Tossing and turning on my inflatable mattress, sleep does not come easy. I spend, what seems an eternity trying to shut off the sounds that are surrounding me. I feel jealous of Edward happily snoring away, sprawled on his double mattress, or Robert in deep sleep oblivious of the frustration that myself and other awake cyclists are feeling. Not their fault really but equally frustrating nonetheless.
The wake up call is never welcome. Today we have another long journey of 195 kilometres, on gravelly roads, roads with a grip that makes down hills irrelevant. Mornings have become a routine. Breakfast consisting of coffee, bread with peanut butter and some dry cereal as I don't drink milk. Deflating the mattress, packing our clothes. Searching for a missing sock, getting the clean clothes off the clothes line and queuing for phsyio. Thankfully there are not many of us so Carolyn and Francesca although busy, are not overwhelmed and can see to all our needs.
Prior to departing, Alan reminds me that my timings are still behind but as a parting shot he encourages me telling me that I should be able to catch up if I keep a good rhythm. I fully understand the principle of timings but I cannot really understand how a cyclist, who might be 6 minutes behind the time, will be considered as having participated rather than successfully completed Lifecycle. It's part of the Lifecycle game and I have to accept it.
I am thankful for good company, especially today. The roads are long and never ending making them extremely boring. One is bound to start talking about a multitude of subjects. Today's topic was favourite TV shows, when Rob and I were kids. We both discovered that we were fans of the show CHiPs – California Highway Patrol. Since the story was about two motorcycle policemen, Robert decides to film our bikes in the same way as the opening credits of this programme. He went one step further and started singing in a very loud voice the signature tune. It might seem silly now but one cannot imagine the respite such silliness brings when taking on such a journey.
Simon, who in the past few days had a bit of a hard time, seems to be doing well today. In fact he cycles with us most of the time. Edward teases him a lot, especially when Simon decides he wants an ice cream or plate of pasta in the middle of nowhere. Jokingly Edwards announces that he will be writing a pantomime revolving around Lifecycle and will have a difficult (fonqla) character called Sikal!. Simon is perhaps a bit less amused than us but still manages a smile.
As we proceed towards Kirikkale, the roads become really bad. They are in the process of being resurfaced but the gravel is so loose that cars passing by end up hitting us. We decide to risk and drive on the wrong side of the road as there we are sheltered from the loose gravel. I can't wait to get out of this road. To make matters worse it is getting hotter, which makes cycling on these roads even worse. At one point we decide to stop and buy cold water but we meet Carolyn and her backup team who promptly provide us with ice cold Powerade.
We are doing a good time, but as we get close to the accommodation I get a flat tyre. Rob gets into pit stop mode and changes it within seconds. Urging me to keep on cycling, I leave him to pick up the rest of the stuff. As I pick up a good speed, I realise that Rob is not behind me. I try calling him but he is not answering, I slow down and try to figure out what happened. Simon catches us up with me and I ask if he has seen Robert, which he has and tells me that he is on his way. Catching up with me Rob tells me that he lost his mobile and stopped to look for it. He was lucky to have found it since it was lying in a grassy patch at the edge of the road.
I get a strong urge to cycle faster, wanting to reach the accommodation as soon as possible. Picking up an average speed of around 21km/h, we race to improve our timings. We make it to Kirsehir stadium at a good time, well before some of the other cyclists. I am pleased as the gap is narrowing. I definitely don't want to fail on getting the “successfully completed” certificate. Not after all this effort.
Since we arrive at a decent time, we have the luxury of sorting our stuff properly. Washing our clothes, and getting some fresh air to dry them. In my eagerness to remove my knee strapping and getting into the shower, I pull off a piece of skin, which at the time goes unnoticed until the hot water from the shower makes contact. Then I howl! I make up for it by going into a supermarket with Pierre and Jesmond to treat myself to an ice cream. I am not a big fan of ice creams but I feel I deserve one today.
As night falls, I prepare to go to sleep. Night-time has become a source of stress for me as I am not sleeping well. I realise that I am not the only one and Maria and Carolina invite me to join them in sleeping in a room they discovered at the back of the gym, far away from the cacophony of sounds. Moving our stuff into the room we settle for the night. Girl talk is inevitable and as we are discussing shoes, handbags and men, we suddenly leap out of our skins when we hear a peremptory knock on the window. Two police men are obviously on a beat, and checking as to why there is a light in what is supposed to be an empty building. We all consider going back into the gym but quickly change our minds when we hear all the snoring that is taking place. We go back to our room, make sure that all windows and doors are locked and quickly fall into a deep and welcoming slumber.
Photos courtesy of Ray Pace
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