BY Agnes T Cockburn

FEW people in Harlow would have failed to hear about Mehmet Cakmak’s fantastic Cyclothon from Harlow to Ankara in Turkey. For those who might have been away or asleep let’s have a recap: Mehmet, owner of Bush Fair’s Café Pizzaria set off from Harlow on Saturday 16th April determined not only to reach Ankara but also to raise £5,000 for St Clare Hospice. So far he has raised nearly £3,000 and his journey has taken him through Holland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and on Saturday 28th May, after cycling almost 200km in the extreme heat of 37* for 9 hours, Mehmet arrived at the Turkish border of Kapikule.

Yesterday, Your Harlow caught up with Mehmet’s daughter Clare Cam, in between serving customers at Café Pizzaria. “It’s been a busy time for the Cakmak family” Clare explained, “Keeping an eye on and a helping hand in the business in Dad’s absence, tracking his progress and doing what we can to help him reach his fundraising target. The support has been great, all of our customers keep asking about Mehmet’s progress and many have made donations. We think Dad will reach Ankara in the next week or so and we’d love him to have hit his target by then. That means reminding the people of Harlow of his phenomenal effort so we can raise the last £2,000 required.”

Mehmet’s wife Karen has flown out to spend the weekend with him in Istanbul before he gets back in the saddle. You might think that in-between his mini-marathons Mehmet would be resting up but on arrival in Turkey he was persuaded by a group from an Edirne cycle shop to take a day trip to Greece – on his bike of course!

Your Harlow will continue bring your updates on Mehmet’s progress and encourage you to support his funding raising efforts. For more information please visit

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Mehmet-Cakmak