Pure adventure

Cycling from Vienna to Istanbul in just eleven days

Georg Wolfmayr and Johannes Bichler had to endure many an adventure.

(Bild: Georg Wolfmayr/Johannes Bichler)

There's no such thing as impossible. Two cyclists from Mühlviertel didn't let breakdowns, dog bites, bad roads and heat stop them - they took on a great adventure and cycled from Vienna to Istanbul. Afterwards they had a lot to tell.

It only takes around two and a half hours to get from Vienna to Istanbul by plane. By car, it takes around 16 hours. Two neighbors and childhood friends from Altenfelden now covered the distance in eleven days - by road bike. The decision was made quickly: "I was looking for a challenge last winter, and Johannes Bichler was persuaded after a few beers!" laughs entrepreneur Georg Wolfmayr.

Breakdowns were part of everyday life.

(Bild: Georg Wolfmayr/Johannes Bichler)

A difficult start
The duo trained diligently, as they only had eleven days for their journey. But the difficulties came on the very first day: "I left half-sick and had a stomach flu beforehand. Of course, it got worse again. On top of that, it was up to 40 degrees Celsius, so I really doubted whether I could make it," says the 45-year-old. But things soon picked up again: the illness disappeared and the two fathers decided to start at five o'clock in the morning to escape the worst of the heat.

170 kilometers a day
No small feat when you consider that the two of them cycled around 170 kilometers a day, had to spontaneously find accommodation and do laundry in the evening, and then wanted to mingle with the locals and only went to bed around midnight. "But after a few days we were so into the rhythm that we didn't miss sleeping at all!" emphasizes Johannes Wolfmayr.

Dangerous street dogs
However, further obstacles arose: Several falls, breakdowns and street dogs put the youth friends to the test, and the animals even caught the saddlebags three times. In addition, the deteriorating road quality forced the duo to ride on the highway more and more often. "At first it was only on a closed lane, but then we were on the hard shoulder more and more often. The surface there is passable for racing bikes, and nobody was bothered!" says Wolfmayr. "But the worse the roads got, the warmer, more hospitable and more open the locals became! Again and again we wanted to buy rounds, and in the end we were invited ourselves."

There was jubilation at the finish.

(Bild: Georg Wolfmayr/Johannes Bichler)

Bridge as the last hurdle
One last hurdle almost thwarted the Mühlviertel team's goal of cycling to Asia: None of the three bridges over the Bosporus strait are open to cyclists. "We tried anyway and were promptly stopped. But because we were wearing our "Vienna-Istanbul" shirts, the nice policemen took pity on us and stopped a bus, which eventually took us across. It was an incredible experience and we would both do it again in a heartbeat!" The cycling friends' next trip is already being planned. Until then, however, they are collecting donations for "HiKoeDe", an organization from Lembach in the Mühlviertel region that brings relief supplies to Romania.