Traveling by bike is both a challenge and a way to slow down. You travel faster than on foot and at the same time you experience everything much more intensely than with any other means of transport. And it is very exhausting, especially when you are traveling in the mountains.

It all started with a bike tour through the Netherlands. That's what you do when you live in Hanover and have good school friends. But always having the wind blowing from your head isn't fun in the long run.

And so the idea of a trip through the Dolomites down to Ravenna was born. A visit to Venice, which was not yet overcrowded at the time, was a must.

We became braver and set off from Munich to Istria (then still Yugoslavia). We crossed the Grossglockner and several other passes.

And the last of the big tours took us from Geneva to Nice along the Route Grandes Alpes.

All tours were always with luggage, tent and sleeping bag. At that time, we had converted racing bikes with 10 gears and a 28 tooth sprocket at the back. We had to make do with that.

After these long bike trips, there followed many weekend tours - mostly in Switzerland - and several participations in the Swiss Alpine Brevet (not always successful - but always a lot of fun).