Disclaimer: I have to write this journal entry in english because it is meant for the worldwide cycling community and not just my german speaking customers and supporters. I am not doing it because I am a pretentious tit (which some might think I am anyway).

30 DAYS OF BikING

In 2017, I came across this wonderful movement founded by Patrick Stephenson. It’s a global social initiative to promote cycling as both transportation and a source of joy. The idea is simple: you pledge to ride every day for the entire month of April.

In the northern hemisphere, April is the perfect time to kickstart the cycling season — a symbolic way to leave winter hibernation behind. The initiative has inspired countless fundraising efforts, and I myself raised over €1,500 twice for World Bicycle Relief in 2017 and 2018.

This year will be no different: I’ll ride every day, and along the way I’ll look for causes and donation opportunities that feel most meaningful right now.

How It All Began

While preparing to write this piece, I started reflecting on my own cycling history — and realized how far back it really goes. Maybe some of you will find parts of it familiar.

My first bike, which I got at around five or six, was a small silver steel frame — like a miniature adult road bike with a flat bar and one gear. You could call it a singlespeed. I rode it until I broke the frame trying to jump on BMX tracks.

After that came a legendary Saltafoss-type full suspension bike. A spin-off from the higher-end models, it lacked disc brakes and fancy rims but had three gears and drum brakes. I loved it to pieces. It might have been the start of my lifelong love for tan-wall tires. Technically, though, it was terrible — I broke that frame too.

Saltafoss / SaltaCross - full suspension kids bike.

The Teenage Years

Next came an MBK (ex-Motobécane) BMX with a gold-chrome frame and matching parts. It looked sick, but I broke the seatpost clamp trying to extend it beyond its limit — classic teenage move. Welding didn’t save it.

Then came a Peugeot MTB, a gift from my dad for finishing middle school. I had it for 48 hours before a junkie stole it while I was swimming with friends. I chased him down, but he threatened to pull a knife. I was 15. The police didn’t care. Welcome to small-town Italy in the 1980s.

That theft hurt. It was my first “real” mountain bike — 27 gears, shiny components, the dream.
It wouldn’t be my last stolen bike.

Berlin, Bianchi, and Broken Frames

Years later, after boarding school in Germany and audio engineering studies in Sydney, I returned to Berlin. I bought a Bianchi MTB and used it daily to commute from Kreuzberg to Charlottenburg — 18 minutes flat. My first pre-Strava PR.

It was a rocket: dark green, nimble, and built for night rides across the city. It got stolen too, after a slow death of disappearing parts.

Bianchi Osprey in blue - mine was green.

Next was a custom steel MTB from a small frame builder in Brandenburg — black chrome finish, Shimano XT. Gorgeous. Gone in 48 hours. Stolen from inside my building.

My girlfriend at the time salvaged my spirit with a Bianchi Ragno frame she found in a scrapyard. I rebuilt it into a singlespeed city bike, my trusted ride for 15 years. Rain, snow, cobblestones, trails — it handled everything. Ugly enough to leave outside clubs, good enough to love.

Today, it’s a fully restored vintage beauty. My wife owns it now (and never rides it).
It’s the bike I’ve owned the longest — still rolling strong.

Falling for Steel Again

In 2013, my friend Jelto gave me a 1963 Motobécane steel road bike. Tubular tires, chrome socks, yellow-and-green paint — I was instantly hooked.

Rebuilding it taught me everything about mechanics: wheel building, cranksets, mixing Campagnolo, Suntour, Mavic, and even a Phil Wood bottom bracket. It was chaotic but beautiful — a mechanical collage that worked.

[Gallery: Motobécane 1963 road bike]

That bike infected me with the tinkering virus. I had officially crossed from rider to mechanic.

Fat Tires and New Horizons

In 2016, I bought my Felt DD 70 fat bike — my first expensive bike and instant love.
It was perfect for the sandy trails near my home by the former Berlin Wall, where normal bikes just sink.

Over four years it evolved: Wren suspension fork, dropper post, XT brakes — until the chainstay snapped.

Where I Am Now

The rest is history. I discovered Strava, the Velominati, online bike forums full of retro nerds — and #30DaysOfBiking became part of who I am.

Today I run my own bike brand. Cycling remains one of the purest sources of happiness in my life — alongside family, friends, music, art, and food.

To all the bikes I’ve owned: thank you.
To all the bike thieves out there: fuck you.

Ride on.
#30DOB #30daysofbiking

30 Days Of Biking - 1 - 30th of April 2022