Penzberg - Cycle from Penzberg to Lisbon on a mountain bike and cross the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Spanish Picos de Europa: Peter Baumeister from Penzberg set out on this adventure at the beginning of October (we reported).
The 28-year-old and his 400-euro bike have now covered around 2500 kilometers in 31 stages, conquering more than 41,000 meters in altitude.
And the Penzberger has mastered the greatest challenge of his tour so far: crossing the entire Pyrenees from east to west.
“Without a route plan, I just drove off,” wrote Baumeister in an email to the local newspaper. From Montpellier, France, we first went to Andorra. From the border with Spain it got “extremely wild”: “I didn't meet a single person up to the Atlantic Ocean in the mountain stages - that is, a lot of solitude and pure nature - just as I dreamed it would be,” says Baumeister.
He looked for small self-catering huts in the mountains to spend the night and experienced indescribably beautiful sunrises every morning. Every day was marked by deserted, beautiful mountain stages. "It was amazing. The nature and the mountains just became more spectacular day by day. ”Admittedly, depending on the season, it was quite cold and windy. But the feared snowfall did not materialize. Instead, the sun shone almost continuously on his journey through the Pyrenees.
Nevertheless, the Pyrenees were a real physical challenge. In phases he had worked off 2500 meters of altitude a day. "Add to that the cold and the wind - that took a lot of strength." On the other hand, he got along well with the loneliness. He even enjoyed being alone, because: "For me, it makes nature experiences much more intense." He regularly drove down to the valley just to replenish his food supplies.
After ten days in the mountains, the last 300 kilometers went in flatter stages through the Basque Country to the Atlantic. "The loneliness of the mountains gave way to a lively Spanish culture with lovable people," writes Baumeister. He visited Pamplona and cycled from there to Bilbao. “Locals kept reaching me via Instagram and invited me to their home,” says the Penzberger. For example, near Bilbao, he was invited by a family to stay with them for three days. “I was cooked with traditional dishes every evening, they showed me the most beautiful corners of Bilbao and I got an insight into authentic life in the Basque Country,” enthuses Baumeister about this “priceless experience”.
In the meantime he has arrived in San Sebastian on the Atlantic.
Here he now wants to take a few days off and swap his bike for a surfboard.
But the next challenge of the tour is just around the corner: crossing the Picos de Europa.
“However, the weather forecast is extremely bad for the next 14 days,” says Baumeister.
Heavy rain is announced.
But he certainly doesn't want to let that stop him.
Impressions from the tour
can be found on Baumeister's YouTube channel ("Peter Baumeister").
