Cycling from Munich to Berlin in one go.
Rapha Festive 500
Every year, thousands of cyclists around the world challenge themselves of cycling 500 kilometres between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. A friend and I wanted to compete the challenge in one single ride. So, on the 28th to the 29th of December, we started our ultra-cycling journey. But first, let’s go back a few weeks.
The idea for this route had been in my head for a while. Wouldn’t it be cool to cycle from your hometown into the capitol? Yes, it would! And with Rapha Clubhouses in both towns, it was the perfect trip for the Festive 500 challenge.
That’s why I told my friend Sebastian on a nice evening in the climbing gym about my idea. I didn’t expect much of it, especially because we originally wanted to spend our New Year’s Eve in a warm Italian village. But as the evening went on, we decided to do it. At this moment I was really hooked to finally ride. Everything was perfectly planned. At least I thought so until we were on the road.
11am. Right on time, we entered the Rapha Clubhouse in Munich. The stuff did a picture of us, and we went on. The first part of the route was just perfect. We had tailwind and the roads were just perfect. It was too good to be true, but then after 270 kilometres the problems began.
Even if we wanted to finish together, we cycled a lot of the times apart from each other due to pace differences. That’s why I waited behind the Czech border and Sebastian overtook me and continued to the next stop. We didn’t know at this moment that I would get a flat tyre after I followed him for a maximum of 5 meters. Normally it shouldn’t be a concern.
I tried to change my tyre and saw that the valve was open. Hoping that this was the only reason for the flat tyre, but after a few hundred meters the tyre went flat again. In the distance I saw a gas station. There I tried to change the inner tube. Unfortunately, both of my spare tubes were broken. However, that could happen. The biggest issue was that we both had no cell service. That’s why I walked back to the German border, and we luckily could call each other, only because Sebastian had WLAN at another gas station. He then cycled back to help me while I was walking back to the gas station where I tried to change my tyre. Unlucky, the gas station closed at this time. After almost one and a half hours, we could continue.
Back on the bike we had the pleasure of brutal road with a lot of potholes, cobblestones, and steep climbs. And of course, it started to rain. One thing you could have imagined if you cycle in the winter.
At this time, we were pretty done. Sebastian fought against knee pain, and I got some nasty breathing problems due to the cold air, which didn’t let me breath, drink or eat without pain.
The hardest point on our trip was after another steep climb with a lot of cobblestones. There, I just wanted to relax awhile on the pavement, not expecting that people would stop and ask if I was okay. Maybe it was time to change the place.
We moved on and on the way to Leipzig I stopped at a pharmacy, where they gave me medicine for my breathing difficulties. After all the ups and downs until that moment, I was back on fire.
On the map, it seemed that the last 200 kilometres would be nice and easy. That was not true. Many long climbs. Always up and down. And of course, another flat tyre for me. Reaching Berlin felt fantastic, but it should stop fast with another flat tyre, but this time not for me. With all these problems, the sun had already set again, which we didn’t hope for.
At the end, we finally saw the Brandenburg Gate. It was the best feeling, getting closer and closer. Of course, we did a short stop, but then quickly went on to Rapha Berlin. I couldn’t have imagined a better arrival. Everyone knew that we were coming, and they gave us a warm welcome.
Back in the Munich, the biggest job had to be done. We filmed the whole trip and all the footage had to be watched and edited. Thanks again to Rapha Munich for presenting this film together in the Clubhouse. Now it’s your turn to watch it down below.