On the road again

I open my eyes and stare at the white ceiling. Outside, the birds are chirping and the sun is bathing the day in a bright light. Tanja is still slumbering peacefully next to me. I watch them for a while and wonder how we will fare today? Today is the day of days. I’ve been waiting for it for almost a year and now the time has come. A surge of excitement shakes my body. Like every morning, I use the early hour to do my back exercises. The old mattress isn’t exactly suitable for this, but no matter, it gives me enough support to give my muscles the movement they need. “How are you feeling?” asks Tanja with a smile on her lips. “Great,” I fib a little, because although I’ve trained a lot in the last year, I’m feeling a bit sick. “It’s just cycling man,” my inner voice reassures me.

After a long shower and a delicious breakfast, we load up our riese und müller bikes. “Which bag do my sandals go in?” I ask, a little uncoordinated with excitement. “At the back left,” answers Tanja. Then I load the trailer and at the end the heavily packed road trains are ready and waiting in Huib’s garage. “Are you ready?” he wants to know. “Yes, we’re ready to go,” Tanja and I reply. “When will you be at the crossroads?” Huib asks again. “In 30 minutes,” I say, trying to get my unsteady voice under control. Then we push our bikes out of the garage and onto the dusty village road. We swing ourselves somewhat shakily into the saddle and, I can hardly believe it, my legs are spinning the crank. Nothing happens except that we roll forward the first few meters. We turn around again and wave to Huib’s neighbors, who are standing on the slope looking after us. “Hurray!” shouts Tanja happily. “Hooray!” it replies from my mouth. We turn onto the narrow asphalt strip and bump down the first slight hill. The weather is perfect. It’s not too hot and not too cold. People stand at their garden fence, on the street or in front of their houses and wave cautiously. All of Mariuta knows that the two Germans are leaving today. We pass fields scorched by the sun. From time to time we pass through light clouds of smoke. Plastic is burned and pollutes the village air. When we are through, it smells again like it should in the country. Birds warble their morning song. The first cars overtake us and welcome us with their horns. The riders are obviously happy to see the two strange-looking cyclists. Shortly before the village road meets the main road, Huib overtakes us in his jeep. He kindly brings us the heavy trailers so that we can get used to the loaded bikes for the first few kilometers. We then couple the trailers to the bikes under the interested gaze of a few passers-by. “Thank you again for your great help,” we say to Huib. “You’re welcome, it was a pleasure. I wish you a safe and pleasant journey,” he replies with a laugh. We swing back into the saddle, wave one last time and leave our angel in human form behind us.

From now on, we need to look ahead and leave the past behind us. The first few meters our road trains still sway a little, but with every meter we get used to the luggage again. Although we left a lot of equipment behind, my bike including trailer weighs about 105 kilograms and Tanja’s bike about 80 kilograms. Of course the question is justified why we have so much luggage with us? So it’s certainly not down to luxury, because as experienced expedition and travel professionals we are used to doing without it. It is solely down to the technology. As we report on our tour online on our website, we need a laptop, but a laptop that can withstand the constant shocks without immediately dying. We need film and cameras, lenses, cables, memory chips, solar patches and batteries to document our experiences. Why do you need it, some of you may ask. Because we have made it our mission to document our 30-year journey in pictures, film and writing. We see this as our greatest task, our vocation, our job and our life. So that’s why we cycle this weight. A weight that is a huge challenge for a cyclist. Even hills with a gradient of 7% are a serious challenge for body and mind. But the first 3000 kilometers from Lake Constance to here have shown us that our project is feasible. Although many die-hard cyclists said it wasn’t feasible. Some were also sure that we would soon give up. Well, we haven’t given up yet. On the contrary, the journey gave us a lot of pleasure despite the effort and now, after the involuntary interruption, we are even more motivated than before to reach our destination. But what does it mean to reach the goal? After all, life is about enjoying life. By which I mean that everyone needs at least one goal, but only so that we humans have a path. So, the age-old saying that the journey is the destination is justified. As travelers, we have inhaled this saying, we have understood it and are aware that what matters in life is being on the road. That is my goal. For me, that means enjoying life, that means being able to constantly tap into the source of experience, learning new things, understanding, gaining foresight. It simply means being able to live a high-quality life that is fulfilled to the max. But it also means being able to share these experiences with other people, with people who cannot have our experiences, for whatever reason. But it is also important to mention that every person, whether a traveler or not, has their own experiences. It doesn’t matter how he is traveling. The main thing is that he is on the move. Because being on the road means nothing more than living. How we humans want to travel is up to us. One prefers to seek his purpose in life in luxury. A big car, a nice house, a new stereo system, a plasma screen, etc. This time we prefer to pedal our heavy bikes voluntarily, with joy and confidence. None of us knows what the end result will be. We humans are responsible for our own actions. But one thing has been clear to me for a long time: Tanja’s and my life has been completely fulfilled so far. So enriched with events and experiences that, should it ever come to an end, we will not have missed anything. It’s strange, as soon as the daily routine of cycling begins, my thoughts are already revolving around the question of the meaning of our tour. I am relieved for the positive stream of thoughts.

“Denis? Shall we stop over there?” calls Tanja. “Sure, I’d love to!” I reply and steer my Roadtrain into the service area. “Good afternoon. You are welcome to park your bikes over there. Why don’t you sit under the trees there? You’ll have shade there,” the young gas station attendant invites us in a friendly manner. We are pleasantly surprised to have such a nice encounter on the very first day. Tired from the first 25 km, I let myself sink into the chair while Tanja goes into the small store. It doesn’t take long before I fall into a sleep of exhaustion. The excitement of whether everything would work out, whether my psyche would go on strike and this departure would again be thwarted by an unforeseeable incident took more out of me than I would like to admit. Tanja comes back and brings me a coffee. “Are you all right?” she asks. “Sure,” I reply, yawning.

A friendly-looking man approaches us. He hands Tanja a rose and a small teddy bear. “A present for you. It’s supposed to be your talisman and protect you,” we understand. “Oh, that’s very nice. Thank you very much,” Tanja replies with a laugh. The petrol station owner laughs too. Then he presses the little guy made of fabric on his stomach. “I love you! I love you!” he squeals, and we all laugh heartily together. “I can feel that you’re tired. We have a small lake and a modest hut not far from here. You are welcome to spend the night there if you wish. It’s a nice, quiet place. No one will disturb you. We don’t want any money for it,” the petrol station owner’s son offers us. Tanja and I can hardly believe our ears. We are sitting here as complete strangers, being given a rose and a talisman, a coffee and now the offer of a free overnight stay. Surely this can’t be right? Or can it? Is that life? Yes, it is. The life of a traveler. Encounters like this can also happen to you quite unexpectedly. Although we haven’t come very far today, it doesn’t take us long to decide. “We’d like to stay,” I say, which the family is really looking forward to. Just a few minutes later, an old Datcia drives ahead of us. We follow him until we leave the main road and turn off onto a dirt road. The landscape becomes more and more beautiful and lovely. Small lakes appear. The Datcia stops in front of a cute hut. This is where we are, says Andrei, the gas station attendant’s son, getting out of the car. He has learned his English on the Internet, which is why we can communicate very well. Dan, Andrei’s father, immediately sweeps the hut clean. “Feel at home here,” he says in broken English. If anyone comes at night, use this lamp. Just shine it on him and he’ll know someone is there. That will drive him away. If you still have problems with uninvited guests, we’ll give you our mobile number. Your cell phone works, doesn’t it?” he wants to know. “Yes,” we reply, still surprised at the unexpected hospitality.

Andrei and Dan leave us again. Suddenly, as if the two of them had been a mirage, we are alone at the lovely lake. “What should I say to that?” I ask Tanja. “Hm, great people, the Romanians,” she replies. “That’s right,” I say thoughtfully and am glad to be on the road again. “Do you like pasta with tomato pesto from Rapunzel?” she asks. “Oh yes”, I exclaim and feel my mouth water. Moments later, a pot of water sits on the stove. It doesn’t take long and Tanja has prepared a delicious meal for us. Although we’ve only covered 27 kilometers today, I’m ravenous. We enjoy a simple meal, look out over the lake and watch the flock of sheep on the opposite shore. A shepherd calmly goes about his business, leisurely driving the bleating crowd into a nearby enclosure. As if we were guests in a movie theater, we take in the calming scene. The sun bids farewell with a glowing red behind the hill. When it’s dark, we inflate our sleeping mats and lie down on the small terrace of the fisherman’s hut. We crawl into our sleeping bags and sweat because of the mosquitoes. Around three o’clock in the morning a strong wind comes up and chases the Mossis away.

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