Dreams on tracks.
Having already travelled first through Europe and then, with Tiphaine, through Africa on the TX-400 from our Expedition series in 2017 and 2018, the pair were planning a cycling trip from Germany to Thailand for 2020. We all know what happened then to upset their plans. 2020 passed by and both felt that the situation was not likely to change much. So the two world travellers set off in March 2021 on a trip “just” around Germany. 15 of the 16 federal states were planned when it turned out, in early summer – just before the tour was completed – that travel in Europe was about to become easier.
A tour of Germany becomes a European trip.
The pair spontaneously decided to continue their journey south. The Black Forest offered a first taste of the Alps in terms of climbs, and one highlight followed the next: from Lake Constance to Austria, over the Arlberg Pass to Tyrol and then over the Reschen Pass to South Tyrol. Here they discovered the gorgeous route from Lake Reschen to Bolzano - on extraordinary cycle paths from snow-covered peaks down to flowering gardens. As they neared the Mediterranean, however, they rode back to the Pustertal valley and later on to the "Lunga via delle Dolomiti" with the impressive Dolomite peaks of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo and Monte Cristallo.
Once the pair had passed through Italy to reach the French Riviera, they followed the Mediterranean coastline all the way to the Pyrenees and the Spanish border.
If the South of France is great, Norway is too.
Although the south of France was really beautiful, Tiphaine and Martin decided to spend the summer on their bikes in Scandinavia. So back to Flensburg and later along the Danish west coast: dreamlike dune landscape, great bike paths and the ingenious shelter system: free overnight places with water and toilet.
Then we took the ferry to Larvik, Norway. Perhaps the wildest country in Europe greeted us from its best side: sunshine at 25°, fantastic swimming lakes and thanks to everyone's right, always a great place to camp. Over Geilo it went the "Rallarsvegen" along, the former railroad worker runway over the dreamlike plateau "Hardangervidda". Over mountain passes, tunnels and a ferry connection finally went to Trondheim. From there they drove north along the dream road "Kystriksveien" on the Norwegian Atlantic coast. Their northernmost destination was the Lofoten archipelago - perfect for a combination of cycling and hiking. They were rewarded for crisp mountain climbing with breathtaking views of islands and fishing villages. From here, they took a Hurtigruten ship back to the mainland and continued on their bikes to Sweden. Once there, the route took us south on gravel roads. Tiphaine and Martin rarely encountered cars and discovered the loneliness of the sparsely populated, wild area. But although wolverines, bears, wolves and lynxes are also widespread there, the two were allowed to be content with countless reindeer. Via Gothenburg, they slowly made their way back to Germany.
Stopover vsf fahrradmanufaktur
Since we don't meet most globetrotters live, we were delighted to see Tiphaine and Martin. Thereby we overhauled the bikes of the two super-sympathetic globetrotters in the workshop without further ado and informed ourselves about their further plans, which the two - as you can read below - have already impressively put into practice.
The american dream.
Dreams on tracks – Tiphaine and Martin were “at home on the road”.
Tiphaine and Martin had only just finished their tour of Europe when they were off again on their TX-400 bicycles to take to the roads of another continent. After just 3 weeks’ rest and preparation, they packed their bikes in crates to check them in at Brussels airport.
Destination: Cancun, Mexico!
Once they arrived, they travelled to Puerto Morelos, a pretty little town on the Caribbean coast. There, they put the bikes back together and got used to the summer temperatures. After a few days, they couldn’t wait to get back on the road with their TX-400s – along the Caribbean coast towards Merida, capital of the Yucatan peninsula. The first 500 km went by in a flash, with amazing sights to see: calm roads, friendly people, perfect beaches, incredible fauna and fresh, delicious fruit everywhere you went. In short: the biggest possible contrast to their previous tour of northern Europe.
Along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico they headed north including a one-month loop into neighboring Guatemala with tours over mountains and volcanoes. With strenuous ups and downs, they headed back to Mexico. After almost 6,000 km on their TX-400, Tiphaine and Martin then crossed the border into the USA, from where they first headed to Los Angeles on gorgeous coastal roads along the Pacific Ocean. From there they set off for the Sequoia and Yosemite National Park, encountering impressive granite cliffs and the gigantic sequoia trees. Via San Francisco and the Bay Area they continued through the famous Redwood Forests to Oregon. There they left the coast for the Cascades, a chain of volcanoes that stretches from northern California to southern Canada. There, during their tours through snowstorms and nights in snow-covered tents, they experienced the "cold winter" they had missed in Mexico.
In the high desert of Oregon Tiphaine and Martin cycled mostly on the Oregon Outback bikepacking route, where they were rewarded for the partly bad roads with the best weather and an impressive, wild landscape. Continuing north past the Columbia Gorge with its breathtaking waterfalls, they reached Washington State, rode through the Mount Rainier National Park to Seattle and onto the Olympic Peninsula in the northwest of the United States. From here, Tiphaine and Martin took a ferry to Canada, where they bid farewell to the United States for the time being after 80 days.
Canada - breathtakingly wild landscapes.
Starting in Victoria, Canada, the two traveled from one mountain range to the next. Starting in the Coast Mountains, they continued over Rogers Pass into the Columbia Mountains and on to the Canadian Rocky Mountains. As time went on, they were able to see more and more wild animals, such as wapitis and even black bears. In the Rocky Mountain National Parks of Kooteney, Banff and Jaspar, Tiphaine and Martin drove along glaciated peaks and took many hikes in the breathtaking wilderness.
On the Cassier Highway they drove further and further north, always framed by impressive mountain landscapes, untamed rivers and dreamlike mountain lakes. They encountered hardly any people and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the wilderness. After cycling 4,216 kilometers in Canada, Tiphaine and Martin said goodbye and set off on their last stage through Alaska.
Alaska - the destination is near.
On their way to Anchorage, they made a detour to Denali National Park in the central Alaskan wilderness. There they were able to enjoy the breathtaking view of the highest peak in North America before their journey came to an end. After a total of 289 days and 16,020 km, globetrotters Tiphaine and Martin arrived at their destination in Anchorage on their TX-400 bikes.
The incredibly exciting journey ended here and we are already eager to see if and when Tiphaine and Martin will set out again to be "at home on the road" for a while.
