Bike tour from the North Cape to Mostviertel

Optimism reigns in the Mühlberger family garden in Haidershofen. The bike is checked again, the small trailer is loaded, and the one-year-old daughter and grandson come to say goodbye.

Martin Mullberger wants to take the flight to Alta (Norway) on Friday, and from there he will take the bus and cycle the last few kilometers to the northernmost point in Norway. His bike tour of the famous Globus in the North Cape is expected to begin on Saturday.

140 km per day

The tour starts from Norway via Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic to its home country of Haidershofen. He only travels with one bike and a trailer, both of which weigh just over 40 kilograms in total. Spare bike inner tubes, tools, bug spray, gloves, hood, and winter jacket are included in the luggage. “In Finland there can be snowstorms in August, so everything must be with you.”

The 59-year-old insurance salesman wants to cover an average of 140 kilometers per day. He will basically sleep in a tent with a sleeping bag. He sees the biggest challenge in the mental field. “In terms of foot and body, I’m not so afraid because I’m training and I’m in a good mood, but mentally it gets more difficult because you’re always on your own,” he says.

Usually, Mullberger makes such tours with his wife. They have already completed multi-week tours through Iceland and New Zealand or, last year, a tour from Heyershofen to the Black Sea.

But this time, Karen Mullberger does not have time for professional reasons. “I wish him a lot of fun and hope he thinks of me often and doesn’t get lost,” she says. “I usually always pay attention to where we have to go.”

Fundraising project for a four-year-old girl

If all goes according to plan, Martin Mühlberger wants to return to Haidershofen in the last week of August and then make enough money. The bike tour is also a fundraising project for a four-year-old girl from the area with muscular dystrophy who is in a wheelchair. The funds will be used, among other things, for treatments or transfers at home.

The call to the girl happened while riding a bike. Mollberger had gone to an inn for one last drink and it so happened that he started a conversation with the girl’s grandfather. “I want to raise 10,000 euros together,” he says. “I have already visited the girl, she is a smart and beautiful girl and I am happy when I can hand over the donation to her.”

The name Mühlberger is probably familiar to cycling enthusiasts. Austrian professional cyclist Gregor Mullberger is the nephew of Martin Mullberger II. But he couldn’t get any tip yet. Gregor, who is also a Heiderschofen native, currently races in the Tour de France with the Movistar team and lives in Salzburg.