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I think it was march when I decided to quit my job to travel around the world. I was already fed up with the work and the city (Istanbul) so the timing was quite right. While I was planning the trip and getting ready for it, I had an email from my friend from the US, Prentiss. We met two years ago while me and Noah (He is on a RTW also with his 690) was having our drinks at a new year’s party. Prentiss and her brother were visiting Istanbul for new year. After spending a couple of days together, eating kokorec, and the other usual Istanbul activities, Noah continued his trip around the world with his 690 Enduro R while Prentiss and her brother Clay went back home, US. Two years later, in June 2014 Prentiss was finishing her grad school and before the chapter of professional career in her life so she needed an adventure. Then the plan was simple, we would ride from Istanbul to Tbilisi together. She bought her flight tickets and it was on. That was the first time she would be on a motorcycle, but it was going to be fun. While I was getting ready and figuring out the items I would bring on my journey, I picked up Prentiss from the airport. I went there on the bike so that would be a good opportunity to warm up Prentiss about being a passenger on a motorcycle. A couple of days in Istanbul for sightseeing and later, we were ready to begin our journey. Prentiss was interested in Cappadocia, so that was the first destination. So that was it, I was in my garage loading up the bike to start a journey around the world. I was feeling excited, as my friends were with us to say ”Goodbye”. The odometer was 1227km. while I was wondering what the final number would be? It was early in the morning around 9 am, while we were crossing the famous bridge that ties both sides of Istanbul. I was feeling great, that was the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I took the highway towards Cappadocia. I know it was going to be boring for me and Prentiss, but I was eager to be in Cappadocia quickly. On another stop for fuel, I realized that it would be wiser to arrive in Ankara and call it a day. I did not want to push Prentiss too much on her first day on a motorcycle. So we agreed to ride to Ankara and then spend the night there. Luckily another motorcycle traveler friend İbrahim Yesilyurt was living in Ankara and he invited us over to his place. We spent the night mostly talking about traveling. A few drinks and it was time to sleep because we had to get up early for Cappadocia. Saying goodbye to Ibrahim and thanking him for his great hospitality and we were on the road to Cappadocia again. Ibrahim’s hospitality together with a nice Turkish breakfast made us feel ready for the road. It was raining early in the morning, but that was not really a problem for us. We both had waterproof gear, but I wasn’t trusting Prentiss` paper looking rain jacket. <img alt=":<img data-cke-saved-src=" http:="" xladv.com="" public="" style_emoticons="" default="" smile.png"="" src="/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.png"class="bbc_emoticon" title=":)"> class="wp-smiley" src="http://www.ridemustgoon.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-style: italic; max-width: 100%; color: rgb(66, 66, 66); font-family: 'Open Sans'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /> (The jacket proved itself later on.) We had 300 km. ahead of us, at least we would not be on the highway anymore. Ibrahim led the way out of Ankara with his car, and then suddenly the sun started to shine. Prentiss was enjoying taking pictures behind me, and I was feeling she was getting used to being on a motorcycle. While we rode about 200 km.s it was time to feed the beast with fuel, and also our legs needed to stretch. I was also curious about the fuel consumption of the 1190. I had a 990 Adv. in the past and it was still my favorite bike ever. But unfortunately the bike had really high fuel consumption. To test the 1190 about that, I started riding slower, rarely going over 120 km/h, and my average speed was 100 km./h. That was a really big surprise cause the consumption was 5.2 lt. which is really low for a 150 hp bike. I was really impressed. One hour later, we were finally in Cappadocia. We both wanted to camp in the wild. Before checking for a nice camp spot, we had a late lunch in town. Later we bought some snacks and wine for the upcoming evening. I was asking a local about camp spots, and he suggested me to ride over the hills surrounding the area. 15 minutes of light off-road riding on the hills and then Prentiss pointed our camp spot. We quickly put up the tent, and immediately started enjoying the view. The light was perfect for photography, so I didn’t wanna waste that opportunity. As it was getting chillier while the sun was disappearing on the horizon, we had a beautiful view lying under our feet. I was feeling great, camping always helps my state of mind in a positive way. While it was getting darker, we enjoyed our local Cappadocian wine. On the next day, we decided to discover Cappadocia on foot. A quick breakfast at town and we were heading to the Open Air Museum in Ürgüp. I usually get bored in museums and I have no interest in such places crowded with people. But Smurf Village could be interesting. We walked around Ürgüp till afternoon. My plan was to shoot some photos & videos around the chimneys with the bike later, but heavy rain did not let that happen. In the evening we decided to ride to Trabzon on the next day. We had more than 700 km.s to reach there, and the road from Sebinkarahisar to Giresun was twisty. There was nothing interesting in between, so I had to ask Prentiss if she would be fine on the bike for such a long distance. In the past I did about 1200 km. on the bike in a day, but I was worried for my passenger. Prentiss seemed determined and sure, worst case we could camp somewhere if she felt tired. So we set our minds for upcoming day, had a light dinner with cheese, melon and rakı, and we were ready for Trabzon.

Oh, hell yeah! Pure awesomeness!