In late October 2019, we made our way from the shores of the Black Sea to Istanbul, Turkey - our staging area to prepare for cycling across Africa. We dove into the challenge of refurbishing most of the major components on our Surly touring bikes. It was’t easy, and we wouldn’t have been able to get it all done without the help of a really great bike shop run by an expert cyclist. We even found some time to visit Istanbul’s historic center, with it’s unique mix of Byzantine, Ottoman and modern influences.