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Fred Travels, Silvaplana (2026)

18/12/2024

It’s been a demanding week with lots of hours at work. Today, I managed to leave the hotel for pretty much the first time in a week, as it’s my only day off.

So, I had the great idea to take the unicycle on hiking trails, going down to Silvaplana Lake, just outside of St. Moritz in Switzerland, and try out the action cam my brother gave me.

I could feel my body was too tired because unicycling was super hard, going uphill and downhill. I mostly just kept falling off my seat. Once, I managed to fall off and land on my side in muddy, dirty snow (everything is melting due to positive temperatures).

Not gonna lie, the cycling itself wasn’t much fun, and I got frustrated with myself for not being able to ride continuously, having to get off every few hundred meters.

Anyway, being out in nature did a world of good, though.

I know that I will get better until the summer!

13/11/2024

Getting better! 👍💪

01/11/2024

Learning by repeating the same thing for hours. Now I can mount the municycle like 1 out of 10 times.

17/10/2024

What a summer…

If you recall my last post in May, I wasn’t doing well mentally. I struggled for a long time, constantly on the verge of giving up and wanting to go home, but I wrestled with the fact that I don’t really have a home.

In the meantime, I tried therapy, and while it helped me through the worst, I had to come to terms with the fact that the lady with the purple hair wasn’t really listening to me. That’s two red flags in one sentence :P

So, I decided to pause therapy for now. By mid-July, I had cycled from Bavaria in Germany through Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and around Estonia. In Estonia, I met two women I had worked with in Norway back in 2013. Both were great inspirations, and both offered me a place to rest and take it easy.

Since I was really struggling, being on the road alone and trapped in my thoughts, I was extremely grateful for it. Not only did Marili and Anastasia organize places for me to stay, but our conversations also gave me new ideas and a different perspective on life.

In mid-July, just before I reached Riga, I was feeling pretty bad again. After talking with Marek, a friend I value a lot, I decided to take some time off the bike. I flew to Sweden, where I had lived from 2020 to 2023, and spent a month at Marek’s place in Jönköping, spending time with him and another friend, Ida, who I had worked with as well.

After that, I started feeling much better, and by mid-August, I flew back to Riga to pick up my bike and continue my trip. Passing through Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary, I eventually made it down to Belgrade in Serbia. That’s where I turned around to meet Mercedes, a fantastic woman and friend I made last winter in Switzerland. I spent a great week in Budapest, and now I’m currently in Vienna, visiting Jessica. We used to be a couple for a short time twenty years ago, so it’s really nice to see how she’s grown and developed.

I’m doing much better now and have met and talked to way more people than I’ve mentioned here. Conversations with these people made me realize a lot about life—things I used to know but had lost sight of during last winter. I’m slowly rediscovering why I live the way I do and why I’ve made the life choices I have. It’s not just about adventure; I’m really seeking personal development. I’ve realized that I don’t need to be constantly on the move to grow, but for me, life changed a lot when I started traveling as a nomad in 2012, and I’m proud of how far I’ve come compared to what my options could have been.

Now, I have around 450 km left to finish my second six-month bike tour. Adding this year and last year together, I’ve crossed 15 countries (some of them twice) and cycled roughly 16,000 km. That’s a lot for someone who was never into sports or the outdoor life!

Next, I’ll be heading back to Switzerland for the winter, with no concrete plans for what to do after that. I don’t think I’ll go on another bike tour next summer—I might just stay in Switzerland for a full year or a year and a half to save up some money. But I’m keeping things open and will decide spontaneously, keeping an open mind about how things develop over time.

However, I am starting a new hobby in Switzerland! I just ordered a Municycle (a unicycle for mountains), and I plan to learn how to ride it this winter. If I stay for the summer, I’ll ride it through the mountains of Switzerland—at least, that’s the plan. I’m not even sure how I got this idea, but here I am! I’m also thinking about documenting my progress in learning to ride this crazy thing and where I end up riding in Switzerland. But for now, that’s just an idea.

One thing I know for sure: I’m really happy with how this year turned out. It wasn’t easy at all, but going through it made me realize a lot, and I can feel the tremendous personal growth I’ve experienced this year. As the reverse saying goes in bike touring: “After every uphill, comes a downhill.”

If you’re interested in watching me break a few bones, I might upload some videos soon 🙂

30/05/2024

I won't be posting here for a while.

Since my last post, where I thought I just feel lost and lonely, trying to figure out my future, I had managed to have an actual mental breakdown. (I really dislike people who selfdiagnose or diagnose others🙈)

I guess it had been building up all winter long. I had felt so internally stressed non stop.

After crying now for several days in random situations, sometimes even laughing during crying cause it really felt ridicules, I took a rest day in a forest at a beautiful location overseeing a Lake.

Big thanks to Elin who called asap, after I decided I try and check if she is still on holidays. We had a conversation for a few hours and at least that day I went to bed not feeling mentally drained and tired.

I can dismiss the trigger but I can't get rid of the root of this issue and it had been simmering, unattended for way to long. Even though I really though I had my life fully under control and that I was tough enough.

So after years of thinking about therapy, I am finally trying out online therapy. I am looking forward to fix myself, grow and come out stronger and hopefully a little more healed.

So I won't be posting here anymore cause it is not about travels anymore. I just keep biking for my physical and mental health. I don't care where I go, really. I don't care if I see anything or not. All that matters for the next few months is me.
And that's a journey I'll have to do on my own and can't be shared.

I also took down my private FB account to not waste time on social media anymore but rather focus on reading, understanding and practicing a healthier mind.

23/05/2024

Well, it has been almost two weeks.

Currently I am not much in the mood for writing or anything really, for that matter.

After so many years of traveling I am experiencing the first time the feeling of being lost and lonely. I never really felt lonely (in my adult life) before, since I am so used to being on my own, I actually thought I was very confident with it. In fact so confident that I wasn't even really thinking that I should change that.

However, I seemed to have changed something and now it is just pretty awful. It obviously also leads me to rethinking my lifestyle hard right now and exploring some anxieties that I have discovered on myself over the past few months, never really aware, of having them.

Everything just feels overwhelming right now and screaming in the forrest doesn't help much either, I've tried.

So I just pedal on and on, mostly not even noticing much of my surroundings, trying to force my thoughts to stay in the moment and not paint some crappy pictures in my head.

A year ago I would have said I am doing mentally super well but now I feel like I am regressing instead of progressing. 😥

Well, to my trip. (In short)

After the issue with my bike frame, I just pushed towards Berlin to meet Suse, a friend. Along the way I cycled through the Fichtelgebirge, doing 3 days 70km and 1000-1100m elevation. Pretty demanding!

There in Klingenthal I have been welcomed by Martin and hist wife Serina.
I've worked with Martin, back in 2009 for a summer and never really stayed in touch until my last bike trip where he invited me.
This time I was able to make it! It was great meeting them both and they were absolutely lovely and super hospitable! Thank you guys!

Martin managed to fix me a night with his godfather in Leipzig two nights later and also Stefan was extremely hospitable, actually leaving everything to me as he went to spend the night at his girl's.

The following day I made it 100km south of Berlin where Suse was staying at her family's home. Her parents where very nice and welcoming. I stayed 3 nights that involved BBQ for Suses dad's birthday and a one day trip to Berlin.
Since I did not care for Berlin but only went there for the company, I took no pictures and did not even do much sightseeing. Just walked around some partying people who enjoyed "Carnival der Kulturen"

After leaving Berlin I am now just cycling up through Poland, towards Lithuania.

The cycling in Poland is nice! Plenty of bike paths so far and nature on mass. Since Poland will be the country I will spend most time in, that's a good start.

11/05/2024

Oh wow!!

I went from an awesome start with a newly fixed up bike, to taking the train 100km to get my bike frame fixed! 😅🚝

So after my first night in the woods, I noticed a small rip in the tent.
I think it came from a few days before, when I impregnated it and went in the house for a seconds, the wind took it a few metres. 😁🌪️🌪️

Anyhow, my way was leading me though Regensburg and I went to Decathlon, the outdoor chain, to pick up tent patches. 🏕️🌁

My bike started to feel super shaky when I was starting to drive. I tried to figure out what it was, but could not work it out and continued slowly.

After a while, already outside of Regensburg, my belt snapped out!
I've got a real shock there and thought it just ripped! A new belt!? 🚳

It appeared it didn't rip, it just fell off the cog. That was a bit odd cause thats simply not possible, I thought till now. 😅

That's where I found that the metal plate, that holds my frame together (special belt drive frame build), was broken!

So I found a spot to make camp. I was really lucky cause there was a little lake close by and a small village just 2km away. 🌳🌲

After setting up, I started to send out emails to the manufacture of my bike, who still has not replied, yet.
I also send out mails to the bike shop who had the bike last and put a lot of work in and to many bike shops that support my brand and who could possibly help. 📧📭

My plan was, to go to the hardware store the next day and find something that keeps me on the road. However, when I woke up at 5am I realised, it is a public holiday in Germany, that means the country is basically dead and everything is closed. 📴🔐

So I did the only thing I could do, grab the water bladder, go to the village I had passed the day before, to find water and a bathroom at 6am. 🚰🚾

After finding both, I went back to my tent to chill out all day. 😎🛀

When I made breakfast, a guy came for fishing and we had a little chat and he assured me, camping here won't get me in trouble. Good piece of information to ease your mind a little. 😅

In the afternoon I actually got an answer from the bike shop VELOmondial in Fürth. How likely is it that they put the time in? On a holiday! 👍🆒

They said they have the same bike as mine in store and can change out the broken part, plus add something to make it stronger.

So the next day I pushed my bike 15km to get to the Train station and went to Fürth. Deutsche Bahn did not make it easy since elevators weren't working and trains were late 2h. 🚂

I arrived, took a hotel room, dropped off my bike and went for a shower and dinner.🍽️🍛

The shop ended up, fixing a broken spoke, changing a crank arm and fixing the frame lock.

I am just about to pick up bike in an hour and I'll be back on my way. 🚴

You wanna know what I think is interesting? I am so not bothered! Like for real! I have had my 5 minutes, where I thought what the heck is happening?
Otherwise I am just letting it happen and enjoy the freedom of not being in control and just see where it takes me. 😂😂

It helps when the budget is not that tight either I reckon. 😅

08/05/2024

I am on my way again!!!

Two days ago I started my second bike tour!! 🚴

The first day on the road was great! My brother joined me for a 25 km ride before we had a small coffee break and said our good byes. ☕👋

After our ways parted I kept riding for two more hours. There was a thunderstorm coming up but I knew that all day due to the forecast. ⛈️⚡

Early afternoon I just stopped at a big house and asked for a camping spot.
The guy did not feel comfortable with me camping during a thunderstorm, so he took me to the sports club where I was greeted by around 10 guys drinking their "end of work beer". 🍻

They invited me for a few beers and told me I can sleep in the "beer room".

So I ended up with more or less a room, a bathroom and electricity!

Perfect ending for a first day of bike touring.👌

Yesterday I just been riding all day, nothing really happened and around 5 I pitched my tent in a small patch of forest, cooked dinner and just enjoyed being alone, surrounded by the sound of nature. Very relaxing!🌲🍄

Now as I am writing this, I actually wanted to start packing together (5:30am) but it just started raining. So I might just wait it out in my tent. 😁🌨️

29/04/2024

So...

I said, this year I´d be starting my journey from Alaska to Patagonia!

Guess what!?
It's not going to happen. At least not this year!
After my first bike tour, traveling 6 months in Europe, having one of the best adventures, I was hyped and really wanted to go onto an even bigger adventure!

However, when I worked in Switzerland during the winter, to get the money I would have needed, I met a woman that I kind of developed feelings for. Even though the feelings weren't mutual in that way, we did enjoy each other's casual company and I found a new friend.
However, I started to think about my lifestyle, choices and a lot of other things all together.

Once I started to eye the Americas again, I just did not feel like it anymore! In a way I want to do it for sure but the time just doesn't seem to be "right". It is hard to explain but it would feel more like a "chore" from this point, rather than the big adventure I am all excited about.

Since I do have some money saved now and I may still start in the Americas next year, I figured I just spend another summer on the bike in Europe.

Last week I arrived in Bavaria where I am living at a childhood friend's place. I have already picked up my bike from the bike shop where they´ve spent some time fixing it up during the winter. Now I am just hanging out a little bit and getting my butt used to cycling. By end of this week or beginning of next, I´ll be on my bike again, starting my second bike tour!

I am thinking of cycling from southern Germany up to Estonia, turn around and head towards Greece or Turkey. Maybe I won't even make it that far but zigzag throughout eastern Europe. I really want to keep everything open and see how the summer develops.

Today I only planned the first 5000 km where I would end up in Northern Hungary. After that, I might just flip a coin!
Actually I have big hopes for eastern Europe! It will be cheaper and less touristy than my last tour, for sure!

So it's not really a plan but rather the joy of being outside, cycling and enjoying my own company a little more again.

Exciting, Soon I have covered a lot of Europe on the bike :D

20/12/2023

Its been a minute and a half since I last wrote.

Currently I do not consider my life as super interesting, but time passes by fast and I am looking forward to my next adventure!

The Job I´ve got for this winter season seems pretty nice as I mentioned before. It has great benefits for a "work and life balance" and I do appreciate this part of it. If it comes to cooking itself, it is not really the most fulfilling job I´ve ever had but I knew that before and as we all know it is not the development in my cooking that I am after right now :D

The young couple, who runs the place, are super nice and if I compare them to the last younger guys I´ve worked for in Sweden, there is a positive difference in professionalism and seriousness. Yet they are still super chill and it feels great having them around, also they do travel much and are having some nice ideas of camper travels, so that's another level to connect on.

Also the team they managed to build has some really interesting individuals that don't bore the hell out of you after talking to them twice. I don't mean to sound rude but some people are just more interesting than others. For me it gets hard when I work somewhere where most of my colleagues live a settled life. I am not saying there is anything wrong with it but since I am a guy who is moving around the world since 12 years, I just enjoy it more to be around people who have a similar lifestyle or at least a super open mind. Whatever that means...

Most of all I am happy with my flatmate though. When I had my interview, my employer told me about this "older gentleman" who is traveling a lot and he doesn't enjoy or seek the social life all too much. I then asked if there is a chance I could share a living situation with him. My employer also thought we could be a great fit. And guess what. We hit the nail on the head.

Thomas is a very interesting guy who I enjoy talking to and tapping into his brains. It´s a super easy living situation even though if you consider that he is like 25 years older than me.
He is traveling with his wife Frauke on their sailing boat around the world and in between, they go on long distance trails like the Appalachian trail or walking through New Zealand to just name two of em.... I think according to their blog, Thomas walked about 15.000km and Frauke some 18.000km!! Impressive!

Currently their boat is in Alaska and they are planning to sail down to Mexico and on one point most likely walk back up through the US. He does get me thinking about trying a long distance hike one day myself! I´ll just link their blog if someone is interested. It´s in German but we do have the technology of using the "translate" button :P
https://walkabout-oceans-and-trails.de/die-walkabouts/?fbclid=IwAR0h3x3ymmnbZYC4KT42oA7BWtFDmdtxd46Elo3hi-ua55LRf0pOc24pmjw

So, enough about my life in Switzerland!

I have thought a fair bit about how to tackle my second bike tour.

As I mentioned last time I wrote, I am thinking about not doing the 2 years in one go but start with 6 month, fly back to Switzerland and do another season to double up my budget. Now to be clear, I should be able to make it with the money I have until then, but it would be tight and I would have almost nothing left at the end. So having the option of doubling up kind of makes the most sense to me.
However it does come with some challenges. My main issue with this plan is that I would end up in Central and South America when there is hurricane/rain season. But at least I would have the funds to take a few weeks off and rent an apartment or take a flight somewhere and have some holidays. I probably need some off bike time either way at some point.
But that´s a little bit too far in the future to think too much about it to be honest. If anyone has some thoughts or experience on that matter, please shoot!

So lets start with my plans for North America!

I was thinking hard about how to organise my start. After starting, the rest usually just falls into place day by day. So I am not too worried about planning too much.
However, I needed to work out my starting point and even though I want to cycle the "Dalton Highway" from the Northernmost point I possibly can start, in Deadhorse, I do not want to flight from Europe to Deadhorse.
Reason being, there will be a few little things I need to replace or add to my gear and I would like to order them to Alaska from the US and there is nothing in Deadhorse and accommodations are super expensive. Also I don't feel like sitting for too long in Germany and might be heading to Alaska a little earlier and there could be still snow up in Deadhorse.

So the plan I came up with is to fly into Anchorage, find a host or a cheap accommodation for a few days. Maybe do some small bike trips around the area and then cycle up to Fairbanks.
From Fairbanks I either hitchhike or rent a car to get up to Deadhorse where I can start cycling back to Fairbanks and from there make my way towards Canada down to Vancouver.

I have the offer of a former co-worker who lives on Vancouver Island who could store my gear during the winter when I am heading back to Switzerland for work. So that would be perfect.

After the next winter season I could head back to Vancouver Island, pick up my stuff and maybe explore the Island a little bit and then make my way towards Banff where the "Great Divide Mountain Bike Route" (GDMBR) would have its starting point. From there I would follow the route that goes all the way till the border of Mexico. I might adjust since I do want to see the Great Canyon. But that's too far away to think about it for now.

Well, that's at least my first actual plan I came up with and so far it sounds pretty solid and I am looking forward to it.

13/11/2023

It's been two weeks since I finished my first ever bike tour and I am now in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, getting ready for my next big adventure.

Originally I thought I will write a review of my bike trip but I think I need to let more time pass.
It has been a little bit shocking to me how quickly I seem to adjust. Going from living outside in a tent and cycling for hours a day, to working and living inside. Maybe it is the sudden change of weather that makes it so easy.
I am now living in a village at a 1600m elevation and working at 2600m elevation. So it is winter, it's cold and there is snow! (Attached photos are from my balcony and workplace)

Anyhow, my mind is set on my next adventure.
Cycling from Alaska to Patagonia!

That's why I am in Switzerland in the first place. I need plenty of money to get started in Alaska next summer.

The original idea was to work now 6 month and then do the trip in one go. I should be able to make "just enough" money to pull it off.
But now I am considering to give myself the option to start in Alaska, cycle through Canada into the US and come next winter, take a flight back to Switzerland and make another big amount of money.
This should give me the freedom to spend more time in South America and I also don't have to stress about a tight budget, also I would still have some money left after the trip.
I'll see how things go, but so far it actually makes a lot of sense.

My job so far seems easy enough. It's day shift only and I am feeding during high season about 1000 people in a cafeteria/buffet style mountain restaurant. Finishing every day at 5pm is awesome for being a chef. (I am the guy in black with the creepy face)

The time I have on my hands now will be used to build a routine of going to the Gym daily. I want to make sure I don't lose the benefits that I have gained the past 6 months and also build up some more upper body strength and lose more weight in general. As I said, I am only here to prepare, so meanwhile I am making the money I need, I can also just as well get my body ready.😁

So I've got a 6 month membership at a hotel with a small gym, a swimming pool and a nice relaxing spa area. (The picture of the building with the black windows are the saunas)

After work I am hitting the gym 2h to 2,5h. Cycling, rowing and some weight machines to strengthen my upper body. After that I hop into the spa for a hour, relax and go home. I just have to work out how to utilise the pool, I am not much of a swimmer but I am considering to maybe do a few hundred meter every now and then since it's already included, no?

So far I feel really good about it. My usual routine after work used to involve drinking or smoking w**d and playing video games for most of my life.

It feels like this whole bike touring might have changed the way I think about my body cause I actually never been a very health minded person. Let's see if I can keep it up but I think having a goal like my next trip, makes it very easy to keep going with it since I know that I need to be in good shape!

I am aware that most people who started to read here are mainly interested in bike touring and not my work-life balance but since I am a long term traveler, making money and sitting tight is just a part of the journey. Just hang in there and in a few months you'll be joining me on my big adventure. Until then I will post some updates here and there of how things are coming along with planning my route and how I will get ready.

Fred Travels

18/12/2024

13/11/2024

01/11/2024

17/10/2024

30/05/2024

23/05/2024

11/05/2024

08/05/2024

29/04/2024

20/12/2023

13/11/2023

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