Chapter One
Where It Started
I did not get into cycling through a big plan. It happened almost by accident. I started riding in 2017, and a few casual rides turned into something serious very quickly. Within three months, I made a decision that still surprises me today: I planned a four-month journey to cycle the entire west coast of Africa.
To make that trip possible, I ordered my first Lauf online. A True Grit. I had never ridden one before, but I had done my homework. I watched and read everything I could find about Lauf: the early tech talks, the explanation behind the fork, the video of a truck hanging from it. At some point, it all clicked.
In August 2018, I started in Casablanca and headed south. Morocco was intense and chaotic. The Western Sahara stretched time and distance. Mauritania was defined by heat, wind, and long, empty roads. Further south, everything shifted again. Senegal felt open and social. Guinea-Bissau quiet and intimate. Côte d'Ivoire dense, humid, and alive. The journey ended on a quiet beach in Cape Coast, Ghana, just in time for Christmas.
Somewhere along the way, I named the bike Sisu — a Finnish word that roughly translates to quiet determination.
About a week before the end, I had an accident that broke the shifter lever. I zip-tied it back into place. It still worked, but I could barely touch it. Over the final 50 kilometers, the shifting stopped completely, leaving me stuck in the easiest gear.
I could have taken transport. But it did not feel right. I had come that far with this bike. Out of respect, I would have finished with it no matter what. If needed, I would have pushed it.
In the end, I carried Sisu for the final stretch into Cape Coast. We had started the journey together, and I was not going to finish it any other way.
True Grit / Sisu ❤️
Chapter Two
Community
In 2021, I founded ZüRides as an independent cycling community in Zurich. What began as a small WhatsApp group grew steadily through regular riding and word of mouth. Today, it connects close to 2,000 cyclists across the Zurich region and has become a stable part of the local cycling scene.
ZüRides runs multiple rides every week, year-round, across road, gravel, and offroad. In 2025 alone, the community organised around 80 rides with more than 700 participants.
Alongside ZüRides, I am a long-standing member and active guide with Veloton, the other major cycling community in Zurich, which connects close to 4,000 riders. In 2025, Veloton organised over 100 rides with around 1,400 participants.
Across both communities, I organised and guided 35 rides last year alone and well over 200 group rides over the past five years.
"I'm in a position where people regularly look to me for honest advice and inspiration in their bike life."
Chapter Three
The Journey With Lauf
Over time, a few things became part of my riding identity: fat tyres on almost any bike, colourful aero gravel socks, and long gravel adventures that feel like once-in-a-lifetime journeys and quietly inspire others to follow their own path.
After the west coast of Africa, I continued riding the True Grit for years. In 2022, it carried me through Rwanda and Uganda, into the mountains to visit mountain gorillas.
In 2023, I rode through Ireland.
Towards the end of 2023 and over New Year, I travelled to Kenya. By then, I had switched to the Seigla and built it for a slightly different style of riding. I ran it as a mullet setup with deep-section wheels, before this configuration became an official Lauf option. I spent a month cycling through open landscapes and conservancies, often sharing the road with elephants and giraffes.
In 2024, I spent a month in Iceland with two other Seiglas, bikepacking through the Westfjords. We also started The Rift together. Bringing my Lauf back home had always been something I wanted to do.
In 2025, I started at the Traka 360 in Spain and Octopus Gravel in Switzerland, and returned to West Africa for a full month of bikepacking through Benin and Togo, riding the Seigla deep into the heart of Africa.
That same year, I added the Elja to my setup and began taking it into the mountains of Switzerland. It opened a new dimension of riding for me and is something I want to integrate more deliberately into future trips.
Over the last seven years, I have ridden three different Lauf bikes across a wide range of terrain. In Africa alone, I cycled through twelve countries with them, gathering countless stories, images, and experiences along the way.
Chapter Four
Already Doing the Job
In many ways, I have been acting as an unpaid Lauf ambassador since 2018.
Over the years, I have come to know Lauf bikes and their philosophy deeply and have introduced many people to them through riding, trips, and everyday conversations. This happens naturally, in real situations, where people see the bikes used consistently and ask questions.
When I visited the Lauf HQ in Reykjavik, I found myself explaining the different models to another visiting customer while waiting. At The Rift signup, I was showing the Úthald to curious riders. These moments are typical for me.
In terms of reach, I document my riding primarily on Strava, where I have around 350 active followers. Beyond that, my real impact comes through the communities I help lead, where several thousand riders regularly see the bikes in use, ask about setups, and follow my journeys.
I have not focused on Instagram so far, but the material is there.
A Few More Samples
There is so much more where this came from ...