Now, I plan to cycle from San Francisco to Seattle, a 932-mile (1,500-km) route. After that, I will head to Canada. However, since I don’t have a Canadian visa, I apply at the Canadian Embassy in New York City.
As mentioned in my previous post, I will take a break and rest. During these breaks, I don’t return to Türkiye; instead, I travel within the country I’m in. Also, I prefer not to cycle during these periods and intentionally gain weight. This is not a new habit, I’ve been doing it for 15 years. Let me emphasize: I gain weight because I need to. I step away from cycling and my routine to focus on other things.
So, why am I going to New York? Because my friends, whom I promised to visit, live there: Sine Akten and Zeynep Güven. Afterward, I’ll head to Miami, as I promised Zeynep Ertuğrul and her mother Hülya. In short, I’ll be spending time with close friends.
I’m taking my bike with me. I might take a photo in front of the consulate. I might use this photo for a project I am working on for Guinness World Records. There’s also a chance I’ll take a different route or go on a small cycling tour in the area. I might even ride my bike to Washington, DC. My plans are always flexible. I could end up crossing into Canada via Boston from New York, or I might take a train to Chicago and then cycle to Kansas and Denver, Colorado. Later, I could take a train from Denver to San Francisco and continue my original route. Or maybe I won’t do any of this and return to San Francisco.
My original route is Miami – San Francisco – Canada – Alaska. But even as I write this, I can’t help but laugh, because anything can change on the road.
This post is about what I did and who I met after my break in San Francisco.
The train journey from San Francisco to New York takes 3 nights and 4 days. Ticket options are:
Crazy prices, right? I don’t think even the train from Portugal to Indonesia costs this much! These prices clearly show why train travel isn’t a popular option in the U.S. The long distances are one of the main reasons.
With the help of my friend Şükriye, I was able to afford the second option ($535) and had a relatively comfortable journey. Thank you, Şükriye!
For those who would like to support me:
In Türkiye, you can use Garanti Bankası, and in the U.S., you can use Bank of America or Zelle to send support to my email address: gurkangenc@gmail.com.
While changing trains in Chicago, the staff learned that I was on a world tour by bicycle and upgraded me to a sleeper car. I only had to pay an additional $100, and they didn’t charge me anything extra for my bike either. That was a nice little favor!
This train journey is on many people’s bucket lists in the U.S. The San Francisco – Denver route, in particular, was breathtaking.
Yes, I had already cycled through these areas. But experiencing the landscape from a fully panoramic observation car in the middle of the train was a whole different kind of joy.
I believe this journey should be taken in November. The transition of the seasons and the colors were spectacular. I started in warm weather in San Francisco, but as I approached Lake Tahoe, the leaves on the trees began changing color. A few hours later, everything was covered in snow. Then, the landscape transitioned into a desert before winding through the Rocky Mountains.
At times, the train was running right next to the roads I had cycled on. I kept staring at them, thinking, “Did I ride through those roads?” It was surreal. Hahaha!
When I arrived in New York, I suddenly found myself in chaos. Just a few days earlier, I was in the middle of the desert, and now I was in the heart of one of the biggest cities in the world!
My friend and doctor, Sine Aras Akten, who was hosting me, picked me up from the train station and took me to their home in Brooklyn.
Our first encounter was amazing! We hugged tightly. On the way home, she wouldn’t stop talking! She kept telling me things, every little detail. I was listening to her, but my mind was elsewhere. I look out the car window, trying to take in the city through the darkness. At this point, the decisions I would make regarding the remainder of my journey were crucial.
Traveling in the U.S. as a cyclist is financially challenging. I burn 5,000 calories a day, so the size and quality of my meals are important. Since I try to eat healthy, my food expenses are even higher. On top of that, there are accommodation costs (campgrounds, hostels, hotels), the sheer size of the country, and most importantly, the time spent here. With all things considered, the U.S. has officially become the most expensive country of my entire world tour. Congratulations!
That’s why I needed to finalize the remaining part of my U.S. tour. Among Sine’s excited conversations, I had to quickly figure this out so I could make the most of my resting period. I took mental notes while she talked. When we arrived home, a whole new kind of excitement began. Luckily, I had 90% of my next steps figured out.
Sine and Burak’s daughter, Ayliz, had grown up so much! As for their son, Berk, I can say he was like a mini adult! It was my first time meeting Burak, and we had a long, deep conversation. The whole atmosphere felt like a family reunion. It was as if I was meeting my cousins after years apart and spending time with them. A real family feeling.
Every evening, we would bring up a different topic, discuss it, and share our thoughts. The topics included society, rights, equality, environmental pollution, advancing technology, economy, history, races, and philosophy. Sine is a doctor, and Burak is an engineer.
What did we do together?
We visited museums and attended a Broadway show and a comedy performance. Also explored the old port area in Brooklyn and visited the towns of Woodstock and
We welcomed the year 2025 together and celebrated Sine’s 46th birthday. We went to Berk’s school and Ayliz’s dance classes. We rode bikes together, flew a drone, and even managed to crash it into the Hudson River. (The fallen drone was a DJI Mini 4 Pro, later replaced with a new one, an Airtag attached.) We tried different kinds of food, took a tour of Manhattan, and learned practical knowledge from young master Berk. Thanks to Dr. Sine, I also had a thorough medical check-up.
Through Sine, I met her friend Mustafa and her cousin Ekin. I also attended a Cem Yılmaz show with Ekin. In short, I had a fantastic time with the Akten family in New York. If I had stayed any longer, Sine would have probably introduced me to every bachelor she knew and tried to get me married before letting me leave New York! I am continuing my world tour on my bike. Thanks to the Akten family.
When I first arrived in New York, I stayed at Sine and Burak’s house for six days before flying to Miami to visit Zeynep. But what a trip! I didn’t just stay in Miami with Zeynep and Hülya Teyze. First, we all flew to New Orleans together.
Habip, Seher, Fahri, Fatma, Sona… You already know that I have a completely different family there. I visited again (I shared this family with you in one of my previous posts)YAZININ LINKI. Afterward, we returned to Miami and drove to Tampa on Florida’s Gulf Coast. There, I spent time with Sister Eser and David. We visited a Greek village I had never cycled to before. Then we returned to Miami. With these trips, I ended up driving from Dallas to Pensacola and from Miami to Tampa and back. Great experience.
During this time, I spent about a month with Zeynep, her 6-year-old son Deniz, Hülya, and, of course, our beloved Çiko. I also gave a talk at the Turkish House in Florida. At this event, I met the parents of Renan Öztürk, one of the athletes sponsored by The North Face.
I also met one of our national athletes, Yiğit Caner. Yiğit shared a few key insights with me about what I should focus on when supporting national athletes if I were to become the Minister of Sports in the future. He probably didn’t even realize the significance of what he was saying. By the way, his dream is to become the country’s Minister of Sports! Wishing you all the best, Caner.
People in the audience invited me to their homes or suggested meeting again. However, I decided to spend my time in Florida simply resting at my friend Zeynep’s house. During my talk, I observed that our community still has a long way to go in achieving peace and harmony.
Seher (the photo turned out amazing!), Deniz, thank you for everything. Kaya Family, Burcu, Melek, Sister Sevi, I appreciate you all. Thanks to Auntie Hülya, I gained a few kilos. Then I continued gaining weight in New York as well but stopped after 8 kilos.
When I returned to New York, I was hosted at the new Turkish House inside the consulate building. Thanks to our Ambassador, Mr. Ahmet. I reunited here with Brother Kemal and his wife, Nilüfer, whom I met in Ecuador (2019), and Meral, whom I met at the consulate building in Germany (2013). Thanks a Lot to Ecem for all her help.
At this consulate, I had the chance to meet several esteemed security attachés. Wishing them all success in their careers. When the consulate building started construction in 2015, I said, “One day, I will stay in this consulate.” And I did exactly that.
I also gave a talk at the consulate. My dream was for citizens to bring their children. However, that didn’t happen. Even though the embassy sent messages to registered citizens, most were unaware of the event, or perhaps my travels didn’t interest them.
Meanwhile, I also learned from our citizens about the divide between two institutions that provide Turkish language education for children in New York. Here are my thoughts on this matter:
– In all 70 countries I have traveled to, I have never seen or heard of any other nation running school activities as an association within an embassy. The Turkish Republic does not have such a system in its other embassies or consulates. I say this as someone who has stayed at 62 embassies and consulates across 70 countries. In the past, something like this existed in the old consulate building in New York. Today it was discontinued when the new consulate was built. My personal opinion is that language education should not be provided within a consulate under the roof of an association.
– If education is to be provided via an association, citizens in the country should come together, form an association, collect funds, rent a space, and educate their children that way. This is already being done today, and the Turkish government supporting these efforts. This is the correct approach.
– If the Turkish government wants to establish an educational institution aligned with the host country’s curriculum and obtains the necessary permits, it can open a school inside the consulate or embassy. This school could provide education five days a week at the elementary and middle school levels, employing teachers accredited by the U.S. and Turkish Ministries of Education. The school would be open to everyone and could operate as a tuition-based institution if necessary. Currently, Türkiye’s Maarif Colleges work in partnership with the Ministry of National Education abroad, and teachers are directly appointed from Türkiye’s Ministry of Education. Similar systems exist in many countries, as well as in foreign embassies within Türkiye. I have attended presentations at such schools myself.
As a cyclist on a world tour who has pedaled to New York, I am offering a free talk at the embassy over the weekend so that everyone can bring their children and attend. This is a one-time event, you won’t get a second chance to catch it. If you do, consider yourself lucky!
However, on weekends, due to conflicts between associations and other organizations, many children, families, and teachers didn’t attend the Turkish language classes organized by the associations. Our teachers said, “The children have lessons.” What you were supposed to do was to attend the lesson that week with me and the children. You invited us to schools, thank you, but isn’t there something strange here? 🙂
I was invited to the Drom stage by the venue owner, Serdar. I sincerely thank him.
I also gave a presentation at Serhan’s company, Napierpark. I had met his family beforehand. He said, “If you put a script of your world tour in front of me, I will support you as a company in making a movie or documentary.” I am thankful that he valued my journey this much. I will present such a project to Serhan in the future. Whether he supports me or not, I am sure of one thing: one day, someone will make a documentary or a movie about this trip to our country. Whether I’ll be alive to see it, I don’t know. If I am, it wouldn’t be bad at all, I’ll watch it with my popcorn. I don’t want to act in the documentary or the movie, but the story is great. Believe me, what you’ve read is just a fraction of it…
The Amish market next to the embassy, thanks to Barış Öztürk, gave me a $100 shopping voucher. I also met with Murat the coffee shop owner and his wife Şenay, and Edip and Dilek. I thank them for their hospitality. Edip gifted me a blood pressure monitor. At first, I considered carrying it with me, but later I decided to send it back to Turkiye to avoid space issues. Murat also kindly gifted me one of the Aeropress coffee makers from his shop. I did a coffee tasting with it, and it was a lovely and enjoyable product, but I sent it back to Turkiye as it would take space on my touring bike. Şenay and I are working on a project for Genç Kaşifler (Young Explorers). I’ll share it with you in the coming months.
Thanks to Barış Öztürk, I had the opportunity to meet many different people in the U.S. Berkay, Barış, and I also did a bike tour in Manhattan. Thanks, friends.
Mertcan and Büşra from the 2018 Genç Kaşifler came from another state to visit me. Thanks, youngsters, I hope we cross paths again sometime. I also had the chance to meet Gülin, one of the patients of my childhood dentist Yalçın Ergir. One evening, I randomly ran into Sibel, who had been following me for many years, and we chatted.
The second longest stay in New York was at my childhood friend Zeynep Güven’s house. When I went to Turkiye in 2023 to get my visa, I met her husband Özgür and their children Elif and Eren. I told them, “I will come to your house by bike.” In fact, during my 2023 bike tour in Anatolia, I also visited Zeynep’s family in Ünye. Greetings to the whole family and Orhun Güven. I had told him something about hazelnuts.
I didn’t arrive by pedaling, but my bike stayed in their garage for a while. The conversations I had with Zeynep and Özgür were also very nice. We went to an NBA Houston-Brooklyn basketball game together. I also got to watch Eren’s football practice.
Thanks to Zeynep and Özgür, I also met many wonderful people. It is truly fulfilling to have such great friendships.
If I ever get bored in the U.S., I might work for a daily wage at Özgür and Zeynep’s workplace. They are in the kitchen countertops business with BERGEN companies. https://www.bergengranite.com/ I’ve been there a couple of times. Özgür has built a wonderful team for himself. The staff was kind enough to host me, and greetings to all of them. I hope they all achieve their dreams.
Here are the topics related to my world bike tour where I’ve had discussions and made progress:
• The English translation of the children’s book “Demir Atlı Adam.” Thanks to Suna.
• Gürkan Genç’s journey is being worked on to be produced as a documentary, cartoon, or feature film.
• Genç Kaşifler – Ankara Bicycle Academy organizing summer camps for ages 10-18. These camps will be held between July 15th and August 20th. The camp will involve both American and Turkish kids, and there is a possibility that kids from disadvantaged backgrounds could join with support from an American association.
• I had sponsorship discussions, but I didn’t receive positive feedback. Naturally, everyone has different expectations or requests.
You’ve traveled, seen, eaten, and drunk… So, what’s New York like? Is it livable? I’ll discuss this in my next article. And what if I can’t get a Canadian visa? I think everything will become clear in the next post. In the meantime, I’ll head to Washington DC by bike from New York. Let’s see what the roads look like in this area.