Eye of the beholder... trouble in Iran.

We are being held captive by some of the nicest people on earth. For anyone thinking that Iran is a terrorist state or not safe to travel please stop watching CNN. I will say, some things are not normal and even not right but you could also say this about any country as well. It all depends on the eye of the beholder.

We left Turkey and saw one of the hugest mountains I have ever seen, Mount Ararat. It is about 5165 metres 16,945 feet high. This is where Noah's Ark is claimed to have landed. I left Turkey in eating some bad food and it left me pretty weak. I fasted for two days and I thought I was good, feeling like Superman I decided to move on. We were ready to take on Iran and the rest of Asia. We climbed about 900 metres out of Turkey and were chased by wild dogs at the border. We stayed at Gurbulak and slept out front on the veranda of a Variety store near some military barracks, oh the places we sleep. We were telling all the soldiers the store was closed and we ended up sharing many interesting stories with them about Turkey.

We arrived in Iran the next morning and had some of the nicest roads to travel on. We learned a valuable lesson about money exchange... make sure you know the price before going into a country. We only lost a dollar or two so no big deal... but lesson learned. We headed further in land to the serene desert like conditions of Iran leaving a cooler Turkey landscape behind. It warmed up quickly as we headed further east past Maku. After receiving some medical attention from my stomach woes we pushed forward. The one night we passed about 10 kms of military troops and headed to the hills to pitch our tent. We were probably about 5 kms away and the night was peaceful in the parched desert mountainside when all of the sudden kaboom! The artillery traces filled the skies like yellow fireflies as they began exploding in the background lighting up the dark night... whoa!!! It finally died down so we could sleep but the military presence is very noticeable here and in Turkey. I guess this is what happens when the terrorist leader George W wants your land and oil. There is no doubt that they are waiting for it, the writing is on the wall or should I say the CNN headline ticker.

We headed into a very lively town called Tabriz. We spent a night there in a Hotel for about $4 CDN. The people were great offering us fresh fruit and helping us out with cheap accommodations. There is a fruit smoothie bar on almost every corner... we are in heaven, they cost about 50cents for a cold refreshing mineral rich drink! Alcohol is not allowed so the occasional beer has been out of our diet but the alternative makes us feel 100 times better after a long day of riding.

Now the trouble... I injured my ankle from climbing Ararat in my weakened condition and I will now be taking some time off for physiotherapy to get me back on my feet. The good thing is we met a cool travel mate in Tehran, our Kiwi friend named Luke who we met earlier in our trip in Ankara. Tehran is a huge city (15Mil) and like most big cities it really suffers the effects of pollution. You can hardly breathe as the city is located in a valley surrounded by mountains. The traffic is horrendous and the Darwinian style of driving as our friend Arya calls it is literally mad. You truly take your life into your hands here... every car, motorcycle, cyclist and pedestrian for themselves. Kevin and Luke will continue riding to Pakistan and I will be I recovering so I can take on the rest of Asia with them in a few weeks. Luke has been traveling by bicycle from Vancouver to NY (in 27 days during some unseasonable weather) and continued on from England to Iran. The guy is a madman, he wants to continue onwards to Nepal in November. We will plan on meeting him back in India after he thaws out if he hasn't turned into a meat popsicle.

Everything is well and our spirits are high, Kevin and I have split up again to go on our own adventures. We separated today in Esfahan a very beautiful historical city and I will be returning to Arya's place in Tehran for treatment. His father is a doctor so I will be in good hands for my recovery.

Peace out!
Steve

We're Baaaaaack!

Sorry for the delay for everyone who wonders where the heck twohammers are. We are currently 100kms from the İranian border. The adventure continues. We have 16 day visa's for İran and we are trying to get them extended when we get to Tehran.

I, Kevin, spent some excellent time exploring some of the most beautiful coastline the world has to offer in the south west of Turkey. İ clımbed the equivalent of the Alps twice whilst exploring down there. Killer hills everywhere. İn one day i pushed up two 20km hills passing 1650m elevation in 40C heat. Almost stupid. But İ live to tell the tales. Turkey is by far the hardest country to cycle.

Steve spent time in İstanbul and Ankara resting and visiting with friends.

On a sad note, I am a stupid tourist. I left my backpack on a bus and inside it contained 200 pictures, my journal, minidisc, microphone, some food and my common sense. I feel like crying. My journal and the pictures are the real shame in this situation. The bus company is tryıng to send it to where İ am now. The universe is all i have to help me now. Everyone picture me with a yellow backpack and a huge smile on my face and it will arrive safely with all my stuff!

Otherwise we will update again soon! We miss everyone and İ want to say Happy Belated Birthday to Paul and Tara and me!