Heading East

The adventuring academic. From one city to the next, trainee architect Gaëlle Bojko and her Bombtrack Arise are spending the year soaking up cycling culture across Europe.

Venturing alone from her home in north-western France on a grand lap around the outskirts of Europe, 22-year-old Gaëlle Bojko combines adventure with academia. Setting off with the intention of linking around twenty different towns, this solo ride will also form some of the research for Gaëlle’s upcoming Masters degree project.

“I wanted to spend a few days in each to discover its evolution, history and everyday life. I wasn’t aiming to learn everything about every town. That would require spending months, if not years, in each. Instead, I wanted a glimpse of their uniqueness.”

The plan was to gain insight into how each city has developed its own individual cycling culture. But the trip isn’t all work. Between these busy metropolises lies further adventure. With only a rough plan of her route, Gaëlle tends to set a direction, ride a hundred miles, and see where she ends up. From braving fierce snowstorms in Albania and Greece, to enjoying unexpected lunch invitations in rural Turkey, Gaëlle endures the landscape and climate, while throwing herself into the local culture.
"Heading East" is about Gaëlle's stage heading through Turkey towards the Georgian boarder.