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Richard and Jude’s travels continued. Listed as one of the world‘s most dangerous roads, taking 132 years to build and has 38 tunnels this gravel track runs high above the upper Euphrates River in one of the top 5 deepest canyons of the world. We had stayed the night in the town of Kemaliye which is a few kilometers from the southern end of the Canyon, had an early breakfast and set off to ride this famous canyon. I was definitely nervous to ride this track. As one report said “one wrong move could see you plummeting 400 mts to the Euphrates River”. As much as I like a dirt road, riding a fully loaded GSA 2up weighing near half a tonne on gravel I don’t find easy. I have already had a couple of spills on gravel but the consequence of another on this road would not be good. The track starts off going through the first of the tunnels all of which are rough-hewn out of the mountain. Light in the tunnels is non existent and the track is rough with large rocks unseen. You then come out into the open with the Euphrates River to your right on a cliff edge only a few feet away. I tried to keep to the left of the track hoping no other vehicles would be coming the other way. We had one moment where we hit a patch of deep gravel. A large rock in front of the rear wheel stopped us in our tracks but I somehow managed to keep the bike upright. The bike would not budge so Jude got off and removed the rock and off we set again, our hearts racing. The tunnels along the track reduce the adrenalin rush being enclosed and are spectacular in themselves and have exits to the right that drop down to the river below and provide great viewing areas. Exiting the final tunnel we stopped to take in the wonderful view of the Canyon, this famous river and take some photos and were shortly joined by two other couples on their bikes, one from Poland and one from Romania. We had a good chat, exchanged stories, favorite spots and contact details. It’s always wonderful to meet fellow bikers along the way. What a ride! Likely the most spectacular section of road on our trip. Tonight we will be in Cappadocia, renowned for its subterranean settlements and hot air balloons….. Richard and Jude. #blackdogride #mentalhealthmotorbike
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