Have you ever gone in the opposite direction from the finish line?

On 3 November 1957

Laika the dog was launched into space
and orbited the Earth inside her capsule.
It was an important moment in human history,
and we are still remembering it today.

Laika, however, was sent up there in the knowledge that she would never return.

We like to imagine that, before closing her eyes,
frightened and alone,
Laika looked out through the little porthole and,
for a moment, felt like a space dog beyond compare,
among the stars and planets,
higher than any dog or human had ever been.

And then that she had a dream:
the spacecraft returned to Earth,
landed gently, and she stepped out
onto a wonderfully fragrant meadow,
where she ran happily before beginning to bite
and maul all those ruthless scientists
who had decided to send her up there alone.

Bye, Laika ♥

On 6 September 2026, sixteen sailors set off from Les Sables-d’Olonne for the Golden Globe Race.

They must sail around the world alone, non-stop, using technology similar
to what was available in 1968.

It is, quite simply, a legendary race.

But that is not the story we want to tell you. Our story begins in 1968.
That year, The Sunday Times organised the first solo, non-stop round-the-world yacht race.
One of the entrants was Bernard Moitessier, a French sailor competing in a twelve-metre steel boat
called Joshua.

And already – the boat’s name, the fact that he had always been a true sea wanderer and, somehow,
that it was made of steel, like our bikes – we begin to feel fond of him.

After months at sea, Moitessier rounded Cape Horn. He was sailing brilliantly and could have won the
race, earning a sum of money that might have changed his life.Bernard, however, had another idea. He changed course, kept heading east and did not even alert the organisers by radio.

He approached a merchant ship and used a slingshot to fire a message onto its deck inside a tin can.
He wrote that he had decided not to finish the race because he was happy at sea, and in order to
“save his soul”.

Joshua rounded the Cape of Good Hope once again, crossed the Indian Ocean and continued into the Pacific.
Moitessier reached Tahiti on 21 June 1969, after ten months at sea and one and a half laps of
the world without ever setting foot on land.

He did not win the Golden Globe.

He became the sailor who had the finish line in front of him
and decided it was still not far enough away.

At some point in your life, you too may have realised that the destination is not always what gives a
journey meaning. Sometimes changing your mind, your route or even your destination is what truly
makes you understand why you set off.

A bike with very little luggage,
a wife waiting for him in Japan,
and a strong desire to meet people along the way:

Leonardo Scarton has a good story to tell.Two years ago he bought his first bike.

Today he is riding from Italy to Japan along the Silk Road.
We reached him by phone in Ulaanbaatar,
after eight months on the road and an entire Mongolian steppe behind him.

This is his story

🚀 SOME BEAUTIFUL AND INTERESTING THINGS. OR JUST INTERESTING. OR JUST BEAUTIFUL. 🚀

💡 TECH – THE DYNAMO HAS FOUND A BATTERY
The Exposure Revo 5 combines a dynamo hub with an internal 1,600 mAh battery.
It delivers up to 2,000 lumens, keeps the beam steady even when you slow down, and can power a phone or GPS through a USB-C port.
It is expensive, but it solves several problems with one device. For true bike nerds.
👉 Discover the Exposure Revo 5

⛺ OUTDOOR – A 620-GRAM HOME
The new Simond Sprint Tarp Tent 2P is a two-person Dyneema shelter weighing just 620 grams and packing down to two litres.
It has two vestibules and has been tested in winds of up to 70 km/h.
👉 Discover the Simond Sprint Tarp Tent 2P

🚲 BIKE – OMNIUM + CINELLI
The Omnium x Cinelli Supercargo combines Omnium’s front cargo platform with Columbus tubing and the Azzurro Laser colourway revived from the Cinelli archives.
It is limited to 120 examples and costs EUR 3,500. It is difficult to look at it and remain completely rational.
👉 Discover the Omnium x Cinelli Supercargo

WORTH A DETOUR ❤️
Our new mini-column: destinations worth taking a detour for.

See that road along the sea in the photo?
Picture yourself there, with your bike.

The Mani is Greece’s southernmost peninsula and the southernmost point of mainland Europe. It is
remote, sees few tourists and, for centuries, was isolated and inhabited by a fierce, combative people
descended – unsurprisingly – from the Spartans. Today, however, they are often friendly and fond of a
chat, especially over coffee or a FIX beer, whose long history is worth discovering.

The tiny harbour of Gerolimenas, with its blue water, tavernas a few metres away and scorching
mountains behind it, is worth the journey. Preferably by bike, and preferably out of season.

🌍 BECAUSE WE’RE NOT JUST TRAVELLERS

🎬 A wonderful film: Perfect Days

Hirayama cleans Tokyo’s public toilets.

Every morning he gets up at the same time, buys a can of coffee, climbs into his van and listens to old
cassette tapes. During his break, he photographs trees. In the evening, he reads a few pages before going to sleep.

In Perfect Days, Wim Wenders tells the story of a solitary man who has nowhere he needs to go, yet
continues to discover something within days that appear identical.

A film to savour on a late-summer evening, and good preparation for the Japan Leonardo is cycling towards.

Also available to stream free of charge.