And what’s left of a year of cycling around Italy and Europe? What’s left of the beers we downed the night before leaving, that flock of birds that passed over us at sunset, that pole hit, a broken knee, a dislodged collarbone, braking in time, what’s left of falling asleep on the grass in front of the pier while the boats arrived and departed, arrived and departed. What’s left of another Garmin that we don’t know how to set, of having given up, of not having given up until the end, of the mountain tops still covered in snow, of having pulled the others for all those kilometers in a row, of the sun in our faces, of the poppies, of the submerged bell towers, of the memories that came to the surface, of the sprints at the top of the climb, of the first hot meal after hours of energy bars, of the strangers who after a beer in Munich became our great friends, of the hands in our hair, of the eyes thick with tears and dust, of the pats on the back at the finish line, of the bike lifted in the air, the bike held tight as if it were the last thing left in the world, the bike let loose between the larches and the streams, which slides without friction and effort, the heavy bike on the gravel in the middle of the woods – that scratches away the promise of not doing it again – of spending more time at home, of getting a grip, of the black darkness without stars, of sleeping wherever you can, of swallowing another coffee, of getting your daughter’s face wet with the tears that you have left, of all the people we met while we were trying to push our obstinacy a little further, for a world where we could go far, move forward, and always mingle.
We don’t know if you’ll be traveling with us from Germany to Italy next year, but when a year ends, we always feel a pang in our stomachs, remembering what we’ve been, and wondering what else we could be, on and off a bike. Happy pedaling 2026: where, it’s up to you.
Registration for the eleventh edition of the Rando Imperator continues at a special price until January 6th, here.
🇪🇺🇪🇺 Rando Imperator 2026 🇪🇺🇪🇺
May 16-17
11th edition
Munich – Bozen – Ferrara
By bike from Germany to Italy in 2 days
With: Treesport
Photo: Flavio Perazzini