With very short notice, only 4 days in fact, Helene, Magnus and I jumped on a last minute holiday to Bitez (Bodrum) in Turkey. Unfortunately Emil couldn't make it since he was on a "Diamond Extreme" survival trip with the scouts.

With only very little time to research the destination we did not know what to expect - other than sun and warmth, and getting away, which is what we needed as a family.

We had a fantastic time, as I think the photos show! Great scenery, great weather, wonderful people, clear water, good food (the best restaurants/beach bars we found were all in Bitez: Magnaura, Vona and Okaliptus). The best beach we found was a small beach on the Yalikavak peninsula.

Of course I could not resist the temptation and - as usual - brought one of my bikes. Since I expected rough roads, I brought my bullet proof Guru Titanium bike which I had fitted with Continental 4 Season tires and tire liners (25C). Except for a great stretch of road from Bodrum to the airport (basically a 30K stretch of motorway...), the roads were pretty bad and much better suited for a mountain bike. So I now promise to never again complain about the UK and Danish roads (!).

I did a couple of good rides. One from Bitez to Bafa Lake which was 96K and 850 meters of climbing. Sounds easy, but the last 40K or so were on very rough tarmac. Due to the constant vibration, I could hardly feel my hands, legs and feet afterwards!

A few days later I did 69K on the Kucuksarnic Plateau east of Bodrum. Almost 1,100 meters of climbing. Fantastic scenery, but the climbing combined with very rough roads, winds and 33 to 37 degree celcius made for a challenging cocktail. In fact, I don't think I averaged more than 25 kph... Loved it though, and the biggest problem I had was to keep my eyes clear of salty sweat (and then of course, patience going downhill since I never knew what would be next in terms of potholes - or when the tarmac would disappear and turn into dirt road).

It was our first time in Turkey (other than my business trips to Istanbul and Izmir), but definitely not our last. A great pick, and great value.