Having received an invite to race the Sky to Sea enduro event in Turkey, Positive Crew frontman Phil Atwill got on the blower and assembled the crew – riders Socratis Zotos, Marco Lamaris and mechanic Malcolm Finnie – along with Ben Winder of Misspent Summers, loaded the van up and headed east to the frontiers of Asia, in what was to become one of the team’s most memorable trips.
Sailing from Athens (Greece) by ferry, we (the crew) touched down on the Hellenic island of Chios briefly before catching another boat to the Turkish mainland. After a solid drive through western Turkey we rolled into Kemer (Antalya) – the Mediterranean setting for the very unique Sky to Sea enduro race, sister event of the infamous Sea to Sky moto hard enduro race, also in Kemer.
It’s an event still evolving from its inception in 2022, and this year it took the form of a long single stage race from the airy slopes of Mount Olympus (Tahtalı Dağı) down into the vast lush loamy pine forested valleys above Kemer.
The event had a bit of a Megavalanche feel to it, in that all the practice during the week culminated in one big effort on race day rather than the classic multi-stage enduro races that we often see. Though unlike the Mega, Sky to Sea is an individual race niftily avoiding the carnage of the mass start!
Even so the race itself was not void of disaster with Soc’s derailleur violently imploding before the big climb, and Mal managing to OTB mid race run. Meanwhile Marco and Phil persevered to come 1st and 2nd respectively in their categories, with keen-eyed Welshman Sam Robson taking the elite win with an impressive time of 33 minutes 22 seconds. And Ben Winder accidentally won fastest time of the day in the electric bike cat, much to his dismay!
With the race and subsequent festivities in Kemer done with, we packed the van and headed north-east through Turkey’s vast interior, taking in the sights of the beautiful Beyşehir Lake, the buzzing metropolis of Konya city, and the snow-capped 3200m tall peak Hasandağı volcano along the route, before arriving in the historic and enchanting lunar landscapes of Cappadocia.
Once in Capadoccia we set about exploring the wild shapes of a volcanic dreamland incorporating deep canyons, whole ancient cities carved out of the rock, and giant ‘fairy chimneys’ towering above them, all under a sea of hundreds of hot air balloons sent up before dawn.
Cappadocia was – and will be for some time – the craziest adventure we’ve had the fortune to experience.
A few days later after a mammoth return journey to Athens via the same route, it was all over and the crew disbanded to recover and contemplate the things they had seen.
A massive heartfelt thank you to all of the Sky to Sea team who made this event happen – we will certainly be back! Anyone interested in visiting these areas of Turkey with their mountain bike will do well to give them a follow on IG @skytosea_mtb.
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