Upon his arrival, Stefano tells us one of the many ways to get from Munich to Ferrara: “Just take a direct train from Bologna to Munich, think about it”. In fact, we thought about how many possible ways there are to go somewhere, and the only one having all human emotions in it was this one. Connecting point A to point B simply riding a bicycle can be the most complicated way to simplify your life, and sorry, randonneur friends, if we haven’t come up with something less absurd, less hard, or shorter. Because, the longer the road, the more uncertainties you gather, and the more you feel thrilled before you start, like Alejandro tells us in Munich, the day before: “I can’t wait for tomorrow”. Then tomorrow always comes, with all the side effects you can have in a 650km ride: avoiding rain or heat, massage your legs or your mind, odds, accidents, temptations, hallucinations, nightmares, troubles, relieves and final orgasms.

The side effects save us, they let us find the road again while Garmin might keep us on the right track, but your mind doesn’t, your mind stumbles, diverts, in such a long trip, where beyond mountains there are other mountains, where beyond the plains you find plains and plains again. So you end up thinking about you, about who’s riding close to you, and you don’t stop and you start thinking about someone who is in a completely different part of the world, someone that would have liked to be with you, someone who wouldn’t even dream of riding such a long ride, someone that could be in London or Los Angeles, and who knows what might be doing. But you are there, on that road so full of stories, beginning in a faraway past and looking endless, slopes after descents, after slopes after descents: “Also because beyond this there is heaven”. Beyond there’s tomorrow, another interstellar trip connecting boundaries, people, different worlds. We don’t know any other way to do this.

Thank you to the three hundred randonneurs that chose to join from Italy, Germany, and from all over the world for the eigth edition of Rando Imperator.

Thank you Claudio, Marco, Giacomo, Alessia, Linda, Michela: our staff, working hard till the last drop of sweat and sleep, because being with you riders is always beautiful and right.

Thank you Luca and Chicco from B12 Bike Professional for always being there.

Thank you Flavio for his pictures, his patience, his craziness.

Thank you Matilde and all of Bicigrill Ruota Libera’s staff, thank you Bar Daniel at Reschenpass, and a huge thank you for Vito and our friends at Avis Comunale Cerese for the liturgic refreshment in Mantova, thank you Nautica Sermide.

Thank you Lost Road Beer, and the beer that is never enough (a good sign), and thank you Confagricoltura Ferrara.

Thank you Giorgio and Benexè Sport, for being with us.

And finally thank you to our main partner for Rando Imperator, Push Hard.

See you in 2024: always on your bike, if we don’t find alternatives.

🇪🇺 🇪🇺 Rando Imperator 2023 🇪🇺 🇪🇺
6-7 May
8th edition
Munich – Bozen – Ferrara
From Germany to Italy by bike in 2 days