In July 2024, I spent my 29th birthday on a four-day solo ride.
Starting in Munich, I crossed Brenner Pass and kept heading south until I reached Venice. The whole journey covered more than 530 kilometres. For me, it was more than a long-distance ride from one city to another. It felt like a compressed slice of life: full of scenery, physical limits, small unexpected mechanical problems, and well-timed kindness from strangers.
Leaving Munich, the landscape shifted gradually from the edges of the city to foothills, forests, lakes, alpine passes, and finally the plains to the south. On a map, the route looks like a simple line. On the bike, it turns into heat, gradients, resupply stops, split-second decisions, and persistence. “Crossing the Alps” stops being a phrase and becomes something you have to pedal into reality, one climb at a time.
The first moment I remember most clearly happened on the very first day. It was peak summer, and somewhere around Brenner Pass I was close to overheating and dizziness. In the distance I spotted a café, and from that point on I had only one thought left: get there, buy something cold, and cool down. But just as I was about to reach it, I failed to notice the curb and toppled over at almost zero speed right in front of the entrance.
Looking back, it was embarrassing, but it is also why I still remember the exact place: Cafe Maria (Dorf 3, 6071 Aldrans, Austria). The owner was incredibly kind. He gave me disinfectant, an ice-cold Coke, and coffee to help me recover from the heat. On a long ride, what keeps you moving is not only willpower, but also this kind of timely kindness from strangers.
The second unforgettable moment happened in Trentino, near Civezzano (38045, Autonomous Province of Trento), while climbing. Halfway up, the cleats on my cycling shoes had worn down so badly that I could no longer clip in properly. On a long-distance ride, that is not a problem you can simply ignore. The only option was to descend in the heat to Trento and find a bike shop.
What I expected to be a rushed and frustrating fix turned into the opposite. The service at the Italian bike shop was exceptionally thoughtful. One of the staff carefully checked the fit of my shoes, replaced the cleats, and did not even charge for the service. Trips like this are always interrupted by things that do not go to plan, but that is also when human warmth becomes especially concrete.
Of course, this ride was not defined only by difficulty. The whole way was filled with mountains, lakes, forests, and summer colours that kept changing hour by hour. But even more memorable than the scenery were the people I met along the way. Some saw me off, some helped me, and some appeared only briefly, without even leaving a name, yet arrived exactly when I needed them most. The repeated acts of setting off and saying goodbye gave the journey a meaning beyond cycling itself. In a way, it felt like an abstract version of life: a reminder to cherish what is in front of you, and to learn how to say goodbye well.
Special thanks to Xiao Zhang Da Pro for the send-off in Bavaria, and to all the unnamed friends I met along the way in Austria and Italy. You turned this solo crossing from the gateway to the Alps to the city on water into more than a personal challenge. Even now, it remains a journey I remember with real warmth.
Route Information
- Dates: 18–21 July 2024
- Format: four-day solo ride
- Route: Munich → Brenner Pass → Trentino → Venice
- Total distance: approx. 530+ km
Comments
Join with GitHub or email