Final Stage: Home and hosed …

… with 2,705 kilometers to his name and thus just as many euros collected for Wings for Life: on day 15 of his ‘Once to the end of the world – and back’ tour Sigi Grabner made it back to his adopted hometown of La Massana in Andorra. Sigi’s blog on his adventure-filled last leg.

"On June 16 at 9:15 pm local time I passed the town sign of La Massana after a total of 2,705 kilometers and was home again. But how! With both the best timing ever and a huge dose of good fortune … Almost written to script!

But I’ll start at the beginning. I got underway very early today because I wanted to ride the leg to Andorra at all costs. Ultimately it ended up being more than 200 kilometers because, due to the weather, the shorter, high-mountain route via Bonaigua wasn’t possible. So, I had to cycle on the flats – via Foix and Tarascon (which was better for the overall Wings for Life kilometer tally anyway). Twelve kilometers before Tarascon a passing storm completely saturated me. I just had time to pull on my rain jersey before it came pouring down. But that’s pretty much a given on this tour … But the unforeseen part was to come: At Ax-les-Thermes – where the Tour de France regularly passes and from where I usually watch because it’s just one hour’s drive from my house – I register almost sub-consciously that two middle gears were rattling slightly. Otherwise, everything was fine.

Andorra starts at the Port d’Envalira pass. It’s 7:30 in the evening, it’s a nippy six degrees Celsius; in the meantime the weather is okay again, the alpine rose is blooming everywhere, everything is pink, life is fantastic and I’m in a good mood. I’ve only got the 26 kilometer ride downhill to La Veilla from 2,480 meters up and then the few kilometers into the side valley after La Massana … Couldn’t have been better! Well, Sigi, think again! I ride along and speed down the wide road to just after Canillo – only twelve kilometers to La Veilla – suddenly – from one second to the next – the pedals block! I can’t pedal one inch further. The gears are stuck. What to do? I take my cycling shoes off and take my colleague – the Black Lightning – and run the last five kilometers up the mountain to La Massana.

My bike, which has carried me for the last nine years and has been in great shape, and which has also been my faithful companion day and night for the last 15 days, even shared a double room with me, now needs servicing. Just like me. But the timing couldn’t have been better. Everything went well and in the end I had unbelievably good fortune! Thank you!

The final total of 2705 euros for Wings for Life is a nice amount. And to me, that was the most important motivation for getting through it all and for bringing the tour to a good and safe end."

Sigi Grabner – 16/06/09

Visit the official websites
www.sigigrabner.com
www.wingsforlife.com
www.redbull.com