Hello, I will share the article of a tour I did in 2017 with you every day. I wrote a little long article. I will share it in the next 20-25 days. I translated my writing into English. I hope I succeeded.
HOW STARTED?
I studied high school in Gökçeada Teacher Training High School in a boarding school. As someone who grew up in Istanbul until my high school education, I can say that I never knew the appearance of the stars, that indescribable fragrance that comes with the wind blowing in the spring. It was not difficult to imagine being in nature when you feel these in Gökçeada and smell the appearance of concrete and exhaust fumes in Istanbul during vacation times. I had an intense desire to travel back then. I was excited by the thought of sleeping in tents in parks, on beaches like a hopper. I wanted to be in nature, to feel the wind and the sun, to smell the sea and the forest, to sleep by seeing the night stars and the moon. These were the things that really made me feel alive.
When I was dreaming of traveling, I never thought of getting on a private vehicle or bus. I thought I would do it with hitchhiking. I could only do this at university. I was already hitchhiking in the last year of high school. The pleasure I get from conversations with people I don't know brought me closer to this job. As time progressed, for some reason, suitable conditions did not occur and I could not start. I wanted to do it with a couple of friends, I thought it would be boring to do this thing alone. But I couldn't find a friend to make this happen. I could not even convince the 10-15 day tour for a 1-2 day tour, let alone. Maybe I was using this situation as an excuse because I couldn't find the courage to start, who knows…
At the end of my third year at university, I wanted to start this travel dream alone. And this was a sudden decision. One night I fell asleep thinking why I didn't do this, and when I woke up in the morning, I decided to hitchhike from Isparta to Istanbul in a week, traveling over the Aegean and I did it.
I took the first big step by doing this. Although I really enjoyed my hitchhiking tour, something was missing. Something was missing that I could not name.
Why Bicycle?
Like everyone else, I met bicycles at a young age. Of course, I'm not talking about that childhood acquaintance, but why I decided to ride a bike.
To be honest, it did not cross my mind that I could ride my bike until July 2016. I was in Manisa in 2012 - my first year at the university. Although the distance was short, the bus to the university from where we were sitting was traveling a lot. And the bus was expensive too. So I said to myself: “Let me take a bike! I will go to school in a short time and avoid giving money to the bus. " I already bought a small amount of money for the bike in 1-1.5 months. It was the only reason I bought the bike. I brought this bike I bought to Isparta. I only used it for transportation and sports until it was stolen.
In June 2016, I bought a new bicycle for transportation and sports. But this time he wouldn't stay there. I knew from the first moment I started driving this. I started driving first in Istanbul and then in Isparta. In September 2016, the idea of doing long tours started flashing in my mind. I dreamed of coming from Isparta to Istanbul by following the coastline. As of November 2016, I started to buy the materials I needed. In the meantime, I tried to get an idea by reading the writings of people who have toured. Everything happened step by step. I completed the equipment I would use on my bike in 9 months by purchasing 1 or 2 materials each month. Already in my daily life, I started using my bike while going to school. I was physically preparing that way. Then I tried it myself with slightly longer distances. I went on a 3-day tour in Isparta. I went to Eğirdir, Burdur daily. I started to believe that I could really make this work with these tours. The point where I completely believed in this work was the tour I realized from Isparta to Burdur Salda Lake. It was 100 km apart. All my equipment was complete on the Salda Lake tour. And on the way, there were almost difficulties that I could encounter on my Isparta-Istanbul tour. Traffic, roadworks, undivided roads, mountain road, dirt road, steep slopes, strong winds blowing directly from the front, etc. Although I struggled a little, I completed the Salda tour and I was almost completely ready now. I say almost because in my head, albeit very small, I might not have the courage to set out. In order to reduce this fear even more and make it a more driving force for myself, I shared the route I drafted on Instagram as soon as I set my tour date and announced that I would start this event with my friends and community.
As the journey continued, I made changes to the plan I drew.
"How did I get started on this journey?" If I collect the answer to the question; I wanted to travel for a long time. And I wanted to use the bike as a means of transportation. In fact, I would have understood better throughout the tour that the bicycle was not only my means of transportation, but also my companion I was looking for but could not find.
I came home from my last exam on 10.08.2017. After sleeping a little, I got up and prepared my equipment. I said goodbye to my housemates and turned my first pedal on 11.08.2017 at 05:10 in the morning.
View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BXoxl7kAwC_/
HOW STARTED?
I studied high school in Gökçeada Teacher Training High School in a boarding school. As someone who grew up in Istanbul until my high school education, I can say that I never knew the appearance of the stars, that indescribable fragrance that comes with the wind blowing in the spring. It was not difficult to imagine being in nature when you feel these in Gökçeada and smell the appearance of concrete and exhaust fumes in Istanbul during vacation times. I had an intense desire to travel back then. I was excited by the thought of sleeping in tents in parks, on beaches like a hopper. I wanted to be in nature, to feel the wind and the sun, to smell the sea and the forest, to sleep by seeing the night stars and the moon. These were the things that really made me feel alive.
When I was dreaming of traveling, I never thought of getting on a private vehicle or bus. I thought I would do it with hitchhiking. I could only do this at university. I was already hitchhiking in the last year of high school. The pleasure I get from conversations with people I don't know brought me closer to this job. As time progressed, for some reason, suitable conditions did not occur and I could not start. I wanted to do it with a couple of friends, I thought it would be boring to do this thing alone. But I couldn't find a friend to make this happen. I could not even convince the 10-15 day tour for a 1-2 day tour, let alone. Maybe I was using this situation as an excuse because I couldn't find the courage to start, who knows…
At the end of my third year at university, I wanted to start this travel dream alone. And this was a sudden decision. One night I fell asleep thinking why I didn't do this, and when I woke up in the morning, I decided to hitchhike from Isparta to Istanbul in a week, traveling over the Aegean and I did it.
I took the first big step by doing this. Although I really enjoyed my hitchhiking tour, something was missing. Something was missing that I could not name.
Why Bicycle?
Like everyone else, I met bicycles at a young age. Of course, I'm not talking about that childhood acquaintance, but why I decided to ride a bike.
To be honest, it did not cross my mind that I could ride my bike until July 2016. I was in Manisa in 2012 - my first year at the university. Although the distance was short, the bus to the university from where we were sitting was traveling a lot. And the bus was expensive too. So I said to myself: “Let me take a bike! I will go to school in a short time and avoid giving money to the bus. " I already bought a small amount of money for the bike in 1-1.5 months. It was the only reason I bought the bike. I brought this bike I bought to Isparta. I only used it for transportation and sports until it was stolen.
In June 2016, I bought a new bicycle for transportation and sports. But this time he wouldn't stay there. I knew from the first moment I started driving this. I started driving first in Istanbul and then in Isparta. In September 2016, the idea of doing long tours started flashing in my mind. I dreamed of coming from Isparta to Istanbul by following the coastline. As of November 2016, I started to buy the materials I needed. In the meantime, I tried to get an idea by reading the writings of people who have toured. Everything happened step by step. I completed the equipment I would use on my bike in 9 months by purchasing 1 or 2 materials each month. Already in my daily life, I started using my bike while going to school. I was physically preparing that way. Then I tried it myself with slightly longer distances. I went on a 3-day tour in Isparta. I went to Eğirdir, Burdur daily. I started to believe that I could really make this work with these tours. The point where I completely believed in this work was the tour I realized from Isparta to Burdur Salda Lake. It was 100 km apart. All my equipment was complete on the Salda Lake tour. And on the way, there were almost difficulties that I could encounter on my Isparta-Istanbul tour. Traffic, roadworks, undivided roads, mountain road, dirt road, steep slopes, strong winds blowing directly from the front, etc. Although I struggled a little, I completed the Salda tour and I was almost completely ready now. I say almost because in my head, albeit very small, I might not have the courage to set out. In order to reduce this fear even more and make it a more driving force for myself, I shared the route I drafted on Instagram as soon as I set my tour date and announced that I would start this event with my friends and community.
As the journey continued, I made changes to the plan I drew.
"How did I get started on this journey?" If I collect the answer to the question; I wanted to travel for a long time. And I wanted to use the bike as a means of transportation. In fact, I would have understood better throughout the tour that the bicycle was not only my means of transportation, but also my companion I was looking for but could not find.
I came home from my last exam on 10.08.2017. After sleeping a little, I got up and prepared my equipment. I said goodbye to my housemates and turned my first pedal on 11.08.2017 at 05:10 in the morning.
View: https://www.instagram.com/p/BXoxl7kAwC_/
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