HOPA TO HOPE BIKE4KIDS

Hopa to Hope Bike4Kids

Nihat Cubukcu

BRIDGETOTURKIYE.ORG /CYCLE4KIDS When I was first told about this idea, I wasn’t sure if I was up to the challenge. I Tour Begins bike almost every weekend but biking every day for two weeks was totally a new challenge for me. Like all other decisions I have made in my life, I decided to say yes and then worry about it later.

I was waiting for the rest of the team in -my Roads are Safe & Beautiful birthplace. They flew directly from US for the ride and 1350km of Joy We started our ride with our escort van on the back and guess what! two bikes were missing upon their arrival. a police car ahead of the group. Rain, green mountains, by Nihat Cubukcu Next morning, our escort van has arrived from th and rough with different tones of blue are and met us in Trabzon. Together on the 5 of July, we creating stunning beauty in front of us. We often drove to Hopa and hope that the missing bikes misplace our focus on the scenery but luckily roads are Biking for a Cause somehow will be delivered to us. Next morning on the th clean and fit for the road bikes. This was something I haven’t really done before. 6 , with pouring rain our tour officially took off. Two Yes I did join couple of charity rides in the past but victimized riders were riding with run-down spare bikes being part of the organization and embracing the while the missing bikes were traveling towards us very idea was something new to me. Well that new comfortably on a bus. OMG! Tunnels endeavor started with Bridge to Turkiye Fund I was not sure about the tunnels before the trip whether (BTF) and 5 of us from Raleigh area have decided they are safe to pass with bikes. When I say tunnels I to organize this bike for kids project on behalf of really mean a lot of them. Black sea coast has a lot of BTF in along the Black Sea Coast. The goal tunnel passages because of the rough topography. is to raise as much money as we can to help Some of the tunnels are 2-3miles long. Another problem underprivileged kids in the rural areas of Turkey. with tunnels was the exhaust gases from mostly diesel vehicles. We tried the first one right after Hopa and we Black Sea Coast felt very good with the escorting and ventilations. Bike route was planned to start from - Turkey border at a town called Hopa. From there the route goes along the coast all the way to Istanbul. Here is link for the route for the entire trip.

Imagine yourself for 14 days looking at the sea on your right and green mountains on your left.

HOPA TO HOPE BIKE4KIDS | 2

HOPA TO HOPE BIKE4KIDS

NO MORE RAIN

Warm Reception on the Way I want to thank all local bike communities, Rotary clubs and mayors for their support and warm welcome. Biking communities have joined us while we pass through their regions. City mayors have greeted us like celebrities and

promoted our cause in the local press. Rotary clubs So much so that I don’t own the bike anymore – I sold it along the Black Sea coast have arranged room and We also had some biking lessons from local kids. It to our tour guide, board. seemed that everything we said was wrong and president of Turkish everything they said was right  Typical Black Sea Biking Club. kind of people 

Temperature rising About one third of the way, we started to feel the effect of hot and humid weather. Long climbs with hot asphalt were taking everything out of us. Road conditions after 500km have started to deteriorate around rural Black Sea Coast. Sudden patches of melted roads and gravels were creating dangerous conditions. We had two falls and three blown tires while we pass through these Local Biking Clubs Joined Us treacherous roads. One of the most fun parts of the trip was the surprise crowds waiting for us on the side of the road with their bikes. They hear us through social media and join us. They really gave us enormous strength when otherwise you feel everything is against you. (Temperature. wind, So many beautiful places hills, fatigue). When you feel like you should call it off because long windy climbs makes you feel like you’re climbing to the moon, you reach a cliff and then look down along the coast. You see unbelievable beauty and a small town. It makes you climb more  I am definitely coming back to these places again.

My bike is getting a lot of attention  I am not bragging but everyone loved my bike Every We even had a six-month old bikers  mayor we met has taken a short ride with my bike Not only that when we are done for the day we stack all bikes in the van and mine was at the top  By the way my mike is BMW Carbon Racer 

HOPA TO HOPE BIKE4KIDS

Last Night at Isik University We had a nice night in Sile on the skirts of Istanbul at Isik University. University athletic department Rain and Traffic has provided dinner, room and breakfast next As we got closer and closer to the inner city of Istanbul, morning. It was one of the best treat throughout light rain turned into a thunderstorm. Traffic was getting more worrisome than the storm above us. Two the tour. police cars and one escort van behind us were not enough to enclose us in the chaotic traffic of Istanbul. And… wait here is the flash news. I hit one of the cars who were trying to cut me off. Not much damage but it was scary enough for me to decide that Istanbul is not a place for bikers but I was not going to quit right there. We were about 10-15miles to the final destination. City council members were waiting for our arrival under a heavy rain. It was an emotional moment. To be honest, we were not aware of this kind of ending. It took us by total surprise.

Moments after we hit the pedals in the morning, rain has started. Rain on the first day and rain on the last day. Roads are still presenting a lot of hills and some of us have taken the easy ride (on the van). They were so confy that even handing out a bottle of water to the riders was a difficult task for them  So.. we had to beg for it.

Here is a picture moments before my accident. I hit that dark minivan. We Did It What we have accomplished was I think once in a life time achievement. I want to thank my fellow bikers from Raleigh Cemal Unal, Bulent Ender, Kenan Ender and Timur Ender for being great teammates. Of course many thanks go to Murat Suyabatmaz president of Turkish Biking Club for arranging the entire trip so good. That many thanks also go to Pelin Bali for designing our logo which became the symbol of the entire campaign. Some of us tried different tricks for the hills but Bakirkoy Municipality has provided us a cargo van hills meant to be climbed so we eventually did just to carry our equipment along the way. Vehicle that came with a driver and free gas. What a treat, thank you Bakirkoy. Final Destination After a scary ride on the Asian side of Istanbul, we I am very grateful for the Bridge to Turkey Fund for finally arrived at the ferry point called Harem (not being a pioneer in helping needy kids in rural to be confused with Sultan’s harem). We took Turkey. the ferry to pass from Asia to Europe and started biking again towards our final destination Lastly, thank you all. Thank you for showing us Bakirkoy. Bakirkoy Municipality has arranged a your support and making a positive mark in our welcoming ceremony for us. We haven’t grasped society. the level of our accomplishment until we arrived at the final point and see the crowd cheering for us. If anyone asks, our campaign will run through August until the first day of September. Donations can be made within this time at www.bridgetoturkiye.org/cycle4kids