeah he then wanted to pay for this I don't have any words for this and it feels uncomfortable like a little bit and because I can't do anything I can just say thank you very much and thank you thank you like what shall I do but the hospitality is like I I don't even get this and it has nothing to do with the hospitality in Germany or France or Spain or whatever like turkey really uh that's that's a different game and I'm very impressed and uh yeah I don't have any words for this and I'm very glad that I'm I'm making these experiences and I really want to learn from that and yeah then we sat together hachai uh no English no Turkish but we had a good time I'm super happy that I am able to experience all this okay I was seriously Blown Away by all the amazing Hospitality I was experiencing daily in Turkey because I'd never seen anything quite like this before but unfortunately this day was different this tea invitation led to a very unpleasant moment I didn't notice but someone was following me and eventually stopped me in the middle of the road in the middle of nowhere happened again [Music] um joy and weird situations just go hand in hand there was an unpleasant incident with a man first I gotta say that this is not because of being in Turkey like this happened in other countries as well Germany France Spain Belgium doesn't matter where you are as a woman that just happens everywhere someone stopped me yeah a very old guy and I was uh a very ugly situation and I felt intimidated uh yeah [Music] yeah I'm not very motivated I'm kind of not afraid not scared but I just don't feel comfortable in the middle of nowhere I have nothing to add it's just uh it's just part of being a solo woman traveler unfortunately and yeah I was talking about that when I was cycling through France and the Netherlands and Belgium last year and yeah now it happened again and I don't have any words for this like seriously um whenever people say oh you're a woman you're traveling alone this is so dangerous than all they're thinking of is men like the only reason why I'm afraid sometimes is because of these situations even though uh I handled it and I pushed him away and like and said some stuff in a very certainly loud voice um I feel shitty like seriously it's just and yeah I continue cycling now but yeah it's just it's making me so freaking sad and it's so unfair that you've got to be so freaking careful just because of having a vagina this is making me so mad yeah uh gotta go as a solo female traveler it's crucial to be aware of the unfortunate reality that incidents can occur when spending a lot of time alone on the road sooner or later you may find yourself in a uncomfortable situation it's simply a matter of time I don't intend to spread fear but I won't sugarcoat the truth either it's important to mention that these challenges do exist we must continue pushing for change with the hope that one day women can explore the world without the constant fear of harassment my intention wasn't to infuse this video with such emotion but this is the day-to-day reality of a life on the road and to be honest if I had a daughter I wouldn't want to recycling through rural areas in any country just based on my experiences and right now after spending three months in Turkey I can confirm that solo female traveler is particularly in rural areas receive a unique type of attention which can be uncomfortable I'm specifically discussing rural areas not the country as a whole I'm not here to criticize or bash I'm sharing my thoughts and my experiences cultures varai religions differ and the perception of women in rural areas is distinct but these incidents won't stop me from cycling they only show the work that still needs to be done thank you good morning uh I woke up I was having a pretty good night I slept I don't know I I fell asleep and I just woke up nine hours later and then I realized that I can't I can't I don't know how to cycle today like yesterday I noticed that there is something off with the saddle and my bones and um today I woke up and like I have one swollen thing right at my phone and it's not just swollen it's a blue and thick and yellow yeah I have a new saddle my my old one was falling apart and I needed a new one uh and I thought this one would uh was a good seller but it is for some but not for fight not for my bum coffee now get packed and then I have to see where to go or maybe eat a lot of painkillers make my way to the next city and then I have to take some days off again because I really can't cycle like that it's but yeah still after three or four hours on the saddle it started hurting but I just think uh this is normal because who the heck spends four or five hours on the saddle each and every day but yeah with the SQL episode it was way better and now yeah really hit the fan it doesn't look good it doesn't feel good and oh coffee first foreign this wonderful warm showers place and it's a place for cyclists uh yeah bicycle Travelers and they can just stay here and yeah I'm very thankful and it's like a traveler's luck to be honest I ate a lot of painkillers because of my thumb laughs and due to that the problems have increased I guess I gotta go to see a doctor tomorrow because it's an open wound and yeah I should have known better like seriously after recycling for two years I just should have known better oh yes I definitely should have known better but it is what it is now things really got really bad and after seeing a doctor in a hospital it was clear that I needed a tiny little surgery and then cycling was off the table for at least three to four weeks holy three to four weeks so that meant that I had to stay where I was I couldn't cycle and first I really didn't know how to swallow that pill but yeah I mean there was no other option so they cut my ass open and then it was time to rest I booked myself the cheapest accommodation in town and it turned out that it was actually really nice to live a normal life off the bike for a couple of weeks and I love my room no cycling no packing my tent every morning just me in a Turkish city with lots of things to do so you might ask yourself and what about Cappadocia but don't worry in the end I got there but that's part of another story and that's it for today thanks for watching the video and thanks for supporting me my bike and my journey I guess I see you next time Cheerio goodbye salute and adios [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Giant Cheerio

Views: 84,552

Keywords: bikepacking, cycling, cycling adventure, bikelife, Radreise, bikepacking Deutschland, cycling motivation, cycling documentary, gravel bike, gravel bike bikepacking, travel camping living, gravel cycling, bikepacking for beginners, how hard is bikepacking, what happened bikepacking, what is bikepacking, how to start bikepacking, who bikes, is bikepacking worth it, woman backpacking alone, woman’s bikepacking bike, bikepacking female, bikepacking woman, backpacking tips for female

Id: 6GvDv4xaVvs

Length: 14min 58sec (898 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 19 2023