As you probably know, our cyclist friends, Camille and Quentin, embarked on an extraordinary challenge by bike. From Annecy, they traveled across Europe from April to August, equipped with Ozio, with the objective of the North Cape, in Norway. Today, back in France after this long journey, it is time to take stock of this adventure, as human as it is sporting.
Camille, Quentin, you have returned to France after 5 months by bike. What do you remember from this experience?
This trip transformed us: nature gave us a very beautiful gift! Traveling together gave us some great moments of sharing. We experienced unique moments on our bikes. Also, we were able to enjoy incredible bivouacs, almost always alone. We can say that we have gone back to basics. We were far from imagining everything that the trip would bring us... The meetings we met were very inspiring and comforting! We were amazed by this fraternity and this beautiful humanity throughout the trip: whether it was a look, a smile, encouragement when we were riding, or even people who approached us to ask us what we were doing. and who congratulated us. Not to mention those who actually offered us tea, snacks, meals... Each time, it filled us with indescribable energy and an indelible feeling!
How did you manage accommodation on site?
Before leaving, we signed up for the WarmShower app "just in case". In the end, we stayed with locals for a good part of April, as the weather conditions were so difficult (cold, rain, wind, etc.). This allowed us to meet some great people. Otherwise, we took advantage of the right of access to nature (allemansrätt) in Scandinavian countries! In Denmark, we slept in shelters (wooden shelters accessible to hikers and cyclists) and otherwise wild bivouacs!
It looks like you really fell in love with Norway…
Absolutely ! Norway's spectacular landscapes truly made us fall in love with this incredible country. It was wild, pure, authentic! The midnight sun transported us: it was fabulous to ride with this light, with the reindeer running in front of us and to cross Lofoten and Vesteralen... Also, the closer we got to the Scandinavian countries, the more we saw the routes to cyclists improve! Finally, our arrival at the North Cape was full of emotions: we experienced a real difficult North Cape, with fog, cold and wind... But we saw the famous Terrestrial Globe installed at the Cape, which we touched at after more than 8000 kms!
Can you tell us more about your Ozio equipment?
Before leaving, we told ourselves that we would only leave with Ozio clothes! We have always worn Ozio, a brand we know and really trust. Christian gave us good advice on making the right choices regarding our outfits. We needed winter clothing to face the cold, the wind and sometimes complicated weather. We wore the incredible throughout the month of April Jacket Elements which allowed us not to turn back. The under-helmet and long-sleeved merino jersey are also essential and have served us well. Concerning the intermediate outfit, we loved wearing the Flocons and Abstract jerseys. It was just what we needed in terms of warmth and windproofing.
For the summer outfit, we fell in love with the shorts TITAN et DIVA (which we really sanded!). As for the jerseys and undershirts, they are very well cut and dry quickly. Practical, especially since our means of washing our clothes were rather limited.
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