Ahead of the finish to the last leg of my ride from Istanbul to Trabzon in November last year, my son Thomas had suggested that a fitting end would be the beautiful old Zağnospaşa Bridge in the shadow of the city’s castle. It was indeed a very special location to finish that ride, given its elevated position and views out to the Black Sea.

By virtue of my attachment to the concept of an unbroken route from home in the UK to wherever I can get to, the same bridge became the starting point this morning for my ride from Trabzon to Almaty.

One of the symptoms of wanderlust (for me at least) is a propensity to do somewhat geeky things that help keep the connection with lusted-after places strong, even when physically they’re a very long way away. I have a Chrome bookmark tab just for webcams of places that I miss or long to see one day, and I felt a child-like delight to find when returning from Trabzon in November that the city has a webcam of the Zağnospaşa Bridge. A bit of frivolous fun once back home, but this morning an opportunity too for my family to watch my ‘grand depart’ live from the bridge.

And, thanks to Henry (our youngest), the moment was recorded for posterity. Check out my Instagram reel of today if you’d like to see some of the footage!

Further serendipity unfolded just a few minutes after I’d disappeared from view on the webcam.

Leaving Trabzon, I entered the first roundabout of the trip at exactly the same time as another cyclist. Taking a look at his fully loaded bike, it was obvious that he was touring…but what were the chances that he’d also be from Sussex and also riding to Almaty?! Neither of us had passed another cyclist for the last 1,000 miles of our respective journeys to that point. The coincidence was remarkable. Oliver and I rode together for the rest of the day, and sat down together for some lunch in Rize (pilau doner chicken, which hit the spot beautifully).

Oliver was a superstar during the morning, helping me sort out a couple of punctures inflicted by a small but devious shard of glass that breached my rear tyre wall. By default, I’m optimistic that I’ll get on with people who make a choice to ride their bikes crazy-long distances (a bit like my positive bias towards dog owners!)…but Oliver really was one of the good guys. 

I’m staying in a hotel high up in the tea plantations above Çayeli tonight. Not the most rational decision given the closeness of the contour lines in this little enclave, but a beautiful spot to spend the first night of my ride, and it’s been a joy to be smothered in the boundless kindness of the staff here.

The weather forecast for tomorrow doesn’t make for pleasant viewing – a high of 6c and torrential rain for the last leg of my ride across Turkey (mirroring the conditions experienced for most of today). But there’s nothing quite like the carrot of a border crossing to compensate for such trivial hardships, and I’ll have Georgia on my mind when I set off tomorrow.