Forget the weight of things

The Grand Escape 2025 Italy-Slovenia

Francesco Lucchesi brought a film camera to Slovenia this year – here are his words and photos about this experience.

Pre-departure Thoughts

As with every bicycle journey, I find myself immersed in a mix of emotions: excitement for the imminent departure, fear that something might go wrong, embarrassment about embarking solo on such experiences, and that latent anxiety that surfaces whenever we abandon our daily routine. Then there are the objects—always too many compared to what we can physically pack in our bags, yet always too few compared to what we’d like to have with us.

The only thing I’m certain of is my impatience to take that first pedal stroke, to magically immerse myself in a state of total freedom, lightness, and silent smiles that will accompany me for the next few days—of this, I’m absolutely certain.

What to Bring

Despite my experience with multi-day rides, fitting everything necessary into just a few bikepacking bags remains the toughest challenge—even before facing the climbs, heat, and fatigue we oddly cherish (not to mention a last-minute train strike that complicated reaching the starting point).

For tackling almost 600 km and 7,700 meters of elevation gain, I decided on this setup:

• a 10l saddlebag for clothes
• a 3.5l frame bag containing bicycle maintenance tools and spare inner tubes
• two small handlebar bags for an extra water bottle and food
• a handlebar case for cables and electronics
• a trail backpack for camera equipment and documents

The total weight is undoubtedly excessive and I’ve chosen not to calculate it—I just hope to forget about it once I start pedaling.

The Route

Here we are in Udine, on the longest day of the year, among many bikepacking enthusiasts ready for the start of The Grand Escape 2025 Italy-Slovenia. Everyone brings their own personality—lived experiences and memories that I’ll be fortunate to discover in the coming days—and their own baggage: from super-light bicycles with just one small bag to cargo bikes for tackling multiple camping days. There’s even a guy who decided to transport his dog on the rear rack.

After a few road safety recommendations encouraging us to use the many kilometers of bike paths along the route, we’re off.

The first kilometers out of Udine unfold smoothly on country roads that cut through the landscape with sharp lines until meeting the Tagliamento River, whose waters become a constant companion for our journey. From this point, the roads begin to adapt to the natural morphology.

The Alpe Adria cycle path, built on a disused railway line, leads to the Italy-Slovenia border where the first real climb of our journey awaits. This long ascent brings us before the Julian Alps, whose massive peaks seem to maintain a respectful distance from our bicycles, like majestic scenery.

After crossing the Predil Pass, the descent to Bovec begins—the first stop of our adventure for those like me who decided to divide the route into 4 days.

The second day features the route’s most challenging climb, though the approach remains slow and gentle alongside the Isonzo River, whose crystalline blue waters demand a stop at every glimpse. After conquering the Vršič Pass with its numerous hairpin turns, we enjoy a lively, fun descent to Kranjska Gora. A few hundred meters later, the road connects to a bike path that alternates between spruce forests and wide valleys, leading to Lake Bled—perfect for a refreshing dip, as some riders chose to do.

The remainder of the day unfolds as a pleasant journey in the company of new friends we met along the route to Ljubljana.

After the initial euphoria that carries us through the first two days of riding, the third day—seemingly less demanding—proves to be the most exhausting by journey’s end. Departing from Ljubljana’s center and leaving the main roads behind, we enter a landscape unlike any we’ve encountered so far. A gentle climb brings our wheels onto a plateau characterized by continuous undulations between softly contoured hills and tiny, sometimes seemingly uninhabited urban centers.

These spectacular roller coasters accompany us throughout the day to Nova Gorica.

As the fourth and final day begins, accumulated fatigue makes itself known in our legs from early morning. Yet we quickly forget our weariness upon encountering the Isonzo River again, crossing it via a breathtaking aerial cycle bridge. The path we follow after the bridge gently guides us toward the route’s final climb.

Between conversations with adventure companions met in previous days, we face the climb after just over 70 km. This final effort of The Grand Escape 2025 brings us back across the Slovenian border on a winding road immersed in June’s colorful blooms near the iconic Madonnina pass of “Domm.”

The descent to Udine flows quickly, transitioning from small mountain hamlets to open plains, offering the perfect conditions to reflect on the experiences, images, and conversations of the past days.

What awaits us at the finish isn’t the typical destination or the cheering crowds of a competition, but rather the satisfied smiles of those who challenged themselves. We had the courage to leave behind the weight of established routines, duties, responsibilities, and daily demands to embark on a shared adventure. This journey brings the lightness that comes only from setting a goal—whatever it may be—and achieving it at one’s own pace.

The Weight of Things

Pedaling, often alone, is one of the best methods I’ve found over the years to immerse myself in reasoning, ambitions, expectations, fears, dreams, and recurring thoughts—all without the rush of daily life. The gift of granting oneself moments to explore within, free from the weight and pressure of responding to the outside world, has become a refuge for both body and mind.
I’ve experienced no revolutionary discovery, no divine revelation, no mystical call to abandon everything. Instead, I’ve received the simple yet profound gift of time spent in lightness—floating on wheels across roads and paths, fearlessly exploring thoughts that we too often hastily push aside.
This is what bicycle travel has become for me.
The Grand Escape 2025 Italy-Slovenia, however, led me to discover something new, as often happens when we challenge ourselves: the joy of abandoning solitary exploration for the magic of collective discovery.
My frequent use of “we” in the route description above reveals a journey where moments of solitude were so rare that when they occurred, I wondered if I had taken a wrong turn.
Among nearly 500 participants from around the world, I was fortunate to exchange looks of understanding, satisfied smiles, and words of comfort throughout our 572 km journey. These connections formed bonds I hope to maintain in the future.

Everyone follows their own rhythm—that of their legs and breath. There’s no stopwatch or competition, only the desire to take the time needed to reach goals without fear of changing plans or succumbing to the rush that characterizes so many of our days.

This journey brought a new sensation of lightness: sharing moments with new people and listening to their stories helped me forget the uncomfortable weight of my baggage almost immediately. I surrendered to the present—to the people beside me and the scent of the landscapes surrounding us.

The camera serves precisely this purpose: to allow us to pause and remember that beyond our wandering thoughts lie mountains, rivers, cities, and new roads waiting to be discovered.

Next time, I’ll decide beforehand which camera to bring—pedaling almost 600 km with both analog and digital cameras isn’t ideal for a bikepacking enthusiast.

I hope, however, that the results you can see above are appreciated.

---

Text and photographs by Francesco Lucchesi: https://www.instagram.com/francescolucchesi/