Charity bike tour for people in the DESWOS project in Colombia
Dear friends,
In May 22nd, 2025 we will start a charity bike tour in our hometown of Hanover in support of the project for smallholder families in Colombia.
The destination of our tour is Milan, where - according to the plan - we will arrive on June 6th and take part in a soccer tournament of European trade fair
companies.
We would be happy if you could support us on our tour with a donation.
Thank you very much!
Marvin & Dennis Schlömer
In addition to the donations via betterplace, there are another 10 donations totaling 390 Euro!
Tour-Update from the road
Day 11: Abbadia Lariana - Bergamo
"Another short stage, from the campsite in Abbadia Lariana on Lake Como to Bergamo, along the Adda River.
There we take another rest day before the final stage to Milan."
Facts of the day: 51.8km, 229 vertical metres
Day 10: Campo Mezzola - Abbadia Lariana on Lago di Como / Italy
"Everything was really relaxed today. We cycled along Lago di Como in the best weather and stopped regularly for coffee, ice cream or food," enthused Dennis and
Marvin. "We've now booked a bungalow at our campsite because our tent would have cost just 10 euros less. Now we're having pizza and tomorrow we're off to Bergamo.
Facts of the day: 50 kilometres, 260 metres in altitude
Day 9: Ausserferra/Switzerland - Campo Mezzola/Italy
Ciao from Campo Mezzola in Italy. Today we crossed the Splügen Pass at an altitude of 2,114 metres in perfect sunshine. After a 20 km ascent over numerous hairpin
bends, we then headed downhill over no less than 47 km of hairpin bends - probably the longest descent of the trip and, alongside the days in the Alps, certainly a highlight of the tour. We
covered 70.7 km and 1,090 metres and pitched our tent at a campsite right on the shores of Lago di Mezzola. About 3km beforehand there was a small moment of shock: Marvin's tyre lost air. After
quickly pumping up the tyre, the puncture was repaired at the campsite. For now, we're done with the metres
in altitude and are planning to cover less kilometres per day over the next few days and enjoy our holiday, the beautiful weather and the good food.
Day 8 Vättis - Ausserferra/Switzerland
Happy weekend from Switzerland!
Marvin wrote to us yesterday evening:
"Good evening, last night was very cold after all. This morning we first had to dry our tent and thaw out a bit in the sun.
Then we continued up the pass in the best weather. Once we reached the top, we had "Kaiserschmarren", a typical sweet dish from Switzerland, for breakfast in
a mountain hut.
Later on, we covered all the metres in altitude from the previous day and the morning down into the valley - much faster than uphill, of course. However, we had to
climb a few more metres up to our campsite today. We cycled significantly fewer kilometres today than usual, but also conquered significantly more metres in
altitude. Our campsite today is completely full of tents and camper vans and is located in the middle of a bouldering area that is very popular with climbers. We are probably the only ones here
on bikes.
In the morning, we have to cross the Splügen Pass and the border to Italy. We're much faster than we thought and are already considering making a detour to
Bergamo."
Daily performance: 49 kilometres, 1,190 metres in altitude
Day 7: Lochau -> Vättis in Switzerland!
We are back on the road. This morning we started at our hotel on Lake Constance and then travelled south along the Rhine via Switzerland to Lichtenstein and back to
Switzerland. On the way we met two cyclists from the state of Hessen, who were also on their way to Milan - funny coincidence. We then cycled about 30 kilometres together until we parted ways
again. The weather was much better today and we were able to cycle most of the time in our cycling jerseys. Now we are back in the tent at an altitude of over 1,000 metres and hope that it
doesn't get too cold tonight.
The break is granted from the bottom of their hearts, after all, the two of them are also on holiday. Tour facts: 89.4 kilometres, 520 metres in altitude
Day 6: Sinningen -> Lochau
‘We arrived at our hotel in Lochau on Lake Constance. Of course, the day started with rain again when we were taking down the tent and for the first 10 kilometres. Then there was another headwind
from the south-west. But the last 30 kilometres were all the more beautiful - almost all downhill and a panoramic view of the Alps,’ enthused Marvin.
‘When we checked into the hotel, we went straight to the spa area. There we were able to experience the after-work infusion in the Finnish sauna to ‘T.N.T.’ by
AC/DC and ‘Summer of 69’ by Bryan Adams plus all kinds of essential oils.
The perfect start to our break day tomorrow - our bodies will thank us for it.’
Day 5: Oberkochen -> Sinningen
‘92 km and 1,030 metres in altitude; from Oberkochen to Sinningen, past Heidenheim and Ulm, where we took a lunch break. Today we spend the night at a campsite
before the last stage to Lake Constance tomorrow. There we'll treat ourselves to a rest day before we start pedalling towards the Alps,’ wrote Dennis on Monday evening.
Day 4: Mainstockheim-> Oberkochen
The boys wrote last night:
‘Day 4 is done. We're in the tent.’
Here are the facts of the day according to the app: 8 hours of riding, 143 kilometres covered,
17.5 km/h, 1,140 metres in altitude - amazing!
They had a great portion of pasta somewhere along the way - good for recharging batteries.
Another great piece of news: 1,000 € donation on betterplace have been reached. A total of almost 1,500 € has been raised! Great!
Day 3: Herfurt -> Mainstockheim
Marvin and Dennis rode through the beautiful town of Frickenhausen am Main, south of Nürtingen, on their tour yesterday - see video.
Marvin wrote in the evening: ‘We have now arrived in Mainstockheim am Main. We've decided to stay in a guesthouse again today because it's going to be very cold
again at night and it's supposed to rain until midday tomorrow. We hope we can finally sleep in our tent again tomorrow. Today it was 104 kilometres and 710 metres in altitude.’
Even if the bikes are parked at an e-charging station, they are of course NOT e-bikes!
Day 2: Reckershausen -> Heufurt
The night was actually very cold (3-4 degree). Today it should be 2 degrees and raining, which is why we are now lying in the hotel.
Today we cycled a total of 138 kilometres and climbed 1,400 metres in altitude 🙂
Day 1 is done!
143 km
1060 metres altitude
Hanover Exhibition Centre -> Reckershausen
Apart from a few short showers in the afternoon, the weather was pretty good. So it can go on for now.
Greetings from the tent!
Dennis & Marvin
More details about the charity tour
There are 1,046 kilometers between Hanover and Milan via Göttingen, Fulda, Würzburg and Ulm, through the Allgäu and past Lake Constance, then over the Alps at an altitude of 2,070 meters to Chur, Bellinzona and Lugano in Switzerland and finally to Milan in Italy. Always in their luggage on their gravel bikes are a tent, camping stove and sleeping bag. This allows them to remain flexible on their daily routes.
"The strenuous tour with around 7,500 meters of elevation gain, which requires a very good level of fitness, is our vacation. When we arrive in Milan, we don't want to put our feet up, we want to take part in a soccer tournament with the Hermeskickers from Deutsche Messe AG," says Marvin, himself an employee of Deutsche Messe AG, describing the tour.
The highlight of the tour is a charity campaign: Marvin and Dennis are asking their friends, family and colleagues for donations.
"We want to raise as many donations as possible for the DESWOS project in Colombia, which I oversee professionally as project manager," explains Dennis. "It's about feeding farming families in
the Amazon region of La Montañita. Many farming families there are affected by poverty. They suffer from a lack of infrastructure, lack of access to land and the effects of decades of social and
armed conflict." Together with the local partner organization COORDOSAC, DESWOS promotes measures for healthy and sustainable nutrition, stable incomes and the protection of the Amazon
region.
Would you like to support Marvin and Dennis' fundraising campaign and thereby support the people in the DESWOS project in Colombia?
Further information on the donation project "Healthy nutrition for families in Colombia"
Many farming families in the Colombian Amazon region are affected by poverty.
People suffer from a lack of infrastructure, lack of access to land and the effects of decades of social and armed conflict.
To the project HERE