18.08.2016 Dresden, Germany
Finally. I´m on my way. After so many months of working and planning but still not knowing if I´m ever going to leave I finally got started on my trip. So many friends and family members already had the chance to travel for a longer period but now my time has come. The first chapter of my journey, my adventure would start on August 8 2016.
You should know, my plans for this trip have changed many times over the past years. The original plan was to explore the middle east. Countries like Lebanon, Israel, Iran and Afghanistan. So it was clear to me that I want to travel along the Silk Road. First I wanted to do it by train then I planned on doing it by car but in the end – inspired by my parents who cycled through New Zealand and parts of Australia and China back in the days – I decided to travel by bicycle. Fast forward one year: I changed the route and basically everything but the idea of cycletouring. So now my plan was to cycle from Innsbruck to Warsaw, take a train to Moscow and take the Transiberian to Ulaan Baatar in Mongolia, ride around that region for a while and then continue in China. Everything from that point on depends on whether I want to make more of an adventure out of it and cycle the Silk Road or just take it easy and make my way to New Zealand or Japan. For then everything that mattered was to get my bum out on the road.
But that wasn´t as easy as you might think. First I had to fill up my bank account and try not to empty it as quick as usually. Then I had to apply for my visa for Russia and Mongolia and I had to get all the equipment (including the right touring bike). I don´t want to get too far into detail but if you want to find out more about my packing list just send me a message.
So there it was. August 8. I didn´t think I´d be all set and ready to leave by then but somehow I made it – big thanks to my father who was more than a great help at all the preparations.
I said goodbye to friends and relatives two days in advance so the actual departure wouldn´t be that stressful. After a last delicious breakfast I left at about 10 in the morning. The only person that really waved me goodbye in the end was my mother.
So there I was. Cycling through the streets of our village, knowing that I wasn´t going to see that place again for a long time. You might think that was a sad, sentimental moment – it was not. I was just really glad I had finally left. Of course I knew I was going to miss my family and friends but that village – maybe not too much for a while.
I thought I´d know my way around the villages down to the valley – since I’ve been living here for 20 years – but I already took a wrong turn just about two kilometers away from my home (wanted to cycle to Ampass but took the road to Tulfes instead for those who are curious). Imagine that. You want to cycle through Mongolia and China but you already fail at making your way to the next village. You wouldn´t believe how embarrassed I was. But I just went along with it as there was another way down to the valley. If said road weren’t closed due to construction – which I had to find out was of course the case. A construction worker told me to just cycle back and take the other route down. Of course I wasn´t going to do that. Cycle back? On my first day? No way! So I ended up cycling up a mountain (Glungezer) for about 25 minutes ( my bike weighs about 40 kilograms with all the luggage and supplies on it – no biggie). At some point I had to take a break from exhaustion. You have to know – I started this trip untrained and unexperienced. As I was sitting there covered in sweats and with sincere doubts about the whole idea, two elderly women on their e-bikes passed by me and stopped when they saw my fully packed bike.
Translated conversation:
Women: “Do you speak German?”
Me: “Yes.”
W: “Where are you from?”
M: *blushing* “Igls.”
W: “Ohh isn’t that sweet. A young man from Igls. Where are you heading?”
M: *red-faced* “Ehhm…Mongolia. I hope.”
W: “Well that’s still a long way to go, you better continue.”
M: *literally as red as a tomato by now* “Uhm…yea, guess so. Do you happen to know how I can get down into the valley?”
They started laughing and showed me the way. I waited for them to disappear so they wouldn’t witness me gasping for air while continuing my way up the mountain. The road down was steep and I noticed how awful my brakes are with all that luggage on for the first time.
From the valley on I took the cycling route along the Inn (our local river) heading to Germany. When I took my first break I met Tobias. A friendly 26 y/o Dutch cyclist who spent the past 3 weeks cycling from the Netherlands all the way to Berchtesgaden. After a short chat I continued my ride but we met again later and went to a campsite together near Jenbach. So I rode about 50 kilometers on that day. I could have gone further but I decided that it was enough for the first day.
After I put up my tent I wanted to cook some noodle soup for dinner. But somehow my petrol based stove wouldn´t work. The flame was just not as big as it used to be and the smell was awful. I figured it was because I used regular car petrol instead of a specially filtered one. So while Tobias was cooking pasta, beans and even a steak for himself I sat there eating a not even half way cooked chinese noodle soup. Tobias even offered me to use his stove but i was to stubborn to take it.
The next morning I woke up with heavy rain. Rain that was going to last for the next 4 days until I reached Regensburg. Cycling with that weather was tough. All of my gear got wet and I never had a chance to dry any of it. But on the plus side I didn´t need campsites anymore because there was no need for a shower after a long day of heavy rain. Still cycling through Bavaria was fun. People were quite welcoming and hospitable. One cyclist gave me a bottle of filtered petrol just after I mentioned that I didn´t have any. A girl cycling home from work invited me in for burgers, pizza and beer and let me take a proper shower just after I asked her for the way (and she probably smelled my need for a shower). She even helped me planning my further route so I wouldn’t get lost on the way again. Once the night arrived and her boyfriend came home I got kinda kicked out – riding your bike on a busy state road in the darkness after a couple of beers to look for a place to put up your tent may sound like fun but I can assure you it´s not. But just the morning after while I was preparing everything to go on the road again a guy who saw my tent from his kitchen window walked up to me and asked if I needed breakfast, coffee or anything else before I leave. I was amazed by that level of hospitality.
So the days went on. I cycled longer, faster and further everyday and what was all exciting and exhausting in the beginning soon became routine. I had to do some repairs on my bike every now and then – mostly on the rear brakes and rim – and I also took half a day off once the sun came out again and I could dry all my stuff.
I mostly camped on meadows a little offside the road, on sport grounds (one time they even left the cabinets unlocked – free shower) or out in the woods. Only when all my stuff (and with all my stuff I mean me) started smelling quite intensively I decided to stay at a campsite.
So now after 10 days and about 700 kilometers of cycling I finally reached Dresden. That might not be a lot, but for a rookie like me who used to think a cyclist is just beer mixed with lemonade that is quite a good start (Radler – German speakers will get the reference)! However the last 150 km were the hardest. Always climbing up and down the hills that Germans call mountains but I still made it. Now I’m waiting for my friend Robert to arrive so we can make our way to Warsaw together!
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