Devon TRF Group Forum

 Sat by the pool late afternoon, relaxing with a drink in hand it was hard to believe the ground we had covered today.

06.30 had seen me leaving the Apartment in Fethiye to drive up the mountain to Ovacik part way up Mount Babadag. At that time it was a relativley cool 26c.

I was meeting Chris Pascoe of Taurus Trax . After arriving  Chris ran through the plans for the day, as I was the only client for today it would be my choice and ridden at whatever pace I was happy with. (Thats slow then before any comments get posted!)

After sorting out the riding kit it was time to choose the bike. First problem of the day, orange , orange or orange! Devon TRFs favorite choice for mickey taking , I was going to be on a KTM. I was a bit wary about riding a 525 after being used to a 250TTR.

 We set off soon after with the temperature rising rapidly the idea was to get into the mountains early where the temperature would be about 10-15c cooler than sea level. At this time of the year they reguarly hit 45c!!

A tiny bit of road work away from Taurus Trax headquarters and we were soon on unsealed roads. Nothing to demanding, and I just used the time to get used to the tourqey 525.  A few minutes later and we stopped to fuel up.

At this point we were about  a 1000 meters above sea level and starting to descend into the valley below,the vistas were stunning.  It was hard work concentrating on the riding with the view available, but I knew if I didnt I would be taking the extreme way down. As much as I love Turkey I dont really want to experience the Hospitals!!

First encounter with the local widlife shortly followed, as I rounded a bend two moutain Goats shot out in front of me and scarperd off down their own track quicker than David Knight!!  Got to test the brakes here and the KTMs front one locks up well!!

The beauty of riding with Chris was that he was fast enough to stay well ahead of me. Thereby keeping the dust down, but also it gave you a real sense of adventure out in the middle of nowhere. At some stages you could not see anyone for miles then all of a sudden you would find Chris waiting for you at any fork or turning that might send you in the wrong direction. The agreement was straight on at any turnings if he wasnt there.

After reaching the valley floor we dropped into thye outskirts of a beautiful Turkish village called Kemer this is about 10 miles from the centre of Fethiye by road ,but probably double that by by the route we had just followed. It was time to refuel and not just because the KTMs drink more than some TRF members!! Apparently we were going out into the wilds and did,nt want to be caught short.

After refuelling we stopped for a drink in the local roadside cafe. The fluids had to be kept up as you could feel the dehydration creeping up on you.

Leaving Kemer on the road to Kas we must have ridden all of a mile before turning off onto more unsealed roads, this was bloody great trail riding! Ascending the mountain we had varied terrain as we often detoured through woodland. It was almost as if you could say  Ive had enough of this boulder strewn path, lets try somthing different!!

Turkey really is a Trail riders paradise there are no restrictions you can practilly ride anywhere.

As we were climbing I saw Chris up ahead turn down into  an overgrown area and followed suit. If it wasnt for the heat I could of been back on a Devon lane. Its surprising how green Turkey is, even in the extreme temperatures of July/August as you go higher  you dont come across so much parched land.

This point is proven as we reached a plateau at somewhere around 2000m we rode through a nomadic settlement, Chris has been riding here for several years and sees these familys move up into the mountains in the spring. Before the intense summer heat arrives. They have a fresh water supply up here and farm goats/cows etc grow a few crops then head back down the mountains about October before the snows arrive.

Talking of which adds another variety of Trail riding! Ive seen the photos and  done a little Trail riding around this area in the winter its something special.

Moving on from the nomadic settlement the views just got better, imagine what youve seen on long way round in Mongolia etc and you are somewhere near. As we cruised across one section we even came across wild horses roaming the plains!

After dropping off the plateau we started descending again down a section called pipeline gully. We were attempting  to follow the water supply pipe down into the villages. God knows how they got all that pipework connected up through there, but it sure was fun  following the narly track back down!

Dropping back down the mountain ,we passed through ramshackle villages  and could see seriously large farms. They were  spreading out into the distance surrounded by mountain peaks. Riding through one tiny hamlet I could see a tethered donkey tied up ahead, Chris rode past no problem. Just as I approached slowly he decided to bolt! Luckily the rope only rose a few inches, after locking the front wheel again and suffering images of being garroted I wa s on my way again!

Time had flown by, even though we set off riding about 07.30am there had not been to many stops other than for taking on water from the natural drinking areas thoughtfully spaced around the mountains. Chris had a brilliant circular route that we had been on,which brought us back to the same road side cafe in Kemer where we stopped  for lunch ,experiencing typical Turkish hospitality. After filling up on Pide (Turkish Pizza) and putting the world to rights it was then time to move on to the World Enduro Championship motorcross track! Could it get any better!!

Chris had set up the track/route for this years race and had already lead me down some of the course.

Well the track is bloody impressive and considering that Turkey probably only has about 120 compettive riders around the country its hard to beleive that the powers that be would invest so much! Apparently the local forestry commission couldnt be helpfull enough! Oh to be the samein England...

The day out was something special and I would reccomend Taurus Trax to anyone, and believe it or not I wont take the mick out of KTMs anymore!! That 525 chugged its way up and down everything, made me feel a better rider than I am and the sidestand didnt fall off!

Get the tree fairys out!

Escaping out of the woods!

Surrounded by Mountains

Cooling down!

Lunch break

Fresh  Mountain water

Fethiye Moto X circuit