“Don't worry, if there's one thing I can really do, it's ride a bike,” I tell my parents. I don't really believe I can pull it off. I pack the bike: dry bags for the rain, tent, sleeping mat, sleeping bag. Cooking gear and water bottles. Coffee, porridge, peanut butter, bananas and a lot of nuts. Off I go.
Hot, dry days and cold, damp nights. Unforgiving Catalan mountains and cute medieval towns. Barely rideable trails, breathtaking views, the best descents of my life. Perpignan, long hills, even worse trails, vineyards. It rains for the first time, and a lot. Day nine. A dry break in Béziers to plan the route: at this pace I'll need a month to reach Berlin.
The Cévennes, the Ardèche, Valence. Fog rolls in, cold and damp days, much colder and damper nights. Perfect timing to lose my gloves. I don't know if I can do this. Set up camp, warm up, drink tea. I stretch, send messages, cook dinner, fall asleep.
A few hours of sunshine near Strasbourg. Now I believe I can actually do this. Karlsruhe, Würzburg, Erfurt, Halle, Potsdam. I'm really going to make it! Nine full days of rain and fog — what does “dry” even mean anymore?
From Potsdam to Neukölln it feels like coming home from a regular workday. Wild camping in forests and fields, two campsites, one room for a badly needed shower. 2,147 km and 19 days. From 25°C to 5°C. From home to home. From Barcelona to Berlin.
Courier La Luz #31 belongs to CROW Courier, which replaces cars with cargo bikes and, in doing so, helps improve quality of life in the city.