‘Fancy women bikers’ ride alone this year due to pandemic

Aziz Özen – ISTANBUL

Fancy Women Bike Ride, which has been organized since 2013 to raise awareness for bicycles, was celebrated this year on individual rides in four provinces rather than an umbrella organization due to the pandemic on Sept. 20.

Some women gathered on the beach of Caddebostan in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul with fancy clothes and bikes covered with flowers.

“We want to spend all Sundays without cars and traffic,” said Filiz Gençoğlu, a biker for 25 years, participating in the individual event.

In İzmir, a group of women came together at Cumhuriyet Square and rode their bikes garnished with balloons.

Sema Gür, the organizer of the İzmir event, said, “Unfortunately, we cannot ride collectively, we are just on the roads with a limited number of friends.”

In the Erdek district of the northwestern province of Balıkesir, seven fancy women rode their bikes with a slogan, “Roads should smell of perfumes not of flue gas.”

One incident that caught attention in the Datça district of the southwestern province of Muğla was a 72-year-old woman with a walking stick who participated at the event to show support.