Freeride Expedition to Erciyes Bikepark and Cappadocia

So here we are in Turkey. First time for most of us, in quite unusual scenery for the tourists. Most of them rather prefer crowded streets of Istambul or the warm beaches of Antalya.


But this is the iconic Erciyes Mountain, a 3906 meter, old volcano in the south central of the country. The biggest Turkish ski resort - Erciyes Kayak Merkezi seems like a really good place to be in the winter time.


So why don't we use it in the summer season? That was the Emrah Ozbay's (bald beardy man on the right) idea to bring Erciyes Bikepark to the map and this is what he actually did last fall.


And here we go with a little test of Turkish tastes in a bikepark located over 2100 meters above sea level. Nine riders with different backgrounds from four countries, 12 bikes, seven GoPro's, two drones, three cameras and two VW Amaroks. Let the good times roll!

This crash may look good from the drone angle.

Express VW Amarok shuttles were quite useful at the jump line.

But yet too slow to beat some of the guys going down.

Two lines going down the Erciyes hill contain some different features like those tiny off-the-rock jumps with a little pop.

...or wooden constructions, which you can boost with style for miles like Kraja.

Dusty volcanic dirt in here is way different than a typical European mountain.

What goes up...

...must come down. That's what they say. It is always better to drop an avalanche of old TV sized rocks before your run than during it.

Just to go for a proper ride down the volcanic ridge at 3400 meters.

Or to make some other ideas happen, like this wooden mini jump brought to 3100 meters above sea level for one single picture.

Riding down the hill may also bring some good memories just before leaving to another spot which some may say is another planet.

Welcome to planet Cappadocia!



..but here is a proof that they're not stock. However, all the expedition members confirm that watching the sunrise over those incredible natural sculptures from a balloon deck was one of the best views in our lives.

Then you need to touch the ground, change the point of view to the only proper one and find the correct lines for a ride.

Lovely angles gave us places to have fun.

It is good to have some free time on a trip to take postcard shots for the family.

...or for the girls.

But sometimes you need to think a while..

...before droppin in.

Over hour of hiking up the highest hill in the hood..

..brought us to some natural features like this drop,

or that concrete pumptrack going down the hill between rocks.

One thought came to mind for all of us while the expedition was coming to an end.

None of us expected to be a part of such a pure 'Kranked-style' trip while watching the first VHS tapes dozen years ago.

But we did it, we want more and all of you can join us.

Thank you, Turkey and see you again in spring.

Still not enough? Here it is - compressed action pack in GoPro edit!


Video: twosix.pl
Music: Fertile Hump
Photography: staronphoto.com

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MENTIONS: @RADICALsm

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