‘The Commute’, Berlin to Koblenz — Bikepacking across Germany (again).
Personally, I find it hard to believe that I have never published an article about my incredible experience of riding across Germany in the middle of winter at the end of 2019. If my medium stats are anything to go by then a lot of you have read the series of posts that chronicled my first solo adventure back in 2018. If you missed it then check out the first in the series entitled ‘Canyon to Rapha’. Despite the main difference being that I rode in the opposite direction, there were lots of other things that set it apart from the previous edition:
- This time I was riding in winter and not the summer.
- As it was too cold to camp I stayed in hotels every night.
- Instead of going solo, I was joined by my good friend Mark (it’s also his fault we were riding in winter)
- I planned a completely different route, which was 99% of the time on roads rather than gravel. We only had 4 days to complete it as I needed to arrive in Koblenz on time to go to work the next day.
- That’s why I called it “The Commute”. I also had to carry a backpack with my laptop (amongst other things). Not the most comfortable set up I have to say.
- Lastly, this time I would be going through Meiningen — an ancestral home of sorts. My great great great grandfather was Augustus James Legionier Meiningen, and supposedly part of the royal family from this region. Saying that though, the only certain thing I could find out was that he went bankrupt at some point as it was announced in this edition of the London Gazette in 1862. Lad.
Now, back in 2018, I wrote 6 (six!!!!) posts about my trip, each going into painful detail about my adventure. However, I’ve been incredibly lax this time around because I made certain to record a podcast at the end of every day and finished with a wrap-up episode once the dust had settled and Mark was back in Paris. The documentation box had been ticked and I never felt the rush to write everything down before I forgot it. You can listen to that here if you are so inclined:
What more can I add that hasn’t already been discussed in an hour-long conversation; as well as those bleary-eyed updates every evening from the hotel room or random bar whilst waiting for food? For me, it’s a chance to reflect and peruse through the photos and remember how it felt. Interestingly, the feeling, the impression that is imprinted upon you every second of every day during the trip fades away very very quickly. It’s one of the most difficult things to have to deal with. It’s not the adversity of the trip, its the sense of nothingness that comes afterwards; the absence of achievement.
This trip had been insane. How can you so quickly forget? I suppose it’s the same way you don’t feel a tattoo on your skin. It’s there, but you would only know it from looking. The trip is the same, you can’t adequately describe every single thing that happened, and many small things have now been lost to the sands of time, only for the brain to pluck them out in 20 years time in a random unrelated conversation.
What I distinctly remember is being cold, tired, hungry, my sore knee, the pain in my stomach from the Ibruprofen, thinking how short the days were at this time of year, how I was suffering and Mark was fine, how much easier it was for Mark riding on 30mm tyres VS my nobbly 40mm tyres, how I just looked forward to a beer every night, how stupid this was, how I loved how ridiculous it was, how stunning so much of Germany is, how I wanted it to end already but also never end; did I mention beer?
Having ridden across Germany twice, in completely opposite directions and in completely different circumstances, would I do it again? Absolutely. Would I do it in the snow again? Nah, you’re alright. But it definitely added something different… it added a madness, a craziness, an impetus to get to our destination on time. What we lost in late-night rides in the summer haze were made up for with slow sunrises several hours in every morning. And I will never forget the beauty of climbing up through the woods to the ski resort in Thüringen in perfect silence; surrounded by snow and just the whirring of drivetrains and slush squelching under the wheels. That was a special moment indeed…. as was the hairy descent.
I still have one last task to do and that is to stitch together all the video footage that we took. The downside to having cold hands and gloves is that documentation has to be a bit forced. But regardless, I’m looking forward to going through the videos and reliving the moments a final time. Watch this space as I’ll be sure to shall that here on medium as well as on my YouTube channel. Where you can also find my video from the last trip. Be sure to leave a comment about how you hate the music ;)
Where should I go next? I suppose there is plenty of time to plan whilst the pandemic is still shredding all sense of normality. But when the dust has settled, I’m keen to get out and explore once more.
