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Cycling in Turkey

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Fancy Women Bike Ride in Urla, İzmir
Rural west Turkey

Cycling in Turkey is held back by poor infrastructure. It is sometimes done for health reasons, and infrastructure is being improved.[1][2] The World Health Organization has called for transport in Turkey to include more active transport such as cycling.[3]

History

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See also: Turkish Cycling Federation § History
Postmen in Istanbul in late Ottoman times

At first the Ottomans cycled for transport and later also for sport.[4] The army used bicycles.[5] Many women in Turkey cycled, and cycling helped the feminist movement towards the end of the Ottoman Empire.[6] Thomas Stevens went through Constantinople on his round the world trip, as did others later in the 19th century, publishing accounts such as Across Asia on a Bicycle: The Journey of Two American Students from Constantinople to Peking.[5]

Rahmi Koç Museum has a display of bicycles.[7]

Utility cycling

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A 2019 survey of Turkish college students found that 10 percent of cyclists wear a bike helmet.[8] Respondents to a 2018 survey in Isparta said that Accident Prone Areas were the most important factor for integration with public transport.[9] Some of the bike lanes created in that city in 2016 were removed in 2018, partly because roadside businesses wanted the space for car parking.[10]

Policy and manufacturing

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The Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change has published a guide for cycle paths.[11] There is not much data available to help plan where bicycle routes should go.[12]

Infrastructure

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Beyoglu, Istanbul

In 2019 a new regulation on cycle paths was issued,[13] but according to a 2020 study cities are not bike friendly.[14] Cycle paths are sometimes not well connected.[15] In 2021 a bicycle route master plan was published.[16][17]

Suggestions have been made for Istanbul.[18] Improvements were made in Istanbul during the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] Locations close to shorelines are thought to be best for bike sharing stations.[20] Konya has the most bike lanes with over 400 kilometres (250 mi).[21] Bikes (except tandems) are allowed on the Istanbul metro outside peak hours and if folded at any time.[22] The city's sustainable urban mobility plan in 2022 suggested cycle feeder routes and junction improvements.[23]

Hatay claimed to have opened in 2020 the longest uninterrupted bike path in the world.[24] Some of Turkey's bike paths have been integrated into the EuroVelo route network. The EV13 The Iron Curtain Trail follows 140 kilometres (87 mi) of the border with Bulgaria via Edirne. Around 500 kilometres (310 mi) of existing bike paths in İzmir were incorporated into the EV8 The Mediterranean Route in 2019.[25]

For sport and recreation

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Amasra

The governing organisation for cycle sport in Turkey is the Turkish Cycling Federation.[26] There is a velodrome in Istanbul.[27] There are cycling festivals.[28] Dogs such as Kangal can be a problem in rural areas,[29] and some recommend dismounting.[30]

Rides

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Fancy Women Bike Ride (Turkish: Süslü Kadinlar Bisiklet Turu ) was started by Sema Gur, a high school teacher from Turkey.[31] In 2013, three hundred women from Izmir, Turkey, participated in a Chic Women Bike Ride, which in subsequent years grew as an annual international event known as the Fancy Women Bike Ride on Car-Free Days.[32] For the Fancy Women Bike Ride, women decorate their bikes and instead of wearing sporty biking gear, they dress and make themselves up as colorfully and fancifully as they like.[31][32]

Rules

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See also: Electric bicycle laws § Turkey

Bicycles include electric bicycles whose maximum continuous rated power does not exceed 250 W, whose power decreases as they accelerate, and whose power is completely cut off after reaching a maximum speed of 25 km/h or immediately after the pedaling is interrupted. To ride on a highway cyclists must be over 11 and physically and mentally healthy. All traffic rules apply to cyclists.[33] Helmets are not obligatory.[34]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Koçak, Funda (24 December 2016). "Cycling in Turkey: Reasons and benefits of cycling / Türkiye'de bisiklet kullanımı: Bisiklet kullanma nedenleri ve elde edilen faydalar". Journal of Human Sciences. 13 (3): 5760–5771. doi:10.14687/jhs.v13i3.4190. ISSN 2458-9489.
  2. ^ "Turkey eyes bicycle tourism alternative amid diversity efforts". Hürriyet Daily News. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Health and climate change: country profile 2022: Turkey". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  4. ^ Özsoy, Selami. "Osmanlı'dan Günümüze Türkiye'de Bisiklet Sporu - Cycling In Turkey From Ottomans To Our Day". Selçuk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi (24). ISSN 2667-4750.
  5. ^ a b Wollina, Torsten (7 February 2019). "Into a bicycle history of the Middle East". Wissen in Verbindung. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  6. ^ Raab, Alon. "Wheels of Fire: Women cycling in the Middle East". Women cycling in the Middle East. Routledge Companion to Cycling. doi:10.4324/9781003142041-52. ISBN 9781003142041. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  7. ^ "The Rahmi Koç Museum | istanbul.com". istanbul.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  8. ^ Kılınç, Eda; Kartal, Asiye (15 February 2022). "The frequency of bicycle helmet use among college students and health beliefs for bicycle helmet attitude". Journal of American College Health: 1–9. doi:10.1080/07448481.2022.2032091. ISSN 0744-8481. PMID 35166646. S2CID 246826514.
  9. ^ Saplıoğlu, M.; Aydın, M. M. (1 September 2018). "Choosing safe and suitable bicycle routes to integrate cycling and public transport systems". Journal of Transport & Health. 10: 236–252. doi:10.1016/j.jth.2018.05.011. ISSN 2214-1405. S2CID 86671514.
  10. ^ Gülcen Eren, Şirin; Olaoye Ajiboye, Jesugbemi (13–15 October 2020). Isparta Bicycle Route: The Conflict Between Private and Public Interests. ICONARCH International Congress of Architecture and Planning. Istanbul: Konya Technical University Faculty of Architecture and Design. hdl:20.500.13091/2765.
  11. ^ "BİSİKLET YOLLARI KILAVUZ" (PDF).
  12. ^ Özkan, Sevim Pelin; Senol, Fatma; Ozcam, Zeynep (2020). "Bicycle Route Infrastructure Planning Using GIS in an Urban Area: The Case of Izmir". Planlama. doi:10.14744/planlama.2020.41275. hdl:11147/10297. ISSN 1300-7319. S2CID 216281830.
  13. ^ "BİSİKLET YOLLARI YÖNETMELİĞİ". www.resmigazete.gov.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  14. ^ Ahsan, Md Moynul (1 September 2020). "Strategic decisions on urban built environment to pandemics in Turkey: Lessons from COVID-19". Journal of Urban Management. 9 (3): 281–285. doi:10.1016/j.jum.2020.07.001. hdl:10419/271396. ISSN 2226-5856. S2CID 221012904.
  15. ^ Girginkaya Akdağ, Suzan (2021). "Small Icons with Wide Borders: The Semiotics of Micro-Mobility in Urban Space". In Girginkaya Akdağ, Suzan; Dinçer, Mine; Vatan, Meltem; Topçu, Ümran (eds.). The Dialectics of Urban and Architectural Boundaries in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The Urban Book Series. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 135–151. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-71807-7_7. ISBN 978-3-030-71807-7. S2CID 236663713.
  16. ^ "Turkey Bicycle Route Network Master Plan" (PDF).
  17. ^ cygm.csb.gov.tr. "Türkiye Bisiklet Ağı Master Planı - Çevre Yönetimi Genel Müdürlüğü". cygm.csb.gov.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  18. ^ "SAFE CYCLING DESIGN MANUAL FOR ISTANBUL Executive Summary" (PDF).
  19. ^ Demir, O.; Rojhani, A.; Hung, C. (2021). "Promoting and preserving safe and active mobility in Istanbul during the COVID-19 pandemic". European Journal of Public Health. 31 (Suppl. 3): iii292. doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckab164.769. PMC 8574654.
  20. ^ Guler, Dogus; Yomralioglu, Tahsin (3 July 2021). "Location Evaluation of Bicycle Sharing System Stations and Cycling Infrastructures with Best Worst Method Using GIS". The Professional Geographer. 73 (3): 535–552. doi:10.1080/00330124.2021.1883446. ISSN 0033-0124. S2CID 234853328.
  21. ^ "Using Cycling as an Indicator for Urban Quality of Life |". TheCityFix. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  22. ^ "Rules of Travel". www.metro.istanbul. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Istanbul's new Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan | Eltis". www.eltis.org. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  24. ^ "Turkey opens world's longest uninterrupted bike path". TRT World. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  25. ^ Florence Grégoire (26 November 2019). "European Cyclists' Federation approves the extension of EuroVelo 8 – Mediterranean Route in Izmir, Turkey". Eurovelo. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  26. ^ "Türkiye Bisiklet Federasyonu". bisiklet.gov.tr. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  27. ^ Türkiye, Cyclist (31 May 2019). "ANTRENMAN ROTASI: MALTEPE VELODROMU". Cyclist Türkiye (in Turkish). Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  28. ^ Kaya, İsmet; Erdoğan, Gülcan Özyazıcı (31 December 2020). "The economic contribution of cycling festivals on tourism sector: A study on cycling festivals in Turkey". FORCE: Focus on Research in Contemporary Economics. 1 (2): 103–118. ISSN 2717-817X.
  29. ^ "One Last Trip Through Kangal Country on Turkey's Elmalı Plateau – Ryan Wilson". The Radavist. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  30. ^ "Turkish shepherd dogs come to French sheep's rescue". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  31. ^ a b "Tokyo Olympics: Cyclist Masomah Ali Zada is a symbol of hope and inspiration". BBC. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  32. ^ a b Johnson, Ron (15 September 2022). "Fancy Women Bike Ride celebrates 10 glorious years". Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  33. ^ "KARAYOLLARI TRAFİK KANUNU BİSİKLET İLE İLGİLİ MADDELER – Bisiklet Şefliği". bisiklet.ibb.istanbul. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  34. ^ Valero-Mora, Pedro M.; Shinar, David; Ledesma, Rubén D.; Tormo Lancero, María Teresa; Sánchez-García, Mar; Haworth, Narelle; Sanmartín, Jaime; Morandi, Anna; Ferraro, Ottavia E.; Saplioglu, Meltem; Otte, Dietmar (1 July 2020). "Abiding by the law when it does not exist: The case of the helmet bicycle law". Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 72: 23–31. doi:10.1016/j.trf.2020.04.010. ISSN 1369-8478. S2CID 219768232.
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Cycling in Turkey.
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