GRAVEL ALLIANCE: Flo Novak - Not really a party animal.
Posted By Gravel Union
On 20 April 2020
Shimano Gravel Alliance team member Flo Novak reminisces about having so much fun on his gravel bike that he forgot where he was supposed to be going.
Recently I've been musing over my greatest rides. The more I thought about this question, one specific day kept coming to mind.
This was in October 2018. Since I already raced and trained a lot as a professional by this point, it might disappoint you to know that it was an off-season experience.
It all started at my hometown of Oberammergau in the German Alps, close to the Austrian border.
In the morning I started out for a chilled off-season gravel ride. After some time, a friend called and told me about a party they were holding in Innsbruck later that day. I didn't have to think twice since it was the off-season and I didn't have an excuse not to join.
But, by this point I had already ridden quite a long way in the opposite direction – I was in completely the wrong valley and there was not a lot of time left to go back home and drive over to the party. So, I decided to go over two big mountains and ride the extra 80km to get to Innsbruck and join the party instead.
I was glad to have gravel bike with me so I could use the roads of the forestry workers in my area. I was amazed by the scenery and the landscape in the Alps - I hadn't seen that perspective on the countryside before.
I was so amazed and entranced by riding my bike through those beautiful areas that I just rode on and on and (believe it or not) I forgot about stopping in Innsbruck! Instead I rode back up another beautiful mountain and across the German border again towards home. As I was cruising into Oberammergau I remembered why I had picked such a huge loop in the beginning. The views, scenery, and landscape made me forget everything and enjoy the ride.
It was quite incredible to be so lost in a magical world of mountainous peaks and wooded valleys, with barely another soul save for the occasional hiker. Thinking back to this day encapsulates a lot about what riding means to me and is one ride I'll keep in mind as motivation during the coming weeks.