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Thanks for taking the time Gurk and good luck in your new digs.
Chris: What do you ride and how do you like it?
Gurk: 2007 Yamaha R6. I love the bike for all the great things and regardless of all the shortcomings it's associated with. I feel like getting used to a bike and feeling home with it is more important than finding a bike that suits you 100%. Especially for someone like me who has spent 99% of all his riding on the same bike. I learned to ride on this thing for better or worse. It's hard to look elsewhere now.
Chris: How long have you been riding?
Gurk: 2 years and 9 months. All but 3 months of it on track only.
Chris: What got you started riding?
Gurk: Like most of things I do, the seed was planted very early. Like my career. I used to draw bands' logos and stuff all the time as a kid. Then in collage I changed majors 3 times until I came back to graphic design again.
Similar with bikes I suppose. I remember marking old Kawasaki sport bike models on huge bike catalogs. Deciding which bike and what gear I want when I grow up. This is when I was 5 years old.
Growing up in Istanbul, I never saw riding as an option. Traffic is horrible and people REALLY try to kill you in traffic over there especially if you're on a bike.
So then I moved to US at 21 years old. Still wasn't ready with my non-existent finances and time. Finally last few months of college, I decided to sell all my camera gear to buy my first bike, 2010 SE Ninjette. Like all my decisions in life, there was years of build up behind it. But it all happened super quickly once I decided to go for it.
Sold my camera gear, got the money, took MSF, bought my bike, took my M-licence I think all within 2 weeks time and there I was, riding.
Chris: What are your current goals?
Gurk: Become a consistently fast A group rider in any track I go to. Have a solid, precise riding technique. A lot of friends keep telling me I should race. And I absolutely will one day. But I like to approach things systematically. I know where I lack. And I don't NEED to race to get that stuff sorted. Basically focusing on a lot more riding coaching this year. Getting some proper instruction and going to track as often as possible like the last 2 years.
Chris: How do you relate to other local riders?
Gurk: At the moment, I don't. Just moved to the Bay Area and don't know many riders around. I'm as picky on rider friends as I am with my regular friends. I'm really not a huge group kind of guy anyway. I really need a few really close people to me that I can trust and share everything with. A few of them back in Socal for sure. Looking forward to find a few here too.
Chris: If you could ride anywhere, where would it be?
Gurk: Laguna Seca is now within reach. So I'm gonna say Catalunya!
Chris: Do you have any special skills that are unique?
Gurk: Unique? Not really. I have mean table tennis skills though?
Chris: What drives you to participate on ninjette?
Gurk: Sorry but if I'm honest, mostly boredom.
Chris: Who is the real Gurk?
Gurk: For most people, just some a$$hole. Which is totally fine For a few, a guy who just wants to ride, ride and ride and get better at everything he loves to do. If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing well. Even if it's playing a stupid computer game. Just get better at it! Super tiny baby steps forward is still positive progression
Chris: How does your family support your riding?
Gurk: They know how much it means to me and they are all happy to see me follow my passion. My mom was absolutely against bikes in general. But she knows I have a level head and since I ride track only, less worried that I might end up on someone's windshield.
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