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Cappadocia Weekend Warrior (Moderate – Technical)

Route: Goreme – Gorkundere – Swords Valley – Meskendir ridge (up) – Mesekdir Valley (down) – Rose Valley 2 (up) – Grapes Church (lunch) – Red Valley Sunset – Rose Valley 1 (down) – Cavusin loop – Love Valley loop – Goreme

Distance: (27km / 780m Climbing)
Start: 09.00 Goreme
Finish: 16.00 Goreme
Grade: Physical 3 / Technical 4
Best for: Improving mountainbikers looking to ride Goreme’s best trails
Lunch: Red Valley Restaurant- wonderful 3 course meal in a paradise off-grid eco cafe
Includes: Quality bike and helmet hire, professional guide, restaurant lunch. Excludes drinks and tips.

Highlights:

  • Downhilling through the tunnels, caves and rock arches of Meskendir Valley
  • Discovering the 8th century Columns Church- voted by many as the best in the area
  • Improving your singletrack skills and learning techniques specific to the local terrain
  • Biking the Moab-like trails around Cavusin’s “table top mountain”
  • Riding the 2007 XC MTB Euro Cup course through Gorkundere
  • Getting rude with the massive “fairy chimneys” of Love Valley
  • All the best trails with less blood, sweat and tears 

Tour Route Program:

Itinerary:
From Goreme we soon hit top class singletrack and ride a section of the 2007 Euro XC Cup course. Taking things slow, this is a great place to develop trail skills, and our guides will offer detailed and thorough tuition. We stay close to Goreme, enjoying some steep, smooth singletracks and through Swords Valley (Kiliclar). From there a scenic ridge climb ticks all the must have photoshoot boxes, before a technical descent brings us into Meskendir Valley. Here a fast flowing, often steep, trail descends through tunnels, canyons and steeply terraced gardens to a beautiful valley cafe where we can stop for drinks. Now climbing, we tackle the super-steep terraces of Rose Valley- stopping to draw breath and admire the phenomenal rock-cut “Church of Columns”. Crossing a grassy plateau brings us above Red Valley and onto a sheer sided rocky spur that affords a “hot air balloon” view to the valley below. We enjoy a delicious lunch in an off-grid eco-sensitive local restaurant and have time to chill on the sofas there as we digest.

In the afternoon, we ride an amazing half-pipe bowl trail down into another branch of Rose Valley, putting into practice the safe descending skills we learned earlier. We carry on to the historic small village of Cavusin and follow a challenging but hugely rewarding singletrack high above the village- through some unique and photogenic rock formations. Finally, we cross the valley plain to Love Valley, and enjoy an easy circuit amongst the “fairy chimneys” there. One final panoramic track brings us soon back to Goreme, where the ride ends.

From the Jungle to the Moon and Back (Moderate – Endurance)

Route: Goreme – Uchisar – Gemil – Kavak – Gomeda Valley (down) – Uzengi Valley (down) – Urgup (lunch) – Red Valley Sunset Point – Meskendir ridge (down) – Swords Valley – Goreme

Distance: (39km / 900m Climbing)
Start: 09.00 Goreme
Finish: 17.00 Goreme
Grade: Physical 5 / Technical 4
Best for: Fit cyclists with some off road skills looking to discover the untouristic side of Cappadocia
Lunch: Cappadocia Restaurant, Urgup: A selection of tasty local dishes in one of the best places.
Includes: Quality bike and helmet hire, professional guide, restaurant lunch. Excludes drinks and tips.

Highlights:

  • Awesome panoramic views of Uchisar Castle and Pigeon Valley
  • Meeting the locals in Kavak village’s traditional tea shop
  • Choosing lines through the volcanic moonscape of the Kavak Flow
  • Stream crossings, pools and splash downs in the lush paradise of Gomeda
  • Drinking naturally carbonated mineral water from the Uzengi spring
  • Fast, flowing panoramic downhill trails along the Kiliclar ridge
  • Discovering rock cut pigeon houses and cave church complexes in Swords Valley

Itinerary:
Todays ride takes us out of the Goreme valley system and into an area of even more epic proportions. It’s a long and fairly challenging ride, roughly half on singletrack trails and half on fast and open inter-village tractor tracks. We begin with a steady climb up the hill to Uchisar and after a brief warm up enjoy a steep technical climb over Gemil hill- the highest point in the area with incredible views. Heading out to Kavak village sees us amongst rural, non-touristic Central Anatolia, and it’s nice to spend some time taking in the pace of life and local smiles in this totally authentic farming town. Before long we reach an amazing descent into the Gomeda Valley. This is like a natural BMX track with so many different lines to be ridden and natural carves and bowls like a man-made pump track! After a challenging final descent, we ride along the valley on jungle-like, overgrown singletracks (long sleeves recommended) with numerous technical stream crossings, log bridges, splash-downs and rocky river beds to contend with. Heading on into the Uzengi Valley we check out some of the finest multi-storey rock-cut pigeon lofts plus a “natural wonder” water spring. From here it’s an easy coast downhill to Urgup, where we eat a wonderful meal in one of the best local restaurants.

After lunch we ease into the afternoon with a gentle valley climb up on a shady dirt track beside uncultivated fields that are awash with wildflowers and butterflies in spring and early summer. Regaining our height without too much effort, we soon arrive at the Sunset Panoramic point high above Red and Meskendir valleys, and begin a fast, sometimes steep downhill along the Kiliclar ridge. Offering amazing views on both sides, this trail is one of the region’s best. Returning to Goreme through the undulating trails of Swords Valley, we can spend time exploring cave church complexes and stop to photograph some of Goreme’s most iconic landscapes.

Goreme Epic Singletrack (Hard)

Route: Goreme – Swords Valley – Meskendir ridge (up) – Mesekdir Valley (down) – Rose 2 (up) – Columns Church – Grapes Church (tea break) – Red Valley Sunset – Balkon – Cavusin (lunch) – Love Valley (up) – Pigeon Valley (up) – Zemi Valley (down) – Gorkundere Euro XC Cup Course – Goreme

Distance: (32km / 960m Climbing)
Start: 09.00 Goreme
Finish: 17.00 Goreme
Grade: Physical 4 / Technical 5
Best for: Experienced riders used to steep, loose terrain with some rocky sections drops and exposure
Lunch: SeyyaHan Restaurant, Cavusin: 4 course meal incl. mezes, soup, salad, pottery kebab and desert
Includes: Quality bike and helmet hire, professional guide, restaurant lunch. Excludes drinks and tips.

Highlights:

  • Natural rock cut tunnels, caves and arches in Meskendir Valley.
  • Steep technical climbing through the terraced gardens of Rose Valley.
  • Utah-esque canyon scenery of the Balkon trail and the awesome views below.
  • Fast, switchback trails, drops and jumps through the forst of Zemi Valley.
  • Picking downhill lines through Gorkundere’s 2007 Euro XC Cup course.

Itinerary: From Goreme we warm up with some easy trails through Swords Valley before hitting a scenic ridge climb with stunning photo opportunities to Goreme and the “fairy chimneys” below. A technical descent into Meskendir Valley descends through tunnels, canyons and steeply terraced rock gardens. After a fresh orange juice we tackle the super-steep climbs of Rose Valley- stopping to draw breath and admire the “Church of Columns”. Crossing a grassy plateau brings us to a sheer sided rocky spur above Red Valley and nearby here we stop for a tea break in an off-grid eco-sensitive local cafe. A climb to the Panoramic Viewpoint brings us to the The Balkon: great trail riding through boulder strewn and deeply eroded gullies reminiscent of Zion, Utah, and Red Bull’s Rampage. We descend to the small village of Cavusin and relax over a great restaurant lunch there.

After lunch we head across the plains, soon arriving at the base of Love Valley, and began an awesome singletrack ascent up through the incredibly phallic “fairy chimneys” there. The climb gets steeper and more challenging towards the top, and from our vantage point just below Uchisar village we’re launched straight into it again, this time in Pigeon Valley. After another technical ascent we reach the final part of the route- an epic descent through the forested trails of Zemi- where there are drops, jumps and limbo-style tunnel obstacles… Finally a fast run out through the rutted rocks of Gorkundere (Euro XC Cup course) brings us right back to Goreme in time for a well earned beer. A tougher day than the modest km’s suggest, but world-class trail riding in every respect.

Tour Information:

Prices for all tours are as follows: 230 Euros per person (1 pax), 160 Euros per person (2 pax), 130 Euros per person (3 pax), 120 Euros per person (4+ pax).

Prices good quality bike and helmet hire, professional guide, a nice restaurant lunch and car vehicle assistance if required. Good quality E-Bikes are available on request, subject to an additional charge of 45 Euros per person per day.

Tours begin at the Middle Earth Travel office at 09.00 and return at around 16.00.

To make your booking please send us an email with your requirements: info@bikinginturkey.com

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