3rd of November it is
by Can Akkaya
The 3rd of November 2008 was the date on our one-way flight tickets from Frankfurt to San Francisco. That’s the date on which Marion, Jill and I waved our friends goodbye, and on which we hugged our parents with tears flowing. It’s the date on which Jill just was four years old and did not understand what the hell was going on. The 3rd of November was the most surreal day of our lives, full of ups and downs of excitement and emotions.
Just a couple of days before that particular date, we celebrated a goodbye party in an apartment where we used to live temporararily while we sold our house. The stuff we wanted to keep was already on its way through the Panama Canal, in a wooden 8x8x10 box. Some stuff we couldn’t sell was auctioned to our friends under heavy tequila influence at the party. They supported us that way, because actually nobody needs a broken hand mixer. It was a hilarious party in that now-empty apartment, but there was always a cloud over it, with our friends looking in our eyes and asking a virtual “Are you fuckin’ serious?!” and “When are you coming back?!” In the morning, or more accurately in the middle of the hangover, the answer was confirmed and clarified…there was nothing that could stop us.
Until then it was a rocky road. Since October 2006 we were carrying the secret in our hearts that we were planning to leave Germany forever and that we had applied for a U.S. Green Card. You have no idea what needs to be done to get that document. How many forms we needed to fill out, attestations to get, $2,000 to spend, sweat and blood to give in physical exams, until we finally stood in the American Embassy in Frankfurt to swear by God to do good for the spirit and the flag of the United States…and nobody else knew about that!
That secret was burning on our tongues like a thousand jalapeños, which later felt like a million as we finally had the Green Cards in our pockets. That whole thing took one and a half years and we began to sell everything we could, actually without being 100% sure that we really wanted to do this. House, cars, jobs to cancel, moving and whatever…nobody knew about that except our family doctor. He did the “math” when we showed up and asked for shots you actually don’t need in Europe but need in order to get Green Cards for the U.S. So we got them and paid all this just to keep up the chance to begin a new life. The alternative was to live in regret not to have tried it. We encouraged ourselves with “Who says we can’t go back if we fail over there, but at least we can say that we had tried.”
One and a half years, Marion and I were sitting in an emotional rollercoaster. I mean… we weren’t 20 years old, where you just jump up with a “Yeehaa” where no responsibilities giving any restrictions to you. No… we developed a life, careers, a family, with all the stuff comes along with it. So yeah, that makes you not feeling good with it all the time, and Marion and me had each morning differences for a solution: “This is crazy and not realistic!” or “Oh my God, we go to America!” Sometimes I just sat there and stare on my GC, which has a very small image of Mrs. Liberty and the flag on its back. You can’t imagine what that symbol and the flag means to me! Finally we put it in God’s hands “If we can sell the house, God want we do it! The house was sold in a month.
Nuerburgring, Germany. It was the final race of an extremely tough season of the 250cc Grand Prix class. Four riders still had a chance to get the Champion Title if the leader didn’t reach a top-six position – one of them was Can Akkaya. The qualifying board was showing a difference of about four seconds from the 44th position to the pole, which was held by Can. Changing weather conditions on the race day turned the tire decision into a poker game. Can’s warm-up times on slicks were poor, caused by the inability of the team to find a proper setup for the conditions. The race began dry, but the organizer declared it a wet race. Can’s fight for a fifth or better position and a title seemed to be hopeless. Then the rain returned, and Can’s riding skills became apparent as he was able to maneuver his slicks better than his opponents to beat all other competitors to the finish lin. On that day, Can became vice-champion and earned a Honda contract. During his career as a professional racer, Akkaya earned several international wins and four lap records in the German IDM, Dutch and Spanish Open and European Championships on 250s and Superbikes. After his lap record on the Zolder Circuit in Belgium, Can’s fans renamed the track “Area 36.” Can had his Moto GP wild card in the pocket, but a bad crash in the qualifying on Hockenheimring kept him away from this dream. Months later, Can returned to the track with only one mission: to win and to retire from racing. Can won his last race.
Far away from racing and eight years later, Can rode just a cruiser “to be physically restricted,” and right after his daughter, Jill, was born he began to write his story on the Internet. 60,000 readers brought him a contract from a book publisher, and his “Racers-Story …25 Seconds…” went on to become very successful in German language countries. This book lets you feel alive and on the limit. Following the release of his book, Can received several offers to return to the world of racing. Can came back to the track as a test rider for a Ducati racing team. He wrote columns for several magazines and worked as the chief instructor at Germanys top racing school, where he taught around 1,400 students.
From a Wild Card to a Green Card – which Can received from the US government, allowing him to make a dream come true – he immigrated into the USA with his little family. Since November 2008, Can and his family have lived in California’s San Francisco bay area. It was not easy for the three to launch a new life in a country on the other side of the world, but they’re home. Not long after his move, Can took the next step in his life and started his own business – the Superbike-Coach Corp. – on his birthday in May. He developed and now offers the Road Skill course for any street/road rider, the Track Drill for the racer and track day rider, a Setup Course and the Wheelie Course for everybody, and recently the Knee Down course. Can’s first Road Skill course was booked out in only one week. He converted an idea to reality and developed and created a wheelie bar, which his students use during the Wheelie Course to prevent a backwards fall on the wheelie bike. In only six months, Can established his business, the Superbike-Coach, in California’s motorcycle scene. The websites 
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