Tom - Linie26 Part I.

Hey, I’m Tom, lots of people call me Tommy and secretly, I’m the Gehlerrette.

I love nothing more than being out on my bike, riding over tarmac, rough ground and rocks with wide-tread tyres and doing it for as long as possible. This passion started back in 2017 with my first bikepacking adventure to Cape Arkona, and it has been growing ever since.

In the meantime, my bike has taken me to some magnificent places: over high, misty passes in France, through stormy Romanian valleys, and even through a few emotional whirlwinds. I’m incredibly grateful for that and determined to keep going. So far, my journeys have been confined to our old continent, but my curiosity and appetite for adventure have continued to grow. That’s how I created my current masterplan: Linie26 a journey that will take me from Leipzig through Central Asia all the way to Tokyo.

After months of preparation, I finally set off on April 24th, 2026 from Leipzig. The first days were shaped by good friends, shared kilometers, and that special feeling of heading into the unknown. Together, we rolled through Jena and Ilmenau heading south, until our paths separated and I continued alone carrying both excitement and respect for everything that still lay ahead.

I stayed on my own until Kirchheim, where my friend Markus joined the line and accompanied me for five days across the Dolomites and into Italy. High mountains, endless climbs, good conversations, and the first real feeling that this journey was truly beginning to unfold.

From there, I continued through Italy from north to south, passing Florence, Rome, Naples and Mount Vesuvius. Between ancient alleyways, chaotic traffic, espresso bars, rain, heat and countless impressions, the line carried me onward to Bari, where I boarded the ferry to Albania.

And suddenly, everything felt different. Wilder. Rougher. More real.

In just two days, Albania revealed an entirely different world before I continued riding into North Macedonia, exactly where I am right now. It is here that this journey finally feels exactly as I had always imagined it: breathtaking landscapes, warm-hearted people, challenges on the bike, dust covering my bags, tired legs, and at the same time, a deep sense of freedom.

I’m genuinely excited about my setup, my equipment, and how well everything has carried me this far. By now, both my body and my thoughts are already moving toward Istanbul. In around fifteen days, I’ll meet my friend Daniel there, and together we’ll continue through Turkey toward Georgia, eventually arriving in Tbilisi.

This is what the past of the journey feels like. And this is how its future is beginning.

You can track Tom’s progress here and follow his IG for updates from the road