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Our cycle ride to England begins in Antalya, a bustling port town of 1.5 million on the western Mediterranean coast of Turkey. From Sabah Pansiyon (pension) in Kaleichi, the old quarter, we wind through labyrinthine cobbled alleys to Cumhuriyet Cad, a main road heading west. I am nervous. Would the traffic on the D400, the highway west, be like it was on the road in from the airport Monday night? Three lanes of cars, buses, and trucks rocketting along and belching unfiltered exhaust? I still have a sore throat from that ride.

Antalya is worth a couple of days. The pension was near Karaalioglu Park, where ribbon-tailed Alexandrine Parkeets squawk from the tops of palm trees, and you can look over a parrapet at a blue-green sea and across the Gulf of Antalya to mountains in the distance resembling camel humps. Hooded crows hop about the park, and cats are everywhere. The Turks love cats. They put cat kennels in the parks and slide plates of leftovers into them. Kebab and pizza vendors abound as do shops selling richly patterned carpets and glittery cubes of Turkish Delight. Motorbikes buzz along the sidewalks, and there are "Fly Inns" hanging from the orange trees.

We cycle for 5 hours either on the D400 or on roads paralleling it. It is December, and no tourists are about. No other bike-packers either although this is only our first day. We struggle most pedaling through tunnels (4 between Antalya and Tekirova). Out with the bright yellow cycle vests and on with the lights. There are eucalyptus trees along the side of the road, lush bougainvillea spilling over the front walls of resort hotels, and cacti (some as tall as twenty feet). I am still jet-lagged, but, after today's modest effort, perhaps I'll sleep tonight. Before I go to bed, I remember the close-up we got yesterday of the White-spectacled Bulbul. Try looking that one up on the net!

Tony