Bet you didn’t know So I started my adventure–mountain biking. I started by riding my bike through the woods around the house. My first route was a circle of approximately 20 km (12 miles) which took be about 60 to 90 minutes to complete. Once in awhile I would get lost in the woods, which extended my rides about two to four hours. It was a pain to get lost, but since I was getting in shape and the forest was so beautiful, it was a good kind of pain - if there is such a thing. After about three to four years I was consistently riding 60 – 70 km (37 - 43 miles) with 1,200 – 1,500 m (4,000 – 5,000 ft) of total climb. My friend frequently joined me on my training rides. It was great having him along because when you ride alone you run out of topics to talk to yourself about, and the deer and foxes don’t really join in on your conversations. By the end of 2008, some of my friends came up with the idea to cross the Alps on a mountain bike. As I was still at the beginning of my “getting my body back in sexy shape business”, I wasn’t sure if I could do it. My wife, however, committed me for the tour without me knowing it. So I had no other choice but to join the group. Now I had to train harder than ever. I set a personal goal to ride 3,000 km (1,900 miles) from January 2009 until the tour started in August of 2009. The organizer of the tour had recommended riding 2,000 km (1,200 miles), but I didn’t want to be “the fool of the Tour” – the guy everybody needs to wait for - which is why I bumped up my training by 1000 km. Slowly, but surely, I started losing weight and getting in better shape. All in all, I lost about 13 kg (29 lbs) of body fat preparing for the tour. The tour consisted of a 390 km (240 miles) ride from Garmisch, Germany, to Nauders, Austria, then onto Meran, Austria to Coredo, Italy and then finally to Riva del Garda, Italy, with a total of climb of 8,300 m (27,230 ft) in five days! Of course, we had no idea when we signed up for this torture fest, that it was going to be the hottest week of the year. Every day the sun greeted us in the morning and put us to bed at night. Every day we were exposed to 30°C (86°F) plus temperatures, with intense UV exposure while riding at altitude. Although there was no escape from the sun, I loved it! As a person who can handle the heat, all of these factors combined to give me one of the best experiences of my life.
Eibsee, Germany
Reschensee, Italy
On the way to Brenta
View of Berwang, Austria
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