Touring 'Route 69' in Turkey

If you feel that you need to work on ‘that bike-riding thing’, you should consider going on tour in Turkey, one of the last bastions of unconquered territory, with regards to the expanding army of Harley-Davidson motorcycles around the globe. Finally, they are here, on the Southwest Coast of Turkey, home of Lycian civilization, in a peaceful bay known as Oludeniz. ‘Route 69’ is Turkey’s answer to Route 66, with some amazing roads in rugged terrain, transforming into huge mountains with the crystal blue Aegean sea on the other side.

View of Oludeniz from the air The home of Route 69 is in a fantastic American themed ‘Buffalo Steakhouse’ restaurant with a hotel attached to it called ‘The Flying Dutchman’. The first impression you get is that you have arrived in the old ‘Wild West’, with benches and tables made out of logs, rustically designed. In sharp contrast to this are the Harley Davidson motorcycles dotted about the restaurant, chrome gleaming, and spotlessly maintained..they seem to be saying ‘please take me for a ride’. I went for the ‘Nighttrain’, 1450cc of v-twin black and chrome, radiating ‘bad-boy’ and looked the meanest out of the 8 different bikes available.. After Breakfast, it was briefing time, and a clear succinct analysis of our itinerary ensued, along with some interesting facts about Turkey’s highway code, (and the lack of it)..bottom line ‘keep your eyes peeled until we get out of Fethiye and onto the coastal roads’.

The adrenaline and excitement was palpable within the group, which comprised of six riders and two pillions. I had decided to go for the day trip to Kas, an old shipping port and fishing village with spectacular views and nice restaurants, famous for their fresh fish. It was getting hot (37c) so it was time to ‘hit the road’. We left at 10am, with the sun beating down on us, glad of the fact we were moving and the ensuing breeze that kept us cool. Paul, who gave us the briefing, was right about Fethiye, it was a madhouse, with scooters flying about in every direction, and people using their horns all the time, but we stayed in formation and after twenty minutes we were out of Fethiye and on our way to our first destination: Saklikent. This place has to be seen to be believed.

With 1000m cliffs towering over us, we headed towards the world famous gorge, which was created by an underground river that flows out of the gorge with some force. We sat in a restaurant by the riverside, and got the opportunity to dangle our feet in the freezing cold waters, and drink ‘Ayran’ a refreshing traditional yoghurt drink with crushed ice. Very nice. After half an hour we were on our way again, winding out with the river, taking in the curves and fabulous scenery, overtaking the occasional donkey and old moped. Soon we were on a main road, fabulously maintained, and going past a coastal village called ‘Kalkan’, with islands stretching out as far as the eye can see. From then on we had the sea on our right, and mountains and cliffs on our left. En route… 😉

Riding in a group is always a bonding experience, and this trip definitely did that. At times we were smiling and laughing on the straight roads with these amazing views, and other times, gritting our teeth and concentrating on the occasional adverse camber. On the whole the roads were great, very dry, and only the occasional area of gravel on the verge was cause for concern. Traffic was very light and this allowed you to fully enjoy the weather, the roar of the Harleys en mass and the fabulous views. Once in the harbour at Kas, we parked outside the restaurant and enjoyed a nice lunch, with all fresh ingredients and traditional ‘Coban salads’(shepherd salad). Fully refreshed, we set off back, winding up the coastal road to our next destination, the 9mile long beach at Patara.

This is the site of some ancient Roman ruins, and we saw old tombstones by the roadside, and an impressive amphitheatre set into the hillside..left untouched for thousands of years, you got a sense of the ancient and felt privileged to be here, looking at this scene from a Harley Davidson. Once on the beach, we ran into the sea for twenty minutes, knowing that we’d dry off in 5mins with the sea breeze and hot sun. A quick drink, and we were on our way back to Oludeniz, coming back by a different route to the one we had embarked upon that morning. What an experience. 234km of intense riding experience, not to be missed, in my book. We got back at 6.30pm, tired, with some complaints about rear ends 😉 but lots of happy faces. The bikes had behaved impeccably, and everyone enjoyed the video of If you feel that you need to work on ‘that bike-riding thing’, you should consider going on tour in Turkey, one of the last bastions of unconquered territory, with regards to the expanding army of Harley-Davidson motorcycles around the globe.

Finally, they are here, on the Southwest Coast of Turkey, home of Lycian civilization, in a peaceful bay known as Oludeniz. ‘Route 69’ is Turkey’s answer to Route 66, with some amazing roads in rugged terrain, transforming into huge mountains with the crystal blue Aegean sea on the other side. View of Oludeniz from the air The home of Route 69 is in a fantastic American themed ‘Buffalo Steakhouse’ restaurant with a hotel attached to it called ‘The Flying Dutchman’. The first impression you get is that you have arrived in the old ‘Wild West’, with benches and tables made out of logs, rustically designed. In sharp contrast to this is the Harley Davidson motorcycles dotted about the restaurant, chrome gleaming, and spotlessly maintained..they seem to be saying ‘please take me for a ride’.

I went for the ‘Nighttrain’, 1450cc of v-twin black and chrome, radiating ‘bad-boy’ and looked the meanest out of the 8 different bikes available.. After Breakfast, it was briefing time, and a clear succinct analysis of our itinerary ensued, along with some interesting facts about Turkey’s highway code, (and the lack of it)..bottom line ‘keep your eyes peeled until we get out of Fethiye and onto the coastal roads’. The adrenaline and excitement was palpable within the group, which comprised of six riders and two pillions. I had decided to go for the day trip to Kas, an old shipping port and fishing village with spectacular views and nice restaurants, famous for their fresh fish. It was getting hot (37c) so it was time to ‘hit the road’.

We left at 10am, with the sun beating down on us, glad of the fact we were moving and the ensuing breeze that kept us cool. Paul, who gave us the briefing, was right about Fethiye, it was a madhouse, with scooters flying about in every direction, and people using their horns all the time, but we stayed in formation and after twenty minutes we were out of Fethiye and on our way to our first destination: Saklikent. This place has to be seen to be believed. With 1000m cliffs towering over us, we headed towards the world famous gorge, which was created by an underground river that flows out of the gorge with some force.

We sat in a restaurant by the riverside, and got the opportunity to dangle our feet in the freezing cold waters, and drink ‘Ayran’ a refreshing traditional yoghurt drink with crushed ice. Very nice. After half an hour we were on our way again, winding out with the river, taking in the curves and fabulous scenery, overtaking the occasional donkey and old moped. Soon we were on a main road, fabulously maintained, and going past a coastal village called ‘Kalkan’, with islands stretching out as far as the eye can see. From then on we had the sea on our right, and mountains and cliffs on our left. En route… 😉 Riding in a group is always a bonding experience, and this trip definitely did that. At times we were smiling and laughing on the straight roads with these amazing views, and other times, gritting our teeth and concentrating on the occasional adverse camber. On the whole the roads were great, very dry, and only the occasional area of gravel on the verge was cause for concern. Traffic was very light and this allowed you to fully enjoy the weather, the roar of the Harleys en mass and the fabulous views.

Once in the harbour at Kas, we parked outside the restaurant and enjoyed a nice lunch, with all fresh ingredients and traditional ‘Coban salads’(shepherd salad). Fully refreshed, we set off back, winding up the coastal road to our next destination, the 9mile long beach at Patara. This is the site of some ancient Roman ruins, and we saw old tombstones by the roadside, and an impressive amphitheatre set into the hillside..left untouched for thousands of years, you got a sense of the ancient and felt privileged to be here, looking at this scene from a Harley Davidson. Once on the beach, we ran into the sea for twenty minutes, knowing that we’d dry off in 5mins with the sea breeze and hot sun.

A quick drink, and we were on our way back to Oludeniz, coming back by a different route to the one we had embarked upon that morning. What an experience. 234km of intense riding experience, not to be missed, in my book. We got back at 6.30pm, tired, with some complaints about rear ends 😉 but lots of happy faces. The bikes had behaved impeccably, and everyone enjoyed the video of their trip in the evening whilst having a few drinks at the bar, and eating some of the great food at the Buffalo Steakhouse in Oludeniz.

You can get full details of the tours available on their website www.route69.cc and check out the photo gallery! Sam Cullingworth (Harley fanatic) their trip in the evening whilst having a few drinks at the bar, and eating some of the great food at the Buffalo Steakhouse in Oludeniz. You can get full details of the tours available on their website www.route69.cc and check out the photo gallery! Sam Cullingworth (Harley fanatic)