Gurkan Genc is a young Turksih adventurist who is traveling around the world on a bike! Feyza Gumusluoglu met him while he was passing through Qatar.
First of all, are you out of your mind?!
I can ask you the same question! What time do you go to work? In general people work from 9 am to 5 pm. I can think the same way for them, ‘are they out of their minds?’ I have one life to live only and time flies. Few months ago the Saudi king passed away. He was one of the richest man but he could not take anything with him. No matter how rich you are, or how hard you work, you can not escape from the final destination. There is a big world out there and I am discovering it!
Was cycling around the world your childhood dream?
When I was 12 years, I told my mother that I would travel the world on a bike. I stopped cycling when I was 15 so I could study for university exams. I found myself on a bike at the age of 30 again!
You stopped cycling for the exams. And then?
I was admitted to Faculty of Communications. After graduation I worked in televisions and advertisement agencies. I had never cycled during that period. Later I opened my own restaurant. I sold it in 2010, then I hit the road by cycle from Turkey!
It seems your life was very settled. Why did you take such radical decision?
There was no break point or a tragic incidence that made me take this decision. I was 100kg, I bought a bike to go in-between home and work. When I got on the bike, I told myself “You were dreaming of cycling around the world when you were a child, see what you are doing now!” I started searching on the web in order to see what I could do. After seeing hundreds of people have done this, I said I could do this!
To where was your first long distance trip?
One day I told my family that I was going to travel. They asked me where, I said, to Japan. They asked me whether it was for vocation. I said yes but it would take a bit long. Of course they did not believe me when I told them I would go by bike! I started my journey and crossed Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, China, Mongolia, South Korea, all the way to Japan. It took 11 months. I crossed the sea by ferry.
When did you start your world tour?
Japan was kind of a test. I started my world tour in 2012. I started my journey from Ankara. In total I will visit a total of 115 countries. I was in Saudi Arabia last week, now I am in Qatar!
How many years it will take to complete it?
I am planning to finish by 2020!
Do not you want to finish it earlier and go back home?
I planned a trip which will take seven to eight years to complete. I do not call it a world tour. I call it traveling around the world. It could be completed in a shorter time, but I want to stay in countries I go. I try to explore their towns. My goal is not to finish the tour as early as possible and go back home.
You will not go to Turkey then until 2020?
Yes. I have not gone to Turkey since the beginning and I will not go until the end. Thanks God my mother and father are still alive. They are planning to see me in Cape Town. Hope we can meet there!
What if there is a special event, like a family wedding?
I will not go. If my brother gets married one day, I will connect through Skype! My father told me that “if we die, you don’t have to come. You set yourself a goal, realize it.”
Umrah
Do you face problem in getting visas?
No, I have not faced such a problem. The hardest visa I have got so far was the Saudi one.
You became the first Muslim who did Umrah by bike. Right?
Yes, I made a tour around Ka’bah by bike. Actually I wanted to go there for Hajj (pilgrimage), but the Saudis did not approve. They are not used to it. It is ironic that people came to this holy place on camels for centuries, but not on bike! I explained this to them. It took me four months to get the visa. It was a first for me and also for them. Now they say ‘you can come for Hajj as well’!
How do you afford this tour?
I created an online blog for my family. When I first opened it, I had only 10 followers! It became 50 people when I crossed a desert, then 10.000 when I made it to Japan! I shot a video in South Korea and said that “If I have money I will cycle the world.” I had no sponsor at that time. When I went back to Turkey after Japan, I was invited for talks, presentations etc. I started making money.
How much is this going to cost you?
Actually I can finish this tour without spending a penny! But I do not prefer that. Because in every country I go, I try to see museums, art galleries etc. I dine in very good restaurants as well as not that fancy ones. For visa also you need money. Yes, I could make it for free but I did not try.
What are your main sources of income?
Nearly half million people follow my website (http://gurkangenc.com/en). I have sponsors and their logos are on the website. I live off advertisements. I also have contracts with some private companies.
Is not it dangerous to cycle around the world?
Of course I face many dangers on the way. I have met with many accidents. Once I was stung by a scorpion, right on my heart. I was about to die! In another incidence, the Taliban caught me. In Tajikistan, I believe, I was camping somewhere the Taliban crossed. I heard shootings. There is a Turkish flag at the back of my bike, of course some love, some hate. In Sweden, for example, some people tried to burn the flag for instance.
Can not you get help when you are in danger?
I have a global SOS system. But you have to press the button in case of a danger. It will take some time for them to find you. But they definitely find your body if you are dead, and send it to your family!
How many clothes do you have in you backpack?
I have few — both for hot and cold. I have seen minus 57 and plus 61 degrees on the way. Last July, I was cycling in the Sahara desert in Algeria. I crossed the pole in February.
Do you not check the weather reports before going somewhere?
I do not care about the weather conditions. If there is snow, I change the tires.
How many hours do you cycle in a day?
It depends. Sometimes I cycle for 20 km and stop, if I like a place. Sometimes I cycle for seven hours.
How long and where do you stay in a country?
It depends. I stay as long as I want. I stay in hotels if only they host me. Otherwise I do not have extra money for 5-star hotels. I prefer using that money for students, young talents. Usually I sleep in a tent. Maybe I do not stay in 5 star hotels, but I sleep under million starts!
Where is the best place in the world so far?
The most beautiful country so far is Japan, the best spot is Spain Granada, Capileira.
You are 36 now. Cycling requires good condition. Do you regret that you did not start this in your 20s?
I am in very good physical condition. Human body reaches its best between 35 and 45. The last world champion in cycling was 42. I do not get tired and hungry easily. Also, it is better to do this at your 30’s because it is hard to afford it when you are young. If you are not rich from family, you can face many financial challenges. It is good to start when you stand on your own feet.
What is your plan for your 40’s, after you complete your tour?
I want to go back to Turkey and become head of cycling federation first. Then I am planning to be a member of the Turkish parliament and afterwards Minister of Sports.
Would you plan to get married?
I do not have any self restriction. If I find someone who accepts to travel with me, why not? But I can not settle in one place. She has to follow me!
What are your must have pieces?
I have almost all necessary equipments on my bike. Battery, e-book, camera. I always have my jackknife, and a fishing rod.
How about food and water?
I also have it on my bike. But sometimes I may run out of it. In Mongolia for example, it took me 13 days to cross the desert. I did not see any single human being during this time. I finished my water, and there was no place I could find some water. So I had to drink my urine after desalinating it!
When was the last time you used public transportation?
From England to Spain, from Tunisia to Jordan due to civil war in Libya, and from Bahrain to Jordan I used plane. Also from Spain to Morocco, I took ferry in order to cross Gibraltar. Except for these cases, I have not used any transportation other than bike, neither bus nor train.
The Peninsula
