Recently, I got into my stupidity mode and I decided to climb a mountain with my bicycle and stay there for couple of days (same what i did in Zimbabwe if you remember ) but unfortunately, this is not Africa and winter in Turkey is not a joke.
My adventure started with a steep uphill, I could barely push my bike to the top, after hours of real struggle, As it started getting dark and cold , I decided to camp somewhere and continue the next day. I thought I was prepared for winter with all the clothes I have, but the mountains had another say. I made some pasta for dinner and then went to sleep quite early. It got super cold right after the sunset, and the struggle started. I put on all the clothes I had, but my sleeping bag wasn’t made for this weather condition, so is my tent.
It was around -5 plus the wind blowing in the tent. I tried to find a position to stay warm and just survive till the next day. I was close to hypothermia but I got a lesson and I’m glad i experienced it .
Moral of the story : Dude ! Get winter gear, good sleeping bag and a good tent and enjoy winter, this African gear won’t fly in these mountains
That moment when I reached the top of that mountain, I asked myself: is this it? Is this what I was fighting for? I had spent hours pedaling 25 kilometers on a mountain pass, and there I was, away from my destination. The worse thing was that I could see all the other mountains that were standing in my way and I would have to go through. All I got for all the exhaustion and sweat was… Nothing.
I waited for something on the mountaintop to make my efforts worthwhile only to see a nice view that I was unimpressed. I threw a glance at my bike with such a disappointment, not knowing what to say to her. Then I took my bike, put on my jacket.
As I started cycling downhill, I felt that all those negative thoughts had turned into something positive that made me love my bicycle again.