Push the boundaries
After a decade of doing bike races and triathlons in my spare time I decided in the summer of 2019 to pursue my passion for both gravel and ultra-distance cycling and make it my full time job. I want to discover the world on two wheels and push the boundaries of physical and mental capabilities.
Besides fulfilling personal goals I hope to inspire others through documentaries, events and stories to sometimes leave the everyday grind and open new horizons. If not for a lifetime, then for a day or a few hours.
It’s rewarding in so many ways.
The suffering
I’ve done numerous long distance triathlons, marathons and bike races, but have always had a special veneration for the bike part.
I’m no superman, but are rather good at pushing through the pain and actually enjoy the “suffering” as a natural part of the sport.
When going long the pain, tiredness and mental battle with yourself becomes a rite of passage you have to work through and somehow becomes as rewarding as the race or ride itself.
A little about me
I live in Copenhagen, Denmark, with my family and even though we live in an area with rather tight traffic, the city is still so relatively small, that I can be out in the countryside cycling within 10-15 minutes. I love having quiet farmlands within close vicinity as an antithesis to the fast paced big city life. The mixture of the two is great!
Professionally I have a 20+ years background in advertising, digital design and software development, but have for the past decade or so simultaneously had an avid interest in all sorts of endurance sports.
Besides adventure ultra cycling I enjoy almost all genres of music – from jazz to heavy metal. It greatly depends on the mood. Out on the long solo training rides Underworld would accompany me on the leg grinding and heart pumping VO2-max intervals, Tricky when riding at dawn and perhaps Solbrud at dusk.
My favorite mountain
I’ve been fortunate to have climbed most of the bucket-list climbs in Europe – and a few in the US – but one climb I would love to re-visit is Pico de Veleta in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Spain. It’s the highest paved road in Europe and is – dependent on which way you approach it – one 40 km long climb in some of the most beautiful, varied terrain you can imagine. From the peak itself – and it is indeed a peak – you can view most of the Andalucian plains…. but that’s after you have climbed the last 10 km on bike-only road above the treeline. The last 1 km is on hard accessible gravel.
I will make an adventure ride to Pico de Veleta in 2022.
(On the photo is me before the very steep part of the climb through Llasa Hamas with sections above 15%).