heraklix - bikepacking europe - live

[alpenzorro]

hi bikepackers.

(writing this from a beach in greece after a perfect sunset and weeks of heavy singletrail action)

just in case any of you speak german, or dare to try google translation, or simply like mountainbike-selftimer-shots or a moving live dot on the map...

i am currently bikepacking "european style" from the island of crete through greece, albania, macedonia, bosnia, croatia, slovenia and italy into the alps.

the trip has been running for around 3 weeks already and is live on the internet at
http://www.mtb-news.de/forum/showthread.php?p=5862777
(english comments welcome)

just the pics & tracks:
http://www.alpenzorro.de/heraklix/

right... stars are coming up... time to sleep now. shorebreak sounds always me so tired :-)

[Marshal]

look like you are having way to much fun from the pics, I wish I could..............

Say, what is that on the front of your bike, a map(s)?

[alpenzorro]

i always pin the "titlepic" of the trip (in this case http://www.alpenzorro.de/heraklix/data/heraklix.jpg ) to my bike. helps a lot to meet people, get free beers, etcpp if you place your bike outside a cafe :-).

and even in countries where you have no clue of the language (like morocco during last years trip), people grasp immediately what youre doing. big plus for friendly smiles.

[ScottM]

 

A 'big picture' map on the bars is a good idea.  People often have a hard time grasping long distance cycling...  funny.

[alpenzorro]

next time i´ll superimpose some difficult singletrail action shot as well. to point out the difference to "normal" touring cyclists with 30k of luggage :-).

a singletrail pic will also help when asking locals about places to ride. people tend to point you to good roads otherwise, whis is not exactly what i´m looking for.

[Slim]

Looks like a great trip, I'm very jealous! The picture idea is great!

[wunnspeed]

Very cool! My wife and I are looking at doing the Iron Curtain trail in pieces from the top of Finland to the Med. Ocean. It's a long way and we'll be doing some local expermental trips from our home in Munich. Thanks for the inspiration.

How did you choose your route? From the pics, it looks like you did it mostly off-road. I'm jealous as my wife isn't much of a mountain biker but she is a hell of a roadie. Therefore, at most it'll be dirt/gravel (Schotterweg) for us.

[Slim]

I see you have a blue bike now instead of the black one. Did the black one die in an accident or just from wear and tear?

[alpenzorro]

i tend to break my frames every now and then. fortunately, i have a good sponsor who doesnt get fed up with me and keeps sending me the latest and greatest stuff to wherever i am

i broke two frames on this trip already. one from an accident (crash in greece produced a dent in the frame, broke at that spot 3 months later). the second breakage was without external influence, maybe just unlucky. new bike is a bit sturdier, maybe better suited for my cycling style...