Venice, 28 April 2024 – When he answers the phone, a few hours before departure, he is intent on dragging his bicycle in the pouring rain of this bizarre spring, among the Venetian streets. But there are certainly not a few drops that cause concern Alberto Fiorin, 64 years old, who – together with the companion of many adventures on two wheels Dino Facchinetti, 67 years old – he will cycle along the Silk Road seven centuries after his fellow citizen Marco Polo. Departing from Venice on Thursday, aboard two gravel bicycles (non-electric and suitable for dirt roads), equipped with 4 bags weighing a total of 18 kilos, Fiorin and Facchinetti will pedal for 100 days and 12 thousand kilometres.
Fiorin, how did the idea come about?
“It comes from afar. On April 25, 2001, I left Venice with a group of nine cyclists to reach Beijing by bicycle. In Jesolo, at the twenty-fifth kilometer of the first stage, I met with an accident that forced me to retire. But that desire to pedal up to Beijing and paying homage to Marco Polo has never died down. After 23 years and many other trips on two wheels, here I am again.”
Why on a bicycle?
“It is the most suitable means for a thousand reasons, including, first of all, the slowness of the journey. Seven hundred years ago, Marco Polo had equally slow means of transport, his journey lasted three years. Retracing the lands of the ‘Million’ with faster vehicles It wouldn’t have made sense.”
How is your itinerary structured?
“We will cross 12 countries: Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and China. The itinerary is made up of 85 stages, for an average of 140 kilometers per day. Added to this 15 days dedicated to visits and institutional meetings in various cities, from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Istanbul, up to Beijing”.
Your goal is to spread a message of peace through cycling. In what sense?
“The bike is a symbol of a slow and non-invasive approach to the territory. Our motivations are not so dissimilar to those that convinced Marco Polo to undertake his journey to Cathay: the desire to get to know other worlds and other peoples, and enter them in contact to encourage dialogue and mutual understanding”.
Your expedition, in fact, has been included in the calendar of initiatives promoted by the committee established by the Ministry of Culture to celebrate the seven hundred years of the traveller.
“It was an honor to receive their patronage. Their recently established office for ‘sports diplomacy’ helped us make contact with institutions and obtain the necessary entry visas.”
Have you trained to succeed in the feat?
“We are not competitive athletes, but travellers. We have completed other long journeys on two wheels in various parts of the world and we know well that this type of experience does not only require good legs, but above all ‘head’. Ability to adapt, awareness that we will encounter problems finding food and water, since we will also cross desert areas.”
In addition to presiding over a historic cycling club (the ‘Venetian Pedal’), you have chosen not to get a license or drive a car.
“It is a choice of respect for the environment: since I was young I have always preferred ecological means of transport, such as the bicycle or public transport. My long journeys are proof that a simple and ‘spartan’ means of transport such as the bicycle is enough to take us from ‘other part of the world’.
Returning to your expedition, isn’t there a hint of fear for the previous experience in 2001, which ended prematurely in such an unfortunate way?
“It would be human: now we are older, ours also wants to be a challenge to the age limits. Am I afraid that it will happen again? No, from that point of view I have already given (laughs). He wants to know why they would want to leave in many, but then almost no one really does it?”.
Tell me.
“Because the obstacles are in our minds. We are clinging to many things – objects, comforts, beliefs – that we believe we cannot do without, we are dependent on them. If we could eliminate the superfluous from our lives – just like we do with our luggage, on our bicycles – we would all be much happier.”
