Words and Photos by Senior NOLS Instructor, Marco Johnson
A massive CONGRATULATIONS to our good friend and Senior NOLS Instructor, Marco Johnson, for his completed ride of the European Divide bikepacking route! Read PART ONE and PART TWO about his journey.
It’s been two months since I finished my adventure, ending in Faro, Portugal, after starting in Kirkenes, Norway. It’s hard to encapsulate the grand adventure I had - and that’s part of the appeal of expeditioning. The photos, the stories, and the journal entries, will never fully capture all I experienced. That said, here are some lessons I’m taking forward:
TRAVELING AT THE SPEED OF A BIKE OPENS DOORS THAT TRAVELING AT THE SPEED OF A CAR CANNOT AND ALLOWS YOU TO FIND A HOME WHEREVER YOU ARE
In the many years I’ve spent leading expeditions for NOLS, and adventuring on my own, I’ve learned home can be wherever you lay your head for the night. This expedition reaffirmed that belief. I made my home in forests, fields, olive orchards, near dirt paths, the backyards of strangers opening their space to bikers, campgrounds, and cheap hotels (when I really needed a shower).
I found home in the people I met. One day after hours of riding in the cold rain and becoming slightly hypothermic, I came across a small chain grocery store in Sweden. The manager kindly let me plug in some devices in the middle of the store while I quickly took on calories from baked goods and a very large Marabou Chocolate Bar.
In between checking out customers, he shared how he came to manage the store with his partner, their long-term goals, and how they balanced their role with parenting. On my way out, he handed me a warm fleece hat with the store logo to remember him, and our conversation, by. If it ever snows in Wyoming this winter, I’ll be sporting that ICA hat!
Later in my trip, a German couple in their 70s, who had spent many years traveling by bike, provided their backyard covered area as my home for the night. Kindly they also let me use their shower and sent me off the next day with delicious cake.
THE BEST PARTS OF THE ROUTE AREN’T ALWAYS IN THE BACKCOUNTRY
I’ve spent many years exploring the backcountry on foot, by skis, or in a sea kayak. And, there’s something to be said for riding a bike in a tiny town with narrow streets that were originally designed for people on foot and horseback and not people in cars. There’s an intimacy you can experience pedaling through a village and engaging with the people you meet as you move at the speed of a bicycle.
Dozens of conversations transpired simply because I was moving at speed where I, and those I met, could begin with, “Where are you from?” Where is . . . ?” How do I . . . ?” “Would you like to share . . .?”
These interactions also provided the best insight into local knowledge about the route ahead, the best local baked goods, and knowledge about those sites and places not found in the typical guide book.
INVESTING IN RELIABLE GEAR GREATLY DECREASES STRESS
Your gear matters when it’s all you have. While I wasn’t as isolated as I have been on other expeditions, having a bike, bike bags, shelter, pack, and cook system I believed in and was very familiar with made the trip so much less stressful.
I tested all of this gear on shakedown trips. I knew how to distribute items in my bags for ease of access while riding and how to expedite my setup when I arrived in camp. In my Hyperlite Aero 28, I carried water, snacks, rain top and bottom, and my first aid kit.
When I arrived at camp, I put on warm layers, ate snacks, drank water, and pulled out my Hyperlite Mid 1. A simple and efficient shelter, ease of set-up, and yes, familiarity meant a storm-proof home was ready in under 5 minutes.
THE WORLD, AND ITS PEOPLE, ARE INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL
The kindness and grace with which people treated me was both surprising and not surprising at all. Making connections and receiving assistance from strangers was a hallmark of my trip.
I broke a brake lever in week one of my trip and, with the help of a friend in Finland, I ordered a shifter to be delivered to Älvägens Cykel in Älvägens, Sweden just outside of Gothenborg, and three weeks of riding away. When I arrived, they let me fully explode - and leave - my gear while they worked on the bike and I went for pizza. I anticipated it would be at least a few hours before I heard from them but 45 minutes, and not even a pizza later, they texted me it was ready.
At the Cyclery Vic in Spain I arrived without an appointment, having burped a tire off my rim, after an off-road puncture I’d not noticed. I arrived 30 mins before they closed and they took a bike off the stand to re-seat my tubeless tire so I could get on my way post haste.
From strangers, I was gifted fresh baked goods and produce. If I stopped on the side of a gravel track or asphalt road, passersby would stop to make sure I was alright. There were the bike race challenges from children as I moved through communities.
These conversations and interactions took place because people were curious about me, and I allowed myself to be open and curious about them. Maybe that’s the real lesson from this expedition, a page from the book of Ted Lasso, “Be curious, not judgmental.”
