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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other type of cycle. It encompasses the use of human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world for purposes including transport, recreation, exercise, and competitive sport.
Transport in Turkey is road-dominated and mostly fuelled by diesel. Transport consumes a quarter of energy in Turkey, and is a major source of air pollution in Turkey and greenhouse gas emissions by Turkey. The World Health Organization has called for more active transport such as cycling.
A bicycle helmet is a type of helmet designed to attenuate impacts to the head of a cyclist in collisions while minimizing side effects such as interference with peripheral vision.
Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles or advisory. In the United States, a designated bicycle lane or class II bikeway (Caltrans) is always marked by a solid white stripe on the pavement and is for 'preferential use' by bicyclists. There is also a class III bicycle route, which has roadside signs suggesting a route for cyclists, and urging sharing the road. A class IV separated bike way (Caltrans) is a bike lane that is physically separate from motor traffic and restricted to bicyclists only.
Cycling in Melbourne is an important mode of transport, fitness, sport and recreation in many parts of the city. After a period of significant decline through the mid to late 20th century, additional infrastructure investment, changing transport preferences and increasing congestion has resulted in a resurgence in the popularity of cycling for transport. This is assisted by Melbourne's natural characteristics of relatively flat topography and generally mild climate.
Bicycle safety is the use of road traffic safety practices to reduce risk associated with cycling. Risk can be defined as the number of incidents occurring for a given amount of cycling. Some of this subject matter is hotly debated: for example, which types of cycling environment or cycling infrastructure is safest for cyclists. The merits of obeying the traffic laws and using bicycle lighting at night are less controversial. Wearing a bicycle helmet may reduce the chance of head injury in the event of a crash.
Cycling is the second-most common mode of transport in the Netherlands, with 36% of Dutch people listing the bicycle as their most frequent way of getting around on a typical day, as opposed to the car (45%) and public transport (11%). Cycling has a modal share of 27% of all trips nationwide. In cities this is even higher, such as Amsterdam which has 38%, and Zwolle 46%. This high frequency of bicycle travel is enabled by excellent cycling infrastructure such as cycle paths, cycle tracks, protected intersections, ample bicycle parking and by making cycling routes shorter and more direct than car routes.
A cycle track or cycleway (British) or bikeway, sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath, is a separate route for cycles and not motor vehicles. In some cases cycle tracks are also used by other users such as pedestrians and horse riders. A cycle track can be next to a normal road, and can either be a shared route with pedestrians or be made distinct from both the pavement and general roadway by vertical barriers or elevation differences.
Cycling is a popular mode of transport and leisure activity within London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. Following a national decline in the 1960s of levels of utility cycling, cycling as a mode of everyday transport within London began a slow regrowth in the 1970s. This continued until the beginning of the 21st century, when levels began to increase significantly—during the period from 2000 to 2012, the number of daily journeys made by bicycle in Greater London doubled to 580,000. The growth in cycling can partly be attributed to the launch in 2010 by Transport for London (TfL) of a cycle hire system throughout the city's centre. By 2013, the scheme was attracting a monthly ridership of approximately 500,000, peaking at a million rides in July of that year. Health impact analyses have shown that London would benefit more from increased cycling and cycling infrastructure than other European cities.
Cycling in New Zealand is the 5th most popular form of active recreation, but a very marginal commuting mode, with the share hovering around 1–3% in most major cities. This is due to a number of factors, principally safety fears.
Active mobility, soft mobility, active travel, active transport or active transportation is the transport of people or goods, through non-motorized means, based around human physical activity. The best-known forms of active mobility are walking and cycling, though other modes include running, rowing, skateboarding, kick scooters and roller skates. Due to its prevalence, cycling is sometimes considered separately from the other forms of active mobility.
Cycling in Canada is experienced in various ways across a geographically huge, economically and socially diverse country. Among the reasons for cycling in Canada are for practical reasons such as commuting to work or school, for sports such as road racing, BMX, mountain bike racing, freestyle BMX, as well as for pure recreation. The amount and quality of bicycle infrastructure varies widely across the country as do the laws pertaining to cyclists such as bicycle helmet laws which can differ by province.
Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except where cyclists are barred such as many freeways/motorways. It includes amenities such as bike racks for parking, shelters, service centers and specialized traffic signs and signals. The more cycling infrastructure, the more people get about by bicycle.
Bilal Akgül is a Turkish professional road cyclist and mountain biker riding for team Brisaspor. He is the first ever Turkish Olympian cyclist participating at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Semra Yetiş is a Turkish road cyclist and mountain biker.
The history of cycling infrastructure starts from shortly after the bike boom of the 1880s when the first short stretches of dedicated bicycle infrastructure were built, through to the rise of the automobile from the mid-20th century onwards and the concomitant decline of cycling as a means of transport, to cycling's comeback from the 1970s onwards.
Cycling in the United States is a minor sport in the country. It is also a mode of transport, particularly in urban areas.
The Fancy Women Bike Ride is an event started in 2013 by history teacher Sema Gür in İzmir. The event draws attention to the themes of freedom and women. The other coordinator of the event is Pınar Pinzuti.
Cycling in Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is a popular means of transportation, sporting and recreational pass time. Commuting in the city is supported by an extensive network of urban cycleways and on-street bicycle lanes. As a city established in the 20th century, Canberra's development was heavily influenced by the automobile for much of its history. The popularity of cycling in the city has increased dramatically in the 21st century with growing awareness of environmental issues, government policy supporting active transport and investment in cycling infrastructure. This has led to the development of a strong cycling culture.
Cyclability is the degree of ease of bicycle circulation. A greater degree of cyclability in cities is related, among others, to benefits for people's health, lower levels of air and noise pollution, improved fluidity of traffic or increased productivity.
