updated29. August 2022, 06:52
Adventure tour ended earlier“All surveillance cameras immediately focused on me”
In seven months, 19-year-old Tobias Renggli climbed 44 of the highest mountains in Europe – on his bike. It was supposed to be 47, but not everything went smoothly: he was arrested in Belarus, he had to skip Mont Blanc and drive home early.
He covered a total of 360,000 kilometers (an average of 200 km per day) and 500,000 meters in altitude. He visited a total of 400 cities on the European continent.
Tobias Renggli
The 19-year-old adventurer only traveled with the bare essentials: hiking boots, crampons, ice axes, an ultra-light tent and of course his bike.
Tobias Renggli
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19-year-old Tobias Renggli from Buchrain recently completed his “Bikepacking Europe” cycle tour through Europe.
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He has covered 36,000 kilometers and half a million meters in altitude, visited 400 cities and climbed the highest mountains in 44 European countries.
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He faced many pitfalls, including an arrest in Belarus and a night with drug dealers in Montenegro.
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The extreme bike tour had to be interrupted on August 14, 2022 due to the precarious conditions on Mont Blanc.
Tobias Renggli from Buchrain has covered 36,000 kilometers (regarding three times from Lucerne to Singapore) and 500,000 meters in altitude last November covered. He has climbed the highest mountains in 44 European countries and visited 400 cities – only with his bike, his ultra-light sleeping bag and a few other items that are as light and small as possible.
When he started in November (20 minutes reported), he had even more in mind: within ten months there should be 47 mountain tours in 47 countries. In August, however, Tobias had to end the tour early because of the conditions on Mont Blanc: “The mountain is officially closed, if you want to go up, you pay a deposit of 15,000 euros, which you get back when you’re down once more. In the not so unlikely event that this never happens once more, rescue or burial has already been pre-financed.” He then drove home two days earlier than planned. The 19-year-old mightn’t hide a certain disappointment but describes himself as amazed and pleased with what he has achieved.
Arrested in Belarus and spent the night with drug dealers
During the bike ride, Tobias encountered many difficulties. And it’s not just regarding fatigue, harsh climates and precarious housing. The Buchrainer was arrested on the border with Belarus: “I took a picture of the monstrous barbed wire fence there and promptly all the surveillance cameras pointed at me,” he writes on his blog. “I was arrested a short time later and taken to a military station that looked like something out of a Soviet Union movie!” Tobias was released following signing documents he mightn’t understand and deleting the photos.
But that’s not all. Last July, Renggli had to spend a night with drug dealers during the stage in Montenegro: “It wasn’t as wild as it sounds,” he tells 20 minutes. “I spent one night with people who produce and sell drugs on a very small scale.”
Inspired by Matura work
He has been back since August 14, 2022 and his project, die «Bikepacking Europe»-Bike tour, thus ended. And what happens now? “Now I’m going to study at the ETH in Zurich first, but I’m sure that I’ll do similar things in the future,” he says. It is still unclear whether there will be a book in which Tobias tells his adventures in detail. However, it would not be regarding telling his great deeds. Rather, he is concerned with conveying the messages he has learned on this journey, which he describes as “a formative experience, broadening horizons and incredibly valuable and enriching on various levels”.
Die «Bikepacking Europe»-Bike tour is not the ambitious Lucerne native’s first demanding project. In the summer of 2020, Tobias completed the “Tour dör d’Schwiiz” as part of his Matura thesis. A bike tour to discover Switzerland and the highest mountains in each canton. On this tour, the then 18-year-old visited all 250 cities in Switzerland over a period of 38 days.
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