When I came to France, I didn’t expect anything what I experienced at the Tourmagne.

I thought about more of a fun and easy Bikepacking Trip rather than going on my limits.

Nevertheless, quitting was not an option. My race mood was quickly switched on, and of course I wanted to finish Tourmagne.

Looking back, finishing almost 1000km in 5 days despite all the problems I had, I am quite surprised and proud of myself and my body. I am grateful that I had the best support from my partner Sebastian, who fed me a lot of Pasta during the tour.

learnings I got:

– Vaseline can solve a lot of Problems

– rain clothes (all kind!) are worth the extra weight

– France has a lot of mountains, not just Austria- so always bring warm clothes for the night and early mornings

My most challenging moment was when I reached the campsite on day 2. On the last 20km it started raining and the wind got stronger. Arriving at the campsite, I realized that some of my body parts were really sored from the sweat and the eruption from Gravel. I realized that I feel a lot of pain also in my knees and Hip. Everything hurt, and it was just the second day!

The next morning, the wind was still strong, it was cold (I guess 7 degrees), getting up from the warm tent was truly challenging.  But somehow I managed to get up. When I was about to leave the campsite I got quiet emotional, I thought: I could just be at home lying in bed, but I do this amazing adventure in France- just made me really motivated and proud. Adventures are not being made while staying in bed! 🙂

Finally, after these horrible two days, the weather got better and everything was good from now on.

I enjoyed the silence from the countryside, baguettes, and croissants.  Riding parts of the Tour the France (around Mende) and riding through the Massiv Central were my most favorite parts of Tourmagne. Happy but exhausted, also wet from the rain I arrived in Nimes.

The finisher Party was such a great end of an unforgettable adventure. Everyone was just cool, and it was great to get in touch again with the riders who were just briefly known in helmets and bibs.

If you want to know how the trip really was, go an check out our YouTube Video on the Channel „Wiener Verkehr“ which is going to be online soon!

Thanks, Tourmagne- thank you France- see you soon 🙂