Müjde pedals with hands from Holland to Turkey

Emel Alptekin EDİRNE

Funda Müjde, a paraplegic actress, has entered Turkey on a bike that she pedals using her hands, and is now en route to Istanbul.

The journey began 4,000 km away in the Netherlands on May 28, after a long period of training and efforts to find sponsors that would help with her accommodation and expenses along the way.

“I have received no injuries since training. I feel healthy and energetic,” Müjde told daily Radikal after her entry into Turkey. However, she did complain that she had put on weight during her journey as she had eaten too much.

Raised as a daughter of Turkish migrants in the Netherlands, Müjde has always been keen on cycling and described the Netherlands as “a heaven for cyclists.”

She suffered a road accident during a visit to Istanbul in 2007, which resulted in parts of her body being paralyzed.

Ron Miedem, now her husband, proposed to her on the phone right before the operation upon hearing of the accident, she said.

Miedem accompanied her all the way to Turkey on a motorbike.

Representatives from the Netherlands consulate were at the Kapıkule border gate to welcome Müjde, and she is expected to arrive in Istanbul over the weekend, with many cyclists scheduled to meet her in the city center.