Another Long Ride | bikepacking 2400 km across the Alps

After 2000 kilometers our trip is almost over now. There were quite a few nights during this trip that I wished to be in my bed instead of the wet tent. But tonight, tonight I wish there would still be more nights. This time our bikes took us to Switzerland, Alsace to visit our families in Belgium and the Czech Republic, eating lots of cakes and elevation gain in Austria and the Dolomites and our month-long tour ends where it began, in the French Alps. No matter how many big journeys I've already traveled, every time there's a new one I'm panicking and stressed and questioning my choices and capabilities. But as always the first step out of the door is the hardest one and all the worries they disappear the moment I set off. What's been forgotten can be replaced and what goes wrong can be solved. When I set off the anxiety of the unexpected is replaced by the thrill of exploration. And so we packed our bikes, left the worries at home and set off for another long ride. To sleep at funny places, to eat like piggies and to experience as much as we can in the time we have. Climbing endless hills and eating mountains worth of cakes, knowing already that at the end it probably still won't be enough to satisfy our lust for adventure. We ride our bikes through many beautiful places but what we are enjoying the most are the little things in between. Cozy place to sleep and good food to eat. The golden triangle of life on the road. Bells of all the free-ranged cows became the official soundtrack for the beginning of our journey and the cheese our favorite lunch. And one of our favorite activities was visiting these self-service shops where you could buy delicious fresh produce straight from the local farmers. The mist often hang low casting a mysterious whale over the mountains and glaciers revealing a bit of their beauty but never too much at once. Inviting us to imagine what's behind and paint a picture of our own. When we started the plan was to ride through Switzerland and then cross through Italy via the Stelvio pass but the weather was not playing along. Cold and wet, some passes still closed or under a fresh layer of snow, we decided to change direction. For both of us pushing through difficulties can be great fun but it's also important to know when to pursue joy instead of challenge. And so we are heading north. By this time we imagine ourselves enjoying the high mountains and now you are cycling further away from them. With the bad weather and long days in the saddle I started to feel a bit worn off. As solo travelers we know well that each journey has its ups and downs. This time we traded solo travels for traveling side by side which made riding through those ups and downs easier in many ways but harder in others. Now it's not just about my needs and my wants, my highs and my lows, it's about sharing all of that and joy is sweeter when shared. But what about all those other times when when I missed a meal or haven't slept enough or I didn't have my morning cup of coffee? But then for the most part there are the good times when everything clicks and we're laughing over the silliest things. It's nice to have someone else there to share the weight and especially the lightness. Soon we found ourselves in Alsace, a place we knew nothing about but quickly fell in love with. As we didn't plan on cycling here everything was just such a nice surprise. That's the thing about expectations, when you have none there's a chance you will enjoy yourself so much more. And we cycled through like kids who just got their first bikes, eyes wide open with excitement at each new turn. Then the heavy rain caught up so we took a train to Brussels to catch up with Amaury's family and calories. We left Brussels a few kilos heavier and went on a digestive 12-hour bus ride to Dresden. From there we started cycling across the Czech Republic, across where I come from. Last year I crossed the border to the Czech Republic after a month and a half on my first backpacking trip. It was the big goal I was cycling towards every day and the line on the map would announce the end of a chapter. This time I was just happy to be home, riding my bike with my favorite person, seeing my mom and my best friend in just a few days. And those days were hard on the body but there was so much lightness in the soul and that's what bikes really are about, having a good time. Before my trip last year bikes were just a rideable object but it quickly changed into a great passion and my life started to revolve around pushing the pedals. Now it's a powerful tool to explore the world outside and within me. And for this adventure we took our road bikes but that didn't stop us from exploring some paths less traveled. Today at the campfire Amaury asked me when did I realize that I enjoy camping. And I always loved time in nature. My mom was teaching me to see the beauty of this world ever since I was little. And one of my favorite childhood memories is hunting for mushrooms, playing in the forest or swimming in the river with frogs. Mountains were always this safe place where everything is all right, where everything makes sense. I feel free in the wilderness, at peace in the silence. For me mountains are about belonging. I can go anywhere in the world and wherever I place my tent I find peace of home. They give me this feeling that my mom, the blueberry dumplings and the cheap beer. At the end of the day cycling under the warm summer evening light it felt like a little bike ride by the river could take any trouble away. At least until we couldn't find a good place for the tent apart from a very overpriced camping next to a construction site. Woken up after two hours of sleep full of new mosquito bites suddenly I was not breathing for adventure. The romance of the travel was not to be found. It didn't make any sense to be pushing myself up those stupid hills. But then I had something to eat. I played with kittens, had some wine with the sunsets and it all made sense again. Underneath my roller coaster like emotional state life is generally pretty sweet. Peace and sense must be created. It's a mindset that must be taken care of. And in the past few months I was forgetting. Glass was becoming rather half empty than half full. Even though objectively life has been as full as I ever wished for it to be. It's easy to forget if I don't find place in my days to notice. In the end we can take our heads to as many beautiful places as we want. But we can make it feel nice only from within. This high alpine road surrounded by glaciers promised a heavenly climb but personally I went through hell. Sure it was a tough climb but it was the mind that was struggling through this one. It just felt like a fight. Against the wind that nearly knocked me off my bike several times. Against the heat and against the constant noise of motorcycles and racing cars. After hours of this I didn't know how much more I could take. Normally I go high up in the mountains to find peace and silence. Here the higher I went the louder it got. By the time I reached the top I was completely spent. Not every part of adventure is just filled with joy and butterflies. Sometimes it's hard and maybe that's where the real beauty lies. Not in the views but in this strength within us that allows us to keep going even though everything within us wants to stop. The Dolomites. Those breathtaking giants were our north start of the trip. All we have cycled so far was to get closer to them and now we have arrived and they are truly as incredible as we imagined. But what we haven't imagined was that all those places that we have passed by before, whether it was Alsace, Belgium or the Czech Republic, weren't any less amazing. In fact whether you are in the suburbs of Germany or on the most beautiful places in the Dolomites it doesn't really matter as long as you have your bike and a fine company. Life just feels prime Actually the route shows us the right place for our tent or our fatigue tells us when it's time to stop. And over time I've learned that when I trust in my way it always takes care of me. Sometimes all it takes is to knock on a stranger's door asking for a piece of ground to place your tent and you end up with a meal and a warm place to sleep. Today we slept on a picnic table, drank fresh apple juice in the peaceful upper valley and climbed the Stelvio Pass. This mythical climb is famous for its 48 hairpin turns. We began near Merano at just 400 meters above the sea level and by the time we reached the summit at 2760 meters we had ascended the It was a wonderful ride. We were lucky to have very little traffic and it felt like the whole pass belongs to us and to the marmots of course. Somewhere on the way I finally reached the point of the travel when dirt doesn't have the same meaning anymore. Once you reach a certain point of discomfort everything becomes more comfortable. It's about caring less and living more. Many things that seem wrong at first turn out just fine. Like wearing my dirty clothes too long or not washing the fruit before I eat it. It's just not that big of a deal. Letting go of the constant control of things. Sometimes caring less is really the key to happiness. I might be a bit dirty but at peace. And the same goes for stuff. The less stuff I carry the more peace I have. Being minimalistic and practical is a mindset that shifts your perspective from stuff to experience. sometimes protecting us from the otherwise harsh sun. And it was magical. Riding into the clouds watching them making their way through the mountains just like us. Sometimes I romanticize nights in my tent later when I look back at it rather than when I'm actually in it. Sometimes you have the perfect spot and the picture you took looks dreamy but the wind didn't let you sleep or you wake up with the most keto bites or the worst case there's no more gas for morning coffee. It's easier to accept discomfort feeling dirty and tired when you know there's an end to it soon. And it's exactly in these bittersweet moments tinted by finality that I start to appreciate it all the most. To be dirty, tired and free. Tonight I didn't have to wait for the romance. It just felt perfect. All of it. Even my stupidly huge collection of mosquito bites. Tonight I feel at peace. The calmness of the altitude goes directly into my soul. Thinking that the only thing that I need more of in life are more nights above the treeline. The altitude helps to get above me, above my minuscule problems, observing myself as if from a passing cloud. I find a peace of mind that I'm longing for. Observing, absorbing and exploring all the immense beauty of our world. The more I travel by bike the smaller the world seems to be. Everything seems to be just a bike ride away and this mindset brings so much feeling of freedom into our lives. The map is no longer just a piece of paper marked with lines and foreign names. It becomes home to many memories. A storybook of places where I slept, ate, struggled and found joy.