Paolo Guida Bike – A travel to the North Cape

“A life-long dream”, says Paolo Tamburini, 61 years old, a Jesolo business man. On 22 July, he will leave by bicycle to reach the North Cape, the northernmost point of Norway which is thousands of kilometres away from our beaches. Paolo, a cyclist, is – as he calls himself – a travelling heart that will start from ‘his home’ Villa Giulia and will ride from Jesolo through Europe up to the top, a heart that, starting from our corner of the Adriatic Sea, will get to admire the North Sea from the overhanging cliff of North Cape and beyond which there is only the North Pole. It’s called NorthCape4000 and it’s the most sought-after ultra-distance cycling adventure for endurance riders: 280 athletes from all over the world will take part in it, starting from the Royal Palace of Venaria in Turin and, after 4,240 kilometers reaches the tip of Norway overlooking the north sea with a breath-taking cliff. A handful of rules, including four mandatory Gates where participants must sign (Lausanne, Paris, Oslo and Lapland), 24 days to complete the journey, and one single word: autonomy. The tour organisers offer nothing more, no assistance, no logistics; a journey dedicated to independence, the ability to trace paths on GPS by their-self day by day and to choose where to sleep, when and whether to eat, whether to continue. An adventure beyond all borders, both geographical, physical and mental, where you have to reduce weight, both because every object weighs on your legs and because it is a route that focuses on the essentials. 4240 km with a 39,000-metre difference in altitude, a route that Paolo will tackle on an ultra-endurance racing bike that has been meticulously prepared for the journey. A race that is not just competition: a challenge with oneself where lucidity, pain and strength management will be fundamental to reach the objective. As Paolo maintains, the collaboration between head, heart and legs is the only way to succeed in such an enterprise. North Cape 4000 will ride across Norther Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and finally Norway. A race that leaves the traces of the two wheels on the ground like the design of a zip that runs through Europe from Jesolo to NordKappe.

At Paolo’s side there will be the thoughts and support of the City of Jesolo and the municipal administration, to whom Paolo shows his gratitude by carrying a symbol of the City, as well as the support of his family, sponsors and partners who have always collaborated with him.