A JOURNEY BEYOND 2015
F O R MO R E I N FO R M ATI O N A B O U T TH I S JO U R NEY P L EASE V ISIT: BOM BT RACK .COM /P ROJ ECT S/A-J OU R NE Y-BE YOND
INTRO
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“A JOU R N E Y B EY O N D” H A PPE N E D I N CO O PERAT ION AND W IT H SUP P ORT OF G L OBET ROT T ER AUSR U E STU NG, APIDU R A PA C KI N G, S H I M A N O GE R M A N Y / PAUL L ANG E, L UP INE L IG H T S, DRIFT CAM ERAS AND AL PI NA HE LME TS.
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Another point worth to be mentioned is Marc’s daily companion: our Beyond. As the most important stage in the development of a new bike is its testing and evaluation we knew Marc’s A Journey Beyond would be the ideal test to see if all those ideas actually worked out – in this case a bike being capable for virtually any adventure you have in mind, on road or off it. So we were extremely pleased to hear when Marc had returned after almost 3 months of daily riding, the Beyond had passed with flying colors.
A JOURNEY BEYOND 2015
INTRO
The word epic is often over used, but when it comes from our friend Marc Maurer, who rode from Cologne to the Black Sea and decided rather than flying home, he’d ride back … we had to pay attention. Marc’s journey is fully justified as epic he left in the middle of May for Istanbul, Turkey and the Caucasus mountains. His journey totaled 5600 km, passing through culturally rich regions of Turkey before heading towards the Caucasus. From there he went on to Georgia, touching the Azerbaijan boarder, through Armenia and finally reaching Iran. Along the way he visited many stunning locations which are gathered by two of his photographer friends, Marvin Beranek and Joachim Rosenlund, that flew over and kept him company for a few days to capture and document those moments that words alone can’t describe. These images we are pleased to now share with you in the following pages of this lookbook.
IS TANBUL
TR ANKARA
TURKEY
BATUMI
GE O RGI A
RABZON
A R ME N I A
IRAN
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» T HE L AN D SC AP E IN C AP PADOC IA , T URK EY WAS AM AZIN G, BUT IT WAS JUS T T HE BEGIN NIN G O F BREATH TAKIN G S CEN ERI ES ALO N G TH E WAY.
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IS TANBUL ANKARA
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INTERVIEW
PA G E A JOURNEY BEYOND 2015 — INTERVIEW
The biggest challenge for a longer solo bicycle trip lies in your head. You have to spend day after day with yourself and your thoughts. Some times you don‘t even talk to anybody for days. You really need to be able to enjoy – as well as to cope with being alone.
W HE RE A R E Y OU BAS ED AN D H O W O L D A R E Y O U ?
I’m 34 years old and I’m based in Cologne, Germany. I S “ IS TA N B UL — T EH R AN” YO U R FI R S T L O NG DI S TA NCE B IKE T O U R ?
“Istanbul — Tehran” is my second longer bike trip. In June 2014 I cycled from Cologne to Istanbul and back again. My plan was to fly back to Germany from Istanbul, but when I arrived in Istanbul it felt kind of wrong to take the easy way home. So I decided to turn around and cycled back to Cologne. In the end I rode 6000km, covering 40.000 verti cal meters, spent 54 days in the saddle and crossed 16 coun tries, kind of crazy for my first bigger trip. DID YO U H AVE A S P EC I AL PR E PA R ATI O N FO R TH I S TR I P?
I didn‘t really prepare especially for the trip, but I ride al most daily anyway. After a while your body (and legs) get used to riding longer distances. The first couple of days you might not be able to ride very long distances, but after a while you can easily ride 100+ km every day (depending on the roads, mountains, heat, etc). The everyday riding is the best training there is ... Eduard from “Veloküche” Shop in Cologne, is a bike me chanic and friend of mine, he gave me some lessons in solv ing minor technical problems. But during my two trips I didn’t had any technical problems at all, aside from a punc ture or two. In my opinion, the biggest challenge for a longer solo bicycle trip lies in your head. You have to spend day after day with yourself and your thoughts. Sometimes you don‘t even talk to anybody for days. You really need to be able to enjoy – as well as to cope with being alone. HO W DID Y OU M AN AG E T HE CH A NGE I N L A NGU A GE S , W E RE YOU A B L E T O C OM M UNI C ATE W I TH L O CA L S O K ?
I travelled the world quite a bit and it‘s the same in almost every country. Even if you don’t speak their language or if they don’t speak English at all, you can always communi cate with people somehow. Sometimes the only chance to interact with the locals is in sign language. Most of the time it’s very entertaining (for both parties) and it quite often leads to funny misunderstandings.
In Turkey it was quite easy with English and sometimes even German, but it got more difficult in Georgia and Ar menia, where the people rarely speak English at all. Iran was quite an experience, not many are able to speak English there (once you get off the beaten track), but the locals are so helpful and they really want to interact with you. They often call everybody they know to find someone who can speak English to translate. Quite a few times, they would even call people they didn’t know, like a local doctor or teacher, hoping they would know a few sentences in Eng lish. But it’s the same anywhere in the world, a smile and funny face is often enough ... everybody understands a smile and laughter!
» SOMETIMES THE ONLY C HAN CE TO INTERACT WITH THE LOC AL S IS IN SIGN L AN GUAGE. BUT IT’S THE SAME ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, A SMILE AND FUNNY FACE IS OFTEN EN OUGH. EVERYBODY UNDERS TANDS A SMILE AND L AUGHTER! « WHICH COUNTRIES D ID YOU CROSS, AND WHAT WAS YOUR IM P RESSION OF THEM?
I cycled through Turkey, Georgia, Armenia and Iran. The major impression in all four countries was the amazing hospitality and friendliness, and the diversity of the land scapes and nature. It started in Turkey with chai (tea) for free at almost every stop I made. In Georgia it was the incredible nature, with an enormous diversity for such a small country ... the Black Sea, the really impressive and rough Caucasus Mountains and the semi deserts have been a fantastic place to ride, with great camping spots. In Armenia the people are unbelievable friendly and curi ous – sometimes people would pay for your groceries or give you little gifts – resistance futile! The country also has spectacular nature, especially around Seevan Lake.
It’s also very mountainous, with daily tough mountain rides. In Iran EVERBODY was waving along the way and wanted to shake your hand / take a picture with you and just generally wanting to welcome you to the country. Iran is a country where even the police stop you just so they can invite you for a cup of tea! If you want to feel like a famous person, come to Iran! W HERE D ID Y OU SLEEP?
Most of the time I slept in my tent, just somewhere wild. Often in really beautiful surroundings but also next to highways, behind petrol stations etc. ... Sometimes I asked people if I could sleep on their property, which often lead to a free breakfast. When it was raining for days, and my clothes and myself needed to dry, or if my clothes and I needed a wash (longest time without a show er: 7 days) I spent a night at a hostel, a homestead, or very seldom a hotel. In Iran random people invite you to stay at their house and to be their guests – almost every day, and on most days, several times! W HAT WAS Y OU R N IC EST EXPERIEN C E Y OU HAD D U RIN G Y OU R J OU RN EY ?
I had many great experiences during my trip. It’s difficult, if not impossible to pick one experience. In Armenia I made a quick stop to refill my water bottles. At the stop, there were these mean looking soldiers refilling the watertanks of their trucks. After some chit-chat, they warmed up and we drank beer together (they even challenged me to drink a beer in one go) and we had a great time together, with lots of joking around – all at eleven o’clock in the morning, right before a mountain climb ... In Georgia I came through a small village and saw some kids playing football on a small soccer field. It had been quite a tough day with a 120 km ride, so I decided to ask the kids if they knew a place where I could camp for the night. Of course they didn’t understand me, so I ended up play ing football with them instead. Suddenly it started to rain quite heavily, so I just put my tent up on the soccer field and slipped in. Moments later a young boy came and invited my to sleep in his family’s house because of the heavy rain, but because the tent was already wet, I decided to stay put.
INTERVIEW
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Traveling really opens your mind and connects people from different nations. Take Iran for example; cycling through the country has been such a positive experience and it really shows you how wrong the picture ‘our’ media is selling us.
After a while an old lady came, woke me up and gave me cheese, bread and homemade wine. In the morning the young boy came again, this time with bread, butter, hot tea and a bottle of chacha (really strong homemade alcohol, up to 70% !!!). For breakfast !!! In Iran I was setting up camp under some trees on a patch of land, when two young guys came to say hello. I asked if it was ok for me to camp there and they said yes. We shook hands and they went off. After about 20min., they came back with a thermos flask with tea, a cup and sugar, plus a water melon. They gave me the stuff and went off again. I had some tea, ate the water melon and went off to bed. About an hour later, I was woken up to the sound of a lot of voices and as I looked out of my tent, there were about 12 people with flash lights outside – the two guys had brought, more or less, half the village and they all wanted to say a “Hello” ... W HAT WA S T H E AVER AG E DA I LY DI S TA NCE Y O U W E R E DO I NG ?
In average I did around 100 km per day, with an average of 1000 meters of climbing every day! The toughest day was the ride to, and up, the Georgian military highway to the Russian border ... 160km with an elevation gain of 3225 Meter! HO W DO Y OU M AN AG E T O TA K E S O M U CH TI M E O U T, W H AT D O YO U DO FOR A L I V I N G ?
I’m a freelancer and at the moment I work as an exhibition builder, but actually I do anything for money. Travelling is a big part of my life and I do everything to see the world and make it a bit smaller. Traveling really opens your mind and connects people from different nations. Take Iran for exam ple: cycling through the country has been such a positive experience and it really shows you how wrong the picture “our” media is selling us. I T S O U N D S L I K E TH ER E WA S S O M E R E A L DI V E R S TI TY I N TH E KIND O F T E RRAI N Y OU WER E R I DI NG O V E R , H O W DI D Y O U GO A BOUT CHO O SE Y OUR EQUI P M ENT FO R TH E TR I P ?
When I plan a trip I don‘t really have a fixed route ... I just start and see how it goes, talk to locals or other travellers about routes, roads, places etc. When it comes to the equip
ment you need, it‘s different. You have to know what the weather will be like, what the roads will be like, if it‘s possi ble to buy spare parts if something breaks etc. For bicycle touring or bikepacking it’s quite important to have reliable, lightweight gear, which is small in packing size. I chose a one person, 3-season tent, weighing only 1,2 kilos, which can withstand heavy rain and strong winds. In my opinion it is important that the tent is freestanding, so you can camp on surfaces were it‘s not possible to use pegs.Finding the right sleeping bag is not easy (too hot, too cold ...), but I went for a 850+ cuin down bag, which weights only 500 grams and packs really small, with a temperature range from 2 — 10°C. But one of the most important things to me is the sleeping mat. I tried a few until I found the per fect one for me. It‘s really important to have a good night’s sleep after a hard day in the saddle. I have a multi-fuel stove that burns with more or less an ything. In these countries it‘s quite difficult to find gas or alcohol, but you will find petrol everywhere ... and petrol is cheap, really cheap in these countries! Of course you don’t need all this “high-tech” stuff to do such trips, but for me it is definitely more fun to ride lightweight and to have really good reliable equipment with me!
» WHEN I PL AN A TRIP I DON‘ T REALLY HAVE A FIXED ROUTE ... I JUS T S TART AND SEE HOW IT GOES, TALK TO LOC AL S OR OTHER TRAVELLERS ABOUT ROUTES, ROADS, PL ACES ETC. « WHAT ABOUT YOUR BIKE, D ID YOU MOD IFY IT IN ANY WAY F OR THE TRIP, OR KEEP IT P RETTY MUCH STAND ARD ?
I only changed or added a few parts to make it suit my spe cific needs. I added a time trial bar for a more relaxed po sition in heavy head winds and for long, flat and straight roads. I fitted my trusted “Flite” saddle and added a dyna mo hub for charging my phone, camera, MP3 player, lights etc. I also changed the tires as I needed something better suited for road and hard-pack riding. Most of the time I
rode on paved roads, lets say around 70% of the time, so the need for a tire that runs well on asphalt was there. I really liked the handlebar, it gives the possibility to ride in lots of different positions and it gives you a lot of control on difficult downhill patches with a rough surface. I also really liked the original setup of the drive train. The gear ratio was just perfect, both for climbing tough mountains, even fully loaded, and going high-speed on straight flat roads. Another great feature on the bike is to have the possibility to mount up to 5 bottle cages! W HERE D O Y OU T HIN K T HE B IKE F EELS B EST ? C LIM B IN G, ROLLIN G D U ST Y GRAVEL, LON G TARM AC - PAVED ROAD S ?
In my opinion the bike is great on all surfaces and for all conditions – it can take anything you throw at it! Even fully loaded it’s very stiff and you can go just every where with it. No matter if it’s off-road or on road. You can ride it very fast on paved roads and on gravel. In Georgia I had really bad “roads” for several days and the bikes per formance was just brilliant! In Iran the roads are in really good conditions, the asphalt is perfect. The Beyond’s per formance in these long asphalt sections was also amaz ing! For me the Beyond is the “eierlegende Wollmilchsau”. I don’t know what that is in English, like an animal that can provide you with everything you could possibly need.
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» BORDER CROSSIN GS WITH A BICYCLE IS EASY. SOMETIMES LIKE HERE FROM GEORGIA TO ARMENIA IT COMES ALON G WITH HIGH FIVES WITH THE BORDERCONTROL «
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» WHEN YOU S TOP F OR A SHORT BREAK AT 11AM, YOU DON’T EXPECT DRINKIN G GAMES WITH MEAN LOOKIN G DRUNKEN ARMENIAN SOLDIERS ... «
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» LIT ERALLY EVERY BODY I PASSED ON TH E ROAD WAVED , S HOUT ED , S TARED O R SM ILED.
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» MOS T OF THE TIME I’VE SLEPT IN MY TENT, JUS T SOMEWHERE WILD. OFTEN IN REALLY BEAUTIFUL SURROUNDIN GS LIKE HERE IN ARMENIA AT SEEVAN L AKE, ONE OF THE HIGHES T MOUNTAIN L AKES IN THE WORLD. «
» IN ARMEN IA T HE COUN T RY AL SO H AS S PECTACUL AR N AT URE. I T ’ S AL S O VERY MOUN TAIN OUS , WITH DAILY TOUGH MOUN TAIN RID ES. «
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» #SEARC HIN GMYFIVES TARHOTEL SUITE « PA G E
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» EVERY TIME I S TOPPED F OR A SHORT BREAK, I WAS SURROUNDED BY CURIOUS AND QUITE OFTEN S TARIN G LOC AL S. BEC AUSE MOS T OF THEM DOESN’T SPEAK ANY EN GLISH. THE ONLY C HAN CE TO INTERACT IS IN SIGN L AN GUAGE. «
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» THERE WERE N OT THAT MANY FL AT DAYS IN ARMENIA . S TEADY UP AND DOWN ALMOS T EVERY DAY. LOTS OF MOUNTAINS TO CLIMB BUT AL SO LOTS OF AMAZIN G DOWNHILL S TO RIDE. «
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» D URIN G MY T RIP I D ID N ’T H AD ANY T EC HN IC AL PROBLEMS AT ALL, ASIDE FROM A PUN TCURE IN ARM ENIA .
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» ONE DAY MY BIKE GOT S TOLEN . «
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» I D I D A RO U N D 10 0K M WIT H AN AVERAGE OF 10 0 0 M O F CLIMBIN G EVERY DAY.
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TURKEY
TATEV
IRAN BON AB
TEHERAN
SAQQEZ
HAMADAN
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» I H A D T HIS S T RAN GE FEELIN G WH E N I C RO SS ED T HE BORD ER TO IRAN , B E C AU S E I H A D N O ID EA W HAT TO EX PECT.
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» L AK E ORUMIY EH IN N O RTH WES TERN IRAN WAS ON CE A TOURIS T Y P L AC E. N OW IT ’ S AN OTH ER DEAD P L AC E IN TH E WORLD D UE TO TH E L AC K O F RAIN , DAM CON S T RUC TIO N AND P O OR WATER MAN AGEM ENT.
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» KORD IS TAN WAS A GREAT ADVENTURE. T HE HOS PITALIT Y, T HE PEOP LE, T HEIR S T Y LE OF D RES S ... AMAZIN G.
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» T H E TA R MAC IN IRAN WAS S OMET HIN G YO U D R E A M A BO UT. S O S MOOT H AN D FAS T.
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» IRAN : A COUN T RY WHERE EVEN TH E POLICE S TOPS YOU JUS T S O T HEY C AN IN VIT E YOU F OR A CUP OF TEA .
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» T H E D RIVIN G S T Y LE OF T RU C KS AN D C ARS W ERE S OMET IMES PURE MAD N ES S .
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CO N S TA N T H EAD WIN D . «
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» YOU D ON ’ T ALWAYS N EED A P L AN . S O M ET IMES YOU JUS T N EED TO BREATH , TRUS T, LET GO, AN D S EE W HAT HAPP ENS.
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MA RC MAUR ER
MARVIN BERANEK
J OAC HIM ROSEN LU N D
PHO T O S P. 20 — 2 1, P. 22 — 2 3 & P. 1 2 2 — 1 2 3
P HOTOS P. 2 — 23, EX CEP T P. 18 — 21
PHOT OS P. 24 — 128, EXC EPT P. 126/ 127
Marc was born in the south of Germany in 1981 before he moved north-westwards in the late 90s and settling in the city of Cologne. There he studied geography and asian studies, and in-between semesters, started to explore the world with backpack trips. After finishing University Marc travelled through Asia, but after 2 years he got bored by the restricted radius of travelling on foot – and tried to combi ne his two passions: travelling and cycling. So his first bi kepacking trip was planned right after arriving back home, with funds earned from freelance carpentry work. With around a 6000 kilometer journey, from Cologne / Germany to Istanbul / Turkey and the whole route back he got the bug for traveling with a bike. “A Journey Beyond” was his second longer bikepacking trip – and it was no ac cident that he started his 2nd longer trip from Istanbul. Marc’s new plan is for each trip to start where the last one ended, eventually crossing the entire globe. So the next journey will begin in Tehran, but where will it end? We’ll need to wait and see what Marc has in mind.
Marvin Beranek is a Cologne / Germany based filmmaker and musician feeling mostly at home in any urban arts. He is or was doing music for german Top-1o Artists Maxim, such as Flo Mega or known Rappers like Guilty Simpson and Raashan Ahmad to name just a few. Marvin discovered his passion for shooting photos and videos while touring with some of these bands. The pictures of Marc and his Beyond were shot in Turkey, mainly on a 5-Day trip between Ankara and Kapadokia such as its beautiful surrounding area. Marvin had great fun shooting photos whilst he was primarily there to film for a video to document Marc’s trip through Turkey, Azer baijan, Georgia, Armenia and Iran, which will be released later this year 2015. Marvin is very grateful to be given the opportunity to make music, travel and film, as this is what he really love to do and is what he is fulfilled with. That’s possibly the reason why any stuff he deliveries, let it be photos or videos, con tains the certain portion of soul and transported emotion. FACEBOOK.COM/MARVINBERANEKMUSIC
From an early age, Joachim felt that his place was behind the camera and soon his hobby became his profession, and with his passion for traveling, cycling, skateboarding and snowboarding, his motives are a given. Wanting to keep his approach to photography fresh, he only takes on a few pro jects every year. “I need to fully stand behind the project, which rules out many offers. Beyond is one of those projects you dream about – riding alongside a good friend, wild camping, sleeping un der the stars, going through wild and exotic countries, fee ling the wind in your face and connecting with people of different cultures, mostly without a common language. It was quiet the journey, it had all the ingredients to make it a real adventure. This is what real freedom feels like!” Born and raised in Oslo, based in Berlin, feeling at home wherever his bicycle is. ROSEN LU N D @IT SN OT M E.D E
B O M B T R A C K B I C Y C L E C O M P A N Y | R I C H A R D - B Y R D - S T R . 1 2 | 5 0 8 2 9 K Ö L N / C O L O G N E , G E R M A N Y | W W W . B O M B T R A C K . C O M | M A I L @ B O M B T R A C K . C O M