I told you about the travelers I met on the road and had a different story.. Now it’s time to tell a Turkish traveler. And perhaps the most powerful story I’ve told so far; The road story that Gürkan Genç is doing on his bike, which will last 7 years.
Gürkan Genç is a person who gave up his business life in 2010 and devoted himself to this road.. Even though we have never met face to face, we sometimes talk on the internet and have a short conversation.. Gürkan, who is currently on his way from Africa, started this 7-year world tour in September 2012.. He is a Turkish explorer who has seen -57 and +61 degrees on his bike, introduced Turkey by giving seminars in schools in many countries he went to, and proudly told his road story to both you and the foreign travelers I met..
Maybe most of them will be classic, even though some of them have the answer on the website, the things that anyone can think of I tried to ask.
1- How did you convince your family to go on a 7-year trip? Especially your mother?
Most likely, if I hadn’t stood on my own feet, he would have said where are you going or when I ran out of money, he wouldn’t send money and force me to return home.. My mother and father did not oppose the Turkey-Japan tour, which was my first trip by bicycle, but they did not wholeheartedly say to go.. It’s been 6 years and I’m still traveling. Not only do I travel, I also carry out many projects together.. I think they’re proud of what I’m doing right now. My family now accepts that this path I have chosen is my lifestyle.. Like every family, they want their children to be happy.. i am happy now. I think it was enough for him to know that I was happy.
2- What was the breaking point in leaving your business life and entering this path?
There was no breaking point. I handed over my business. That’s true, but I didn’t set out because my business was bad.. He even received a very good job offer, “Should I hit the road or should I consider this good job offer?” I had a brief hesitation. But I really wanted to hit the road. I was 31 years old, I had never been abroad before. I wanted to go to Japan at university, I had no money. I started working after university, I had money then, but I didn’t have time.. After I transferred my company shares in February 2010, I had both time and some money to do the tour I wanted.. I said why not. I chose the bicycle as a means of transportation because at that time I was using it to lose weight, I was pedaling from home to work, from work to home almost every day.. Also, when my 12-year-old mother found out that I was riding a bicycle to a town 10 km away, she said “that bike will be locked”, and I told her I’ll travel the world when I grow up, and I would have realized this story as well.
3- Have you ever had a moment during your trip where you said “that’s it”? If yes, can you tell me?
I first experienced this when crossing the Mongolia Gobi Desert.. In 2010 there was no road. Everyone was going their own way in the desert. It was 750 km from the Chinese border to the Capital Ulan Bator.. And there is no city in between. I carried 11 kg of food and close to 18 liters of water for 12 days.. I’m eating, I can’t wash my pot, I wasn’t brushing my teeth, I don’t have a chance to take a shower, in the end 9. I realized that water is not enough for a day.. I said aha, this is it. I collected my pee in empty plastic bottles, then I purified it with the purification device next to me and mixed it with the remaining fresh water.. When I arrived in Ulan Bator 3 days later, I was drinking wine on the top floor of a plaza and laughing at my experiences.. Crossing the desert by bike is an interesting feeling, you are alone in the middle of nowhere.. The word meaning of loneliness for me became clear in the desert. Life consists of 50% sound 50% movement. there is nothing there. For the first time in my journey, I was afraid of silence, disturbed by loneliness. After that day, I already had desert crossings on every continent.. And I’m starting to love deserts. I broke the world record on desert crossing by bike and I applied.. I expect this record to become official within this year.
4- Considering the last 3 years, what is your average monthly financial expenditure?
Eating If I look at drinking, visa fees in this context, my monthly expense is 300$.. I have traveled 42 countries by bicycle so far, I am not in the mood to visit these countries many times.. I go to national museums, I go to art museums. I will go to the Opera if there is. I remember that I paid 600TL for only one ticket to the Bolshoi theater in Russia.. In addition, there are projects that I have provided regular financial support for 3 years and students I have given scholarships to.. I earn money with my world travel but I don’t need this money on the way. I also use the opportunities at my disposal for the projects I realized with my world tour.. Foreign language education scholarship, traveler scholarship, support for athletes. You might be saying why are you doing this? No one knows what will happen to us tomorrow, emperors, kings, they are all under the ground right now.. There is no guarantee that I will finish this tour. Those who follow me know more or less what happened to me and what kind of accidents I had.
5- Is it a problem to enter the country by bicycle at border crossings? How do you process visa?
I personally have difficulties at border crossings. Because there are visas in the passport that the customs officers encounter for the first time.. For example, I entered Europe from Finland.. In a year and a half, I will be moving from the Netherlands to England.. No Schengen visa in passport. Of course, customs officers are surprised when they encounter something out of the system.. I passed with special visas. There is a stamp of Israel, but they see that I have visited all Arab countries.. No, what is this man saying to the agha? I stop by the embassy of the country I’m going to, pay the fees for the visas and get it that way.. www.gurkangenc.com/en sharing my travel memories in English on this site allows the authorities to see what I am really doing. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey provides support in this regard.. Another issue that I have trouble with is that we are human on the back of the bike, I can’t carry an aircraft, GPS, road tracking system, latest model cameras are the equipment that can shoot video at night, so the customs officers are getting angry.. This is why I have been followed by the secret service or plainclothes police in many countries.. Sometimes I even called our country’s interior embassy and complained about me.
6- When we are 33 years old, leaving everything and going on a 7-year trip is a turn that many of us can’t even imagine. an outside way of life. Normally we are taught; to join the military, to work, to have a wedding, to work, to have a child, to work, to buy a house and a car by paying the loan debt. How did you get yourself out of this wheel? What would you recommend to those who want to get out of the wheel?
I didn’t make any special effort Mehmet. In December 2010, I shot a video inside my tent in South Korea, I said, “If I have the opportunity, I will travel the whole world”. It was necessary to create opportunities. Not by waiting. First of all, I needed to have a universal job to travel the world.. I returned to Turkey in March 2011, I went on a world tour in September 2012. I can say that I achieved big goals by setting small goals.. When I realized a dream, I always put new ones after it.. What I did on my first trip in 2010 still continues in the same way.. It just branched out a little more and that’s it.
7- You’ve been on the road for 3 years. How many nights did you spend in a tent during this time?
70% Tent 20% Home stay 10% Hotel or hostel I can say. I like to stay in a tent.
8- How many languages do you know? Is a foreign language required to make a similar trip?
I speak Turkish and English. I learned Chinese a lot, I forgot, but I remember it when I go, I understand Arabic a little bit, since I have been traveling in Arab lands for a long time.. At least I talk enough that I need it on the road. My body language is good. I use hand and arm body movements well.
9- How do you do the food business? What do you eat in a day in general?
Food is an important issue.. I lose more than 5000 Calories a day on the bike. With the bike loads 60 kg, I normally get 100 km in a day very comfortably.. I eat muesli for breakfast. I mix it with water, I don’t put anything else in it. I boil pasta at noon and in the evening. I don’t add oil, I don’t add salt. I throw a can of tuna in it, the oil and salt in it are enough. If I come across a market before camping, I buy vegetables and fruits.. There are some regions where this process continues for months and I cannot meet the calories I lost with the food I eat.. Calculate the process in front of me accordingly. Before entering certain areas, I try to gain weight if I am making long stays, so that I lose those kilos while on the road and prevent muscle loss.. There are photos where I am very thin. I eat the food, vegetables and fruits of each region.. I have no food discrimination.
10- How many hours a day do you spend on your bike, although it may vary, of course?
Khyber in Saudi Arabia One day in his city, religion invited the police to his house for dinner.. Of course, family elders came too.. Uncle asked how many kilometers you go a day. Normally, I would go 100 km, but if I had to reach a point, I said I would do 200 km.. Uncle said, “Our camels make 100 kilometers a day, do we force them to 200?. Mashallah, Mr. Gürkan said, “You are a man like a camel.”. But on average, I travel between 80-100 km a day very easily.
11- What is the longest distance you have traveled on a bicycle without resting?
On a 60 kg bike, I went a maximum of 60 km without resting, that is, without my feet touching the ground.. January 2013 Russia The temperature was -42 degrees. I could only stop from restaurants to restaurants. The temperature felt on the bike was -57 degrees and the heart rate was above 150. I would die if I stopped to rest. It was really hard to ride that bike in the icy and snowy field.. The longest distance I traveled in a day was during the desert crossing in Saudi Arabia 220Km. I don’t think I’ll ever go over this mileage again with my touring bike.. On an empty bike I think I can go 400 or 500 km a day.. There are also cyclists who travel this way in Europe.
12- Do you also stop by the attractions in the country you are visiting, or is the goal to finish the road?
I have visited 42 countries, there are one or two national museums that I have not been to until now.. They were also closed so I couldn’t go. I have visited other museums in those countries. If there is an art gallery, I will follow and find it.. I went to Opera and Theater a lot in my European trip. Recently I went to the Opera in Qatar for the last time. I visit the places to visit and eat local food. In addition, because I travel by bike, I visit people’s houses, I visit people’s houses, I observe their culture, I witness their lives one-to-one.. They touch my heart, I touch their heart, we become a family.
13- If your bike breaks down, if a tire bursts, can you repair everything?
Yes, the bags included on the bike have almost everything necessary. Spare tire, inner tubes patch kits, bearings front and rear spare gears. wrench sets spokes. Kadro aluminum and Turkish brand Kron. The firm produced specially for this tour. He has covered 33 countries and 38200km so far, no problems.
14- What is the thing you miss most, other than the longing for family and friends?
I miss Turkish food. There’s nothing like our kitchen. It would be bad if I found a kiosk every morning when I leave. If only there was a breakfast plate, from feta cheese to tomatoes to olives.. I would like to eat stuffed stuffed with olive oil, even if it’s aboo. Thanks to the mothers who followed me in the countries I went to, they always made me stuffed leaves or stuffed olive oil.. Thank you all so much.
15- The hardest point of this journey you’ve made Or what is the most challenging thing for you?
Sometimes I really go into unnecessary ways and push myself too hard.. I’ve been traveling for 6 years, I haven’t said once, “What am I doing here?”. But I had to say this sentence when I saw the view in front of me after climbing a slope in Ethiopia.. There is no forest settlement that has not reached the horizon, there is no road and I am alone at that point, I said, “What the hell am I doing here buddy”. No, I also knew there were lions around, but I never thought the road would be this deserted.. Even my father sent a message about the road after I left that geography, so they can follow where I am thanks to the transmitter on my website. There is a section called Where is Gürkan Genç?. “Son, I think you’ve been through a very difficult place,” she texted.. Even the man understood the situation from the satellite.. That road then led me to the territory of the Somalis in Ethiopia.. It happens sometimes, hehe..
16- Do you also travel at night with your bike?
No, night travel i’m not doing. I have all the equipment for night travel, but I prefer to pedal between 6:00 in the morning and 18:30 in the evening.. Before sunset, I set up my tent and cook and eat. Then I write my articles in the tent.. Or I read books or novels about the region from my e-book. In 4 years, I had the opportunity to finish 34 books during the journey.
17- Do you have any rules you set for yourself during this trip? If yes, what?
Yes. For example, camp sites are important to me.. The area where I set up the tent has criteria. My sleeping position in the tent is important. A precaution I take against extortion and theft. There are many who want to come with me to travel by bike.. I can’t say let’s go for a ride to people I haven’t pedaled with before or don’t know.. I’m going through places where no one is. Not if he gets up and says at some point I can’t do it. Accompanied by my female friends before. When they do I soften the tour a little bit. I try not to go to such unknown places. I take too many risks alone I can’t take those risks with others. Just as there is only one captain on a ship, the captain is determined in this tour.. My friends who come to pedal with me cannot travel according to their own minds, take a route or camp.. If they’re going to travel like this, I’ll go my own way anyway.
18- Things that you can’t tell us about right now have probably happened to you while you’re on the road, but can you tell us about an event that impressed you the most?
There are so many memories, so many things can be told. I’ve been on the road for 6 years in total. For example, I am surprised that I still have prejudices.. Of course, these prejudices disappear one by one with experiences and experiences.. I laugh at myself when I live those moments and realize that I’m still at the beginning of the road. I will continue to learn throughout my life.
19- How much of the day or week do you spend on your social media posts and website?
For example, it takes me 2 days to montage the images I have taken, there are so many videos. I watch almost all of them and eliminate the ones that are not suitable for music.. It also takes me half a day or a day to edit the photos. It would take me a day or more to upload a photo-supported article to the web page.. I voice my writings for visually impaired friends. This takes a lot of my time.. I have more than 5000 square pictures of each country, and I upload some of them to the internet.. This takes a lot of time.. But I have to say that thanks to these posts, I’ve made progress.. I update my website whenever I can, like a magazine or newspaper.. I also enjoy this. It’s nice to write.
20- I know how hard it is to find sponsors in Turkey. Are you suffering from this issue? Do you have anything you want to say?
I have sent files to 750-odd companies, met 400-odd of them face-to-face and received zero sponsorship.. I had an article on this subject and the blog broke the reading records.. Then I removed that post.. Why am I angry? What was I expecting? There are companies that support my world travel now.. But it would be a shame if I call them sponsors. Cycling around the world was my childhood dream. In those companies, they all became partners of this dream of mine.. my dream partners. No one says go there, do this, show us our logo, but let our photos appear, no, collect the receipts for the meals you eat, bring the receipts for the hotels you stay, and we will pay you accordingly.. Whether the sponsors want it, those who want it are the sponsors. They haven’t said once in 4 years that “tell me a little bit about us” friend, my job is a job of the heart.. I’m already on the couch with the head. These companies don’t need the advertisement that I will do. How did they support me? I either know the owner of each company or they were friends of my friends.. So my case is based on friendship relations.. We travel together and we are a good family. This family will not fall apart when the journey is over.. We continue like this.
21- Which companies are the sponsors?
Who is the most supportive and how on the www.gurkangenc.com page writes in detail.
22- How do you ensure your security? Aren’t you afraid?
One day in a deserted place, a car stopped in front of me and a man with a crowbar got out of the car.. The vehicle then made a U-turn and crossed the road.. No one was using the road. Running away would be pointless. I’ve been walking around in public for months. I knew very well what they liked and what they ate.. The men of the country admired the TV series “Valley of the Wolves”. I kept pedaling towards the top of the man without losing my composure.. When I approached the man, “LAN Memati Kevharek? Come on, show me where is that city?” This sentence first made it clear that I was Turkish, and then he understood that I was a Muslim.. He didn’t dare or want to tease me. If I tried to escape, I would probably be beaten.. There are a lot of cases, such as where I was beaten or arrested, or when my tent was set on fire while I was sleeping at night.. I don’t know the ending of the movie, but we all love movies full of adrenaline and adventure.. Life is already flowing so fast like a film strip. I still remember that first pedal I threw on my way to Japan like it was yesterday.. After all, I don’t carry a gun with me.. Entrusted to Allah : ) But I also take my own precautions.
23- Have you ever been sick enough to take a break from your trip? What do you do when you’re sick?
In February 2013, while descending the Arctic Circle, I had an accident and tore a muscle in my left leg calf.. It was 400 kilometers from Stockholm, but my leg was canceled and I couldn’t pedal anymore.. I couldn’t ride a bike for 25 days. A Swedish family hosted. I fell and broke my left rib on a mountain bike trail in England. At that time, there were my fellow travelers while I was sleeping in the tent, I was getting up and sleeping in pain.. I fell off my bike in Jordan I broke my right two ribs. I continued the same way.. Ribs took a long time to heal. They healed on the way but I suffered a lot. We are human between Israel and Palestine, I fell off my bike while I was walking around the area.. A 5-node black scorpion fell into me while I was on the road, and stung me 4 times, including near my heart, at that time I was making a video recording.. There is also a video in the archive, “Oh, a scorpion stung”. While I was going to the village, 8 kilometers away, very quickly, without knowing whether I would die on the road or not, that bike did not break from bouncing and jumping with those loads.. I guess this will take the tour haha. Ambulance came, treatment was done. While I was pedaling at 61 degrees in Algeria, I got poisoned from eating with the people and drinking their open water.. When I came to the square of a small city in the middle of the Sahara desert, I passed out from vomiting and exhaustion during the day.. The people helped me, I had a hard time in 20 days.. Truck crashed in Saudi Arabia, I had 2 operations. I spent 3 days in the hospital in a village in the middle of the desert and pedaled to Bahrain with 40 stitches on my head and face.. By the way, I managed to take a selfie after the truck crashed.. I guess no one will see that photo except a few people.. Our Bahrain ambassador and the Turks there were shocked when they saw me.. Oh, by the way, he gave a presentation to about 1000 Turkish students waiting in Damam City.. I said, “Kids, life goes on, get up every time you fall and keep going, it will make you stronger”. It was good to have a living example in front of them.. Not all of those kids posted the photos they took with me that day on social media, because we didn’t want to upset people.. Afterwards, I continued to give presentations in both Arab and international schools in Bahrain.
I am now very well, healthy and strong and continue my way in East Africa.
24- Do you use vitamins or something that will give you energy?
If I find nuts on the road, I will buy them. I also eat a lot of bananas. I don’t use drugs or pills.
25- How much did you weigh when you started this last trip, how much do you weigh now?
As I said above, the weight thing a volatile event. Normally, a month of pedaling with me loses 2 sizes.. This was the case with the friends who came.. When I stop, I try to eat things that will gain weight.. It’s all on the way. My height is 1.86 kilos 84. Of course, there’s also some leg muscle here.
26- Is there anything you want to say to me, you and new followers?
You know I’m not one with fancy and concise words. I get criticized a lot by our teachers even for writing my road memories using slang words.. I do not tell anyone to get up, go, do not stay at home, do this and that.. I’m a person trying to make their dreams come true. I tried to answer your questions honestly.. Everyone has different responsibilities in life.. I just want to tell myself that once in a while I say “this life will end, don’t forget and live accordingly”. I also believe that people who fulfill their dreams will change the future.
27- (Personal question) I’m in Panama right now and I’ll probably head south. When and where are we supposed to meet? Are you ready to look for the natives in the Brazilian Amazon?
I’m there in the summer of 2016. Before I set off in 2011, I drew my tour route according to it, for now the timing seems to fit, of course, it is not known what the road will show.. Who knows, I might fall for the daughter of a tribe in the jungles of Africa. Also starting at the Olympics at that time. It would be nice if we would be together with national athletes and support them.. Then I hang out with you, go with a backpack, find my local, explore my lesser-known places and see.
Mehmet I kiss you and your followers. I’m on my way in Africa. Good luck to you and your fellow travelers.. Take care of yourself.
In short, a thousand and one incidents happened to him on the way, he was beaten by 3 people, chased by men with knives in their hands, even with a machine gun on his chest and being asked for money, but he did not dream of his dreams. If you want to witness the discovery of the world by this man on an iron horse, who does not deviate from his purpose and path and carries the Turkish flag on the back of his bicycle in dozens of countries, follow;
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