Bike riders
On the first two days in Turkey, I met bike travelers each day. Some of it must have been by coincidence and other could have been due to my desperate energy to meet other people, after a long break in Georgia.
The two groups of riders had things in common. They both started in Switzerland, have ridden mostly along the same routes, and they are going eastwards – one group to China, the other to Singapore. They haven’t met each other in person, but it is likely that their roads will cross at some point.
I learned that they think of distance in kilometer terms whereas I do in hours and minutes. I noticed that they are constantly on the move, because they think it’s important to make a certain number of kilometers each day. However I tend to focus on one thing at a time – I first finish my long-distance driving, and later have relaxed several days at my destination. I can carry much more but I have more things to maintain, and they seem less concerned about maintenance but they ‘sleep on it’ before adding an item. I wonder how the different physical arrangements shape our experiences and memories of travels.
In any case, I admire their energy and wish them very safe rides.
with Raphael, David and Konstantin, Alice
@ Hopa and Trabzon, Turkey, January 14 and 15, 2020
