A brief look back

Niklaus has had the idea of going on a longer bike trip for decades and has always put it off until after retirement. But at the age of 68, he is preparing to set off on April 1, 2024. Fortunately, the Rosa Luna cinema has also retired this year, so he has the summer off.

Why and how to the North Cape

Years ago, I read a report in Fridolin about a pensioner from Glarus who cycled up to the North Cape via Poland and Finland and then via Norway/Sweden/Germany. That’s when I said to myself that I would like to do something like that.

In 2023, I started to roughly plan the trip. Since I’ve been using komoot for a few years with reasonably good results (multi-day tours in Germany, Austria and Korea), I simply entered the key data Mollis and North Cape and got a rough idea that I would have to cover at least 3,900 km and a good 20,000 vertical meters. 100km and 500 vertical meters per day should be possible with my physical condition. Personally, I would like to spend a few extra days in Prague, Riga, Talinn, Helsinki and Stockholm. This led me to a rough estimate of 3 to 4 months. Since there is still a point north of the North Cape that can be reached on foot, I would of course like to hike it to Knivskjelodden (assuming the weather is reasonably good).

At the end of 2023, Werner B. (a friend of Gyong-Sug) asked me if we would like to cycle to Passau together, as he would like to integrate the Bavarian Forest into a bike tour. We briefly discussed whether we would prefer to cycle over the Arlberg/Innsbruck or along the Bodensee-Königsee cycle path and decided on the latter. It soon became clear that we would be leaving on April 1, 2024. So I started entering the route from Mollis to Prague on Komoot. Passau is around 450 km away from Mollis and 50 km (and a good 800 m further) is the start of the Czech Republic.

In the spring of ‘24 we received a request for a house swap from the Mertens family in Rösrath. My wife Gyong-Sug and I swapped houses with them last year (2023) and got on very well. That’s why we came up with the idea of stopping off at Mertens in Rösrath on the way back from July 14 to 28 and tackling the last 600 km home well rested (or shortening the journey by train).

Werner had good experiences with Bett und Bike on a tour around Germany. I can get an EU-wide unlimited cell phone subscription from Galaxus Mobile for 39 Fr./month. For the nice nights and where there is no accommodation (e.g. via AirBnB, Booking.com) nearby (which can happen in the far north), I take a tent with me. The route is planned on the move and I’ll let myself be surprised and sometimes take a detour if locals or bikers I meet recommend something.