A Bike Adventure From Austria to the Pamirs: Rebecca Gross

Imagine planning to take your first big bike adventure, setting off from Austria, destination the Pamirs in Central Asia? Well this is exactly what listener Rebecca Gross is setting off to do with her partner in March, 2025. I'm excited to be able to share this journey with you as part of a little series which will take us as listeners along for the adventure. Today I'm sharing with you how Rebecca first came up with this idea, how she has prepared for the trip and also what she is looking forward to. Over the coming months, we will be hearing from Rebecca with updates from the road, letting us know how it is all going.

Be sure to follow Rebecca via her instagram account - @rebecca_grb

Click here to book your spot to ride with me on my bikepacking tour through the Pyrenees.

Watch Part 1 of our 3 part series from Cycling Across the Pyrenees on YouTube

Help support the show - head over to www.oldmanmountain.com/seektravelride

Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:24

Hey everyone, it's Bella Malloy here, host of Seek Travel Ride, and welcome to another midweek mini episode. I've actually got a special treat for you today that's a little different from our usual format. Instead of getting into the details of a single day from someone's bike travels, we're going to be looking ahead to one that's about to begin. So imagine this, you're going to be setting off from Austria and cycling all the way to the Pamires in Central Asia. It sounds pretty incredible, right? Well, that's exactly what Rebecca Gross is preparing to do in March. Here's the coolest part. Rebecca told me she was inspired to take on this massive adventure after listening to the podcast. That's what Seek Travel Ride is all about, sparking dreams and helping them come alive. So today you're going to hear from Rebecca herself as she shares what it's like gearing up for her first ever big bikepacking adventure. And I'm excited to say we're going to be tracking her journey all along the way, as she's going to be providing us updates straight from the road as she makes her way east. Now, before we get into Rebecca's story, just a quick reminder there are still spots available for my upcoming bikepacking trip in the foothills of the French Pyrenees at the end of June this year. Now, if you are curious about trying bikepacking and you're wondering about whether to join me on this trip, wanting to know more, this is the perfect way to explore with like-minded people, experience the magic of cycling adventures, and come on an adventure with me. You can find all the details at seattravelride.com and I've also provided a link in the show notes. And lastly, if you want to see what my adventures have been like, I have recently shared part one of a three-part series which shows my crossing of the Pyrenees in the summer of 2023. It's available now on our YouTube channel, which is called, funnily enough, you guessed it, Seek Travel Ride. So head over there to watch and make sure to let me know what you think. Alright, now that's all done with.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

Hi, I'm Rebecca. I'm from Austria, and on March 1st, I will head off to Central Asia with my partner Javi.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

Rebecca Gross, welcome to the show. Thank you so much that I can be here. I'm really excited.

SPEAKER_02 3:05

You should be excited because Rebecca, you're what, six weeks away now from packing luggage onto your bike and setting off? Yes.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

We will start March 1st.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

I can see the excitement on your face. Listeners, I appreciate you can't see Rebecca now, but she is exceptionally excited. Yes. Tell me, Rebecca, this adventure of yours, what's the plan?

SPEAKER_00 3:26

We only have a rough plan. We don't want to set like a lot of destinations where we want to go because this puts so much pressure on us. So the first big destination is Palmir and Central Asia. But after that, the plan doesn't continue. So it's really open where we will be in winter.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

And I imagine that this has been part of your planning as well. It has been factoring in the sort of climate and especially with the terrain that you're going to be cycling through, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:59

Yes. We thought about being in the Palmeir in summertime. So that's why we set off in March. And through the Balkans, we thought of going a bit faster without a lot of detours to enjoy the time in Turkey and Central Asia a bit more.

SPEAKER_02 4:17

Oh wow. I was in Turkey just a few months ago. It was my first time there. Sadly, I wasn't on a bike. I was on the Turkish coast in Fetia and it was absolutely amazing. And something I was thinking, Rebecca, is all these stories I've heard from bike travellers I've interviewed, the hospitality was evident to me, and I wasn't even on a bike. So I can't imagine what's a waiting for you there.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

I know this hospitality you hear from everyone, and I just can't imagine how it will be. So I'm really looking forward to this.

SPEAKER_02 4:48

So have you done bike travel before? Have you had a big bike adventure before? Because this seems huge.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

No, we have never done bikepacking. Rabi did it, but I haven't done it. And well, actually, all this bike trip is based on a one and a half day bikepacking trip. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:08

Oh wow. What was your first bikepacking trip?

SPEAKER_00 5:12

It was just when we got the bikes, we thought we should try if we love it or hate it. So let's go on a one and a half day trip. And we went to Switzerland to a lake and we tried while camping. And immediately we were really into it, and we were like, yes, one and a half days enough to know we can do this for a year.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

So hang on, when did that one and a half day trip happen? How long ago are we talking about here? About the last 10 months, then have you slowly been coming up with ideas of what sort of adventure you'd take and what type of trip and where you were going to go?

SPEAKER_00 5:50

Yes. Sometimes it was a bit annoying because every day was talking about this trip because it's fulfilling all the life. But we talked a lot about the route, about the things we will take. Also, when I listened to podcasts, I was updating Rhabi and said, Oh, you know, they were going there and they took this route. Check it out on Strava and all about that.

SPEAKER_02 6:19

It's funny just interviewing people who've gone east or west or north or south. It's amazing how much my geography's come along from it. So I can imagine if you're listening to it thinking, Oh, I'm planning my own adventure, there you're probably picking up on guests talking about places, thinking, Oh, I'd like to know about that.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

Definitely. It gives me so many ideas, so that's helping a lot with planning.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

Let's talk about planning then, from that one and a half day trip to ten months of where are we going to go to packing off in six weeks' time. As someone who's never taken a trip this long before, what are the things you've been thinking about the most?

SPEAKER_00 6:59

I think we thought a lot about the route, definitely. Uh, we had a rough idea where we want to go because this year wasn't actually starting like a year plan, it was starting as a three months plan. We always just wanted to go for three months because this is kind of my comfort zone. But then we realized Turkey is big. And if we are in Turkey, we could go to Georgia, and if we are there, we could probably go to Iran as well. And somehow we realized this is not enough time. So that's why we said a year should be good. We checked a lot websites of the countries, like the visa stuff where we need a visa, and where we just can go and get the visa on the border. Then when the route was more or less set, we also checked the packing lists of other bike packers to know if we need more stuff. Because we thought everybody has like four pennies, like in the front two and in the back two, and we're like, wow, we have to get more pennys. And then we realized we don't need so much stuff, so we are fine with two pennys at the back. And figuring out what we need and what we don't actually need took some time and is still taking time. The more time you have, the more you think about what you need.

SPEAKER_02 8:23

Do you have a non-negotiable luxury item? It's a question I ask guests now. What are you taking that, strictly speaking, you don't need to take, but you need to take?

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Yes. I on the one hand, I thought my heated socks is a luxury item, but I think they are essential. So probably I wouldn't call them a luxury item. But what I probably don't need is the camping pillow. And it's super soft and it's so comfortable, and I'm so picky with pillows. So yeah, I think this is my luxury item.

SPEAKER_02 9:00

I think it helps with a good night's sleep. And I certainly know, Rebecca, I don't know about you, but if I haven't had a good night's sleep, I'm not a happy traveller the next day. So maybe it is totally essential, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:13

It is. It can be a really bad day if I haven't slept, if I hadn't coffee, or if I didn't eat, and yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

A year's journey leaving from Austria through the Balkans, Turkey, Iran, and then into Central Asia onto the Pamir Highway. This is a mega journey. What are you looking forward to the most?

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Wow, this is a tough question because there are so many things I can't wait to see, like the nature or cities, or things we planned where we will pass through. But then there's also food. I just can't wait to try all the different food. We are taking uh a camp cooker, but I always said, but this doesn't mean we won't try food, right? Because I was so afraid we just will cook.

SPEAKER_02 10:07

You know me, Rebecca, having listened to the podcast and listeners, you know me really well. I'm a food fan, I'm a food lover. I have to talk about food every episode. Even in this little mini episode, is there a type of dish you're particularly have you researched something that you're looking forward to, especially trying?

SPEAKER_00 10:23

I just saw a lot of photos of this huge tables full of food in Turkey or in to in Georgia, trying all the different foods. Yeah, I'm looking forward to this.

SPEAKER_02 10:35

And then I guess on the other end of the spectrum, I think you you possibly go through some of the richest areas for food, going through Turkey, Georgia, then Iran, and then all of a sudden you'll hit the deserts of Central Asia. Yes. And from what I've heard, it's sort of yeah, it's not necessarily gourmet cuisine there, is it?

SPEAKER_00 10:52

Yeah, I think that we will cook a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

It might be a lot of two-minute noodles.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

Right.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

There's a lot of bread in some places there too.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

Oh, I laugh bread. Growing up in Austria, you have to laugh bread. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 11:06

Actually, something else a lot of bike travellers tell me when they're going through certain areas through Central Asia, be prepared if it's melon season for you to be gifted different types of melons to take on your journey. Yeah. A lot of guests never know is it a gift or is it a joke?

SPEAKER_00 11:22

Because I I will see it as a gift.

SPEAKER_02 11:27

You've obviously done your research in terms of figuring out a general route of where you're going. And I love the idea that you've packed flexibility in with you because it it's something I think it's one of the most important things and the important approaches to a bike tour is to have an idea but be flexible to be able to change within that. Are there things then that you have sort of learnt in your planning that you've gone, oh, I didn't know this existed, and I can't wait to try or to discover this for myself?

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Well, you have to know that I'm not a very spontaneous person, and I hate if plans are changing. It makes me so nervous.

SPEAKER_02 12:08

So this has been hard. It is. How has being flexible been for you then?

SPEAKER_00 12:13

It is so hard, and I try not to think about it too much. Like I keep myself from doing this, it costs me sometimes a lot of energy. But somehow I'm really looking forward to the day where our plan is changing, just to see how I would react and if I will survive this.

SPEAKER_02 12:35

It'll also be really interesting to see with those changes, A, how you react and B at the end of your trip, reflecting back, have you changed your persona or your personality in terms of having to have a planned out structure?

SPEAKER_00 12:48

Yes, I can't wait for that. And it cost me a lot of energy doing this and organizing all this stuff. Some things just didn't come very easy, like selling my car or thinking about how we do this with the apartment. And somehow things just come easy at one point of a time, and then I realized I just have to let life happen and everything will be fine without planning too much.

SPEAKER_02 13:17

If you overplan, it's too rigid and it's too structured, and it's too hard to fit life in all those boundaries if you just leave it to fate and just trust that things will work out.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

And I already learned that with the planning, so I wonder how spontaneous I will be at the end of this trip.

SPEAKER_02 13:37

You live in Austria near some big mountains there. You're heading to some big mountains. Would I be right, Rebecca, to say that you're a mountain lover? I am. I really am a mountain lover. And so have you ridden a bicycle with lots of luggage on it up some big climbs yet? Uh nope, actually not.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

I do a lot of road cycling, going over the mountain passes, and that's fine. But with the the travel bike, we didn't do a lot of uphill. We did, but not with really heavy bikes.

SPEAKER_02 14:12

My first experience of it was crossing the Pyrenees in 2023 in summer, and I had ridden those mountains many times on a road bike, unloaded, so I know the effort that's required, but that was the first time I'd done it with luggage on, and I'd actually interviewed a guest, Max Schnell, and he was the person that put the seed in my mind about the idea that riding mountains with a loaded bike was a magical experience that puts you starkly in the moment. It's the most mindful you could be. And my experience crossing the mountain range there was very much that. So I am here excited, thinking that this awaits you. Are you looking forward to taking on a climb with a heavy bike?

SPEAKER_00 14:55

Yes, definitely. I am looking forward to mountains, and I just don't want to go through a welly without going into the mountains. So I don't think it matters if the bike is fully loaded or not. I mean, we have a whole day to climb the mountain, I guess. And also, there's a downhill waiting for me later, so I think that's fine.

SPEAKER_02 15:19

Wild camping then. So you did a bit of wild camping on this first trip in Switzerland. Have you camped much outside of that? Like, are you an outdoors lover? Is camping something that you're used to doing?

SPEAKER_00 15:29

Yeah, actually, we started camping on Hawaii.

SPEAKER_02 15:34

Oh wow. Very, very different to the PMI highways.

SPEAKER_00 15:37

I know. Because we were going to Hawaii because the the flights were so cheap. And then when we bought the flights, we realized accommodation is insanely expensive. And we were like, no, we don't want to pay that much for a hotel room. And that's when we bought a tent on Amazon and got it delivered directly to the hostel on Hawaii where we stayed the first night. And that's when we camped for three weeks, and we just loved it. And after that, we got to Iceland, where we had the same problem that hotels are really expensive. So we camped on Iceland in May, which was well, it was really different to Hawaii because it was so cold.

SPEAKER_02 16:26

I've seen people who've toured bikepacked in Iceland in the middle of their summer and it's still like only four degrees Celsius. I don't know that you can call it a summer, right?

SPEAKER_00 16:35

Definitely not.

SPEAKER_02 16:38

So I guess camping in real cold weather and warmer weather is an experience that you've had. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

And we are fine with that, I think.

SPEAKER_02 16:47

Obviously, you're you're looking to hit the Pamires to avoid the extreme cold temperatures in the wintertime, right? But what sort of temperatures are you sort of factoring in for this trip? Like what type of sleeping bag are you taking with you and things like that?

SPEAKER_00 17:02

We have a dawn sleeping bag, and I think it's made for minus two, something about that. We bought um when we went to Nepal during trekking there where it was really cold, and we were fine. We have like an inlay like a silk liner. Yes. And we already thought about what we will do if it's really cold. So we thought, okay, we will put our feet into a backpack, and my life hack is filling the nalgaine bottle with hot water to have a hot water bottle. So yeah, I think we will survive the cold.

SPEAKER_02 17:40

What sort of things then as a beginner, I guess, make you potentially nervous, potentially excited as well, but a bit nervous about what's ahead. There is a lot of unknown. As a planner, you can't plan everything. What's making you ponder things a little bit more?

SPEAKER_00 18:00

What makes me nervous is when I, for example, when I go to work on bike and it's just 25 kilometers and I'm already really tired, and then I think about what we wanted to do 80 kilometers a day during the trip. I'm really nervous and thinking, well, am I able to do this? What if I'm really tired, or what if I just don't want to do this anymore? And I think the distance and this everyday riding a bike makes me a bit nervous. And then also I really enjoy having time for myself and I really need this. But we will be together 24-7, and we already talked about this a lot because I'm scared about like losing myself a bit. And we already said if we have a day off or like a day in a city, it will be my day, and he will do things he wants to do, and I will grab a coffee and yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:06

Oh, I love this. I like that idea that you're sort of thinking of the strategies that are going to keep you feeling in a good mindset, but also potentially also good for your relationship as well.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

Definitely.

SPEAKER_02 19:19

Going on a bike tour together, you're with each other all day. You'll be experiencing things differently though. And that's something that I've learned interviewing couples as well, Rebecca, is and I guess if I reflect back on my experiences, because they've primarily often always been with my husband as well, is we can do the same exact route, have the same start, finish, eat in the same places, but our days have felt differently.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

Yes, I think I can relate to this. Also, because for him, riding a bike is easier than for me. It somehow comes really natural to him, and I always feel I have to put much more effort into it. That's where it's already really different.

SPEAKER_02 20:03

You'll find your flow with that as well, no doubt. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

But I think it's it will be okay. We know each other for long enough that we will be fine.

SPEAKER_02 20:12

With your strategy then, are you someone who typically would ride, say, without headphones, without music, without podcasts, sort of being, you know, aware of your surroundings? Are you someone that likes to be distracted by things during tough times? What about that side of things? Because I'm keen to see how you've started on this journey and then find out if any of these type of things change along the way as well.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

I already downloaded so many podcasts. I am like, I think I'm Spotify, so it's like 80 hours of podcasts.

SPEAKER_02 20:46

Wow, that's huge.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

Just because I sometimes feel it helps going every day and seeing always just like surrounding and I don't know. I just sometimes need the distraction or or listen to something interesting and not thinking about too much or listening to my thoughts.

SPEAKER_02 21:04

Something that'll snap you out of your own head in a little way.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

Definitely. I'm an overthinker and I think listening to other stuff helps me not think about too much what could happen.

SPEAKER_02 21:15

You know, you are six weeks from leaving. Have you, in this big long lead up to this adventure starting, have you actually ever had doubts built enough to nearly make you think, no, I don't want to do this?

SPEAKER_00 21:28

At the beginning, there was just excitement. But in the planning, we left a lot of things to January. We said, Oh, we will do this in the new year, we will do that in the new year. Then there was January, and we started to plan some things a lot more serious, and it felt so real, and all of a sudden, that just was no excitement anymore, and I just felt very stressed. And there was a time where I told a friend, I it feels like I'm sabotaging my own life because I love my life, everything is perfect, and I I will leave it behind. And I said to her, I just don't know why I'm doing this. And she said, Can't you remember what you said at the beginning? And I was like, so desperate. And I said, No, please tell me. And she was. You said you can, that's why you do it. And I was like, Yeah. That's what I told people. I'm doing this because I can. The only limit or the only person or thing which is limiting all of this is myself. And if I say I can do this, I can do this. And I had to remind myself a lot of the times now it's what I want to do. And now I'm excited again.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

Rebecca, I need to clip this up for you and I'll send it to you randomly in random days. And I don't know when you'll get the messages come through, but hopefully it'll be a moment where you're like, oh, I did say this, and it'll remind you as well. Thank you. I am super looking forward to following along your journey. And listeners, definitely keep an eye out. My plan with this is to track Rebecca's journey now from just before she sets off to setting off to all along the way. Rebecca has kindly agreed to keep us updated on her travels. And Rebecca, I'm stupendously excited for you. I think this is absolutely mega. I cannot wait to see your adventure unfold. Thank you. There you go, listeners, and that is our first part in this series with Rebecca. I am so excited to watch this journey unfold for her, and I am super stoked that she has said yes to adventure and is taking this challenge on. I've interviewed a few people who've gone across this route, and I'm just really excited knowing what lays ahead for Rebecca. I also really love that she's looking forward to how this journey is going to change her and how she's going to be reacting as someone who likes planning things a lot to the detail. Knowing that she, as an extreme planner, needs to learn to be comfortable with being flexible. I think that's such an important thing that she's going in there with the mindset of. I've also really enjoyed listening to how she knows that she needs that time for herself and how she and her partner are setting up strategies for success, I would say, to help keep them both energized on the road. I think this is brilliant. Rebecca, thanks for sharing this part of your journey, and I cannot wait to see your adventures unfold. Now, listeners, I want to give a quick shout out to our show sponsor, Old Man Mountain, who are continuing to support Seek Travel Ride. I always encourage you to support the brands that are supporting the podcast, and a real good way of doing that is to go to our special link, which is oldmanmountain.com forward slash Seek Travel Ride. That just lets them know that you heard about them through the podcast. Now, lastly, and I would almost say most importantly, it's time for me to say thank you to you, our super fans, for once again showing the love for the podcast and buying me a coffee. I always love seeing these messages of support for the show come through. And today I am going to shout out Bob M, who said, I love your work, Bella. Your drive in getting this off the ground with regular pods is tremendous. Fantastic podcast with very interesting stories of your guests and their courage in undertaking some very challenging rides. I turn 80 this year, but get to do about three 50km gravel rides per week, and naturally the podcast is one of my accompanying items. Slowly working through the list as I've only just recently signed up. By the way, your interviewing and chatting skills are brilliant. All the best for Bob. I'd love to do the Pyrenees with you this year, but I've got things on. Maybe next time. Well, thank you so much, Bob, for buying me some coffees, and I am so stoked that I get to join you on your gravel rides each and every week. Uh my mind boggles at what adventure stories you get to listen to as you work your way through the monumental back catalogue of adventure stories here on the podcast. Thank you so much for supporting the show, and uh I look forward to joining you on more rides, and who knows, maybe next year you can join me for a trip as well. Thank you so much for supporting the show. Now, listeners, if you want to do as Bob has done and also support me on the podcast, you can buy me a virtual coffee, keeps me caffeinated, keeps me producing these amazing episodes for you, and fills your cup of wonderlust. I've provided a link in the show notes. Thank you so much for supporting the show, and until the next episode, I'm Bella Malloy. Thanks for listening.