TRANSITALIA MARATHON 2023: 4-Day Offroad Event // KTM 1290 Super Adventure // BMW R 1250 GS

In the heart of Italy, a daring adventure awaits. The Transitalia Marathon 2023. A journey of four stages stretching from the shores of the Adriatic to the tranquil embrace of the Mediterranean, only to a turn to its starting point in Rimini. But this is no ordinary motorcycle event. It's a marathon, an exploration of the untamed backcountry roads of Italy and it almost didn't happen. Early this year, fate threw a cruel twist away. My friend Jochen, my partner in adventure, shattered his leg during a first off-road tour of the season in May. The doctors offered little hope for his participation in the Transitalia Marathon. And if that wasn't enough, on my own journey to Italy, disaster struck. My motorcycle, my trusted companion, broke down halfway to Italy, suffering from critical engine damage. I was stranded without a ride and my dream of taking part in the Transitalia Marathon was hanging by a thread. But then a lifeline extended. A dear friend lent me his motorcycle, salvaging my hopes and I embarked on this incredible adventure. This is our story. Against all odds, this is the Transitalia Marathon 2023. Join us as we face an incredible motorcycle challenge. The eve of adventure has arrived and in the next few days we will take on the unexpected, conquer the unknown and discover the true meaning of resilience and camaraderie. As we collected my replacement motorcycle from Stefan in Munich, our journey was back on track. We had to make some changes to accommodate my camera equipment, ensuring it was securely mounted. Additionally, I needed some new off-road tires which were already waiting for me in Munich. With the modifications in place and our spirits high, we left Munich Friday afternoon as the rain poured down, ready for the next leg of our journey to Rimini. After enduring continuous rain throughout our journey from Munich to Rimini on Friday, we were welcomed by the finest weather upon arrival in Rimini. So, it's really hard to believe that there's going to be a full rain day tomorrow. That is the forecast. That was actually a lot of rain forecast. Maybe it has passed and there's just going to be a drizzle. This is also the reason why I'm wearing my Climb Badlands suit. I thought about bringing my enduro clothes but then we had two days of rain forecast and I figured I'm not going to bring two different outfits. I'm just going to try this in my Badlands suit. Now, you can totally do it with the Badlands suit. The question is now, am I going to wear my airbag vest? I have it on right now. With the vents open, it's all right. But this is just road riding. If we go into more technical stuff, I may be overheating. So, I've got my back protector as a backup and I can just leave the airbag vest with the luggage. That would also work. So, the way this works, you can book this event yourself. But what Jochen did is actually sign up with Valle on Tour. He booked all the hotels for us and did the whole registration, which, you know, is a little challenging. It's not that you can't do it. But he asked me if I wanted to join and I thought it was a good idea. So, that's what I did. So, we'll be seeing Valle from Valle on Tour. I'm quite excited to see him again after a long time that I haven't seen him. I think this is the parking. This is our place and I don't know how close this is to the actual event location. I don't think it's very far. And let's see. This is Valle's... Oh, there's the gang. I don't give a ----. The main thing is that I'm here. It's all good. Hi, hello. I saw a picture of you with the tires on the back. Hi. So, the entire group is getting registered now for the event and the technical inspection with Luna together. And then we'll have probably a snack or something to eat. It should be almost everyone here. Craziness. So, this is the start gate, I guess, for tomorrow. Ah, this is cool. I am so happy to be here. The day before the Transitalia Marathon, anticipation was in the air and the excitement was palpable. It was a day where dreams would meet reality and adventure awaited on the horizon. It was a sight to behold. 400 riders from different corners of the world brought together by a common passion for adventure. So, shoulder to shoulder, bound by the love of two wheels and the thrill of the open road. We've made it to registration. We got our start numbers. We're all lined up here in the shade and we're gonna gather together, take a group photo and then enjoy the rest of the day because it's still beautiful today. Tomorrow we'll expect lots of rain. Stage one. The dawn of a new adventure where the Transitalia Marathon unfolds over four stages. This year's epic journey takes us through more than 1000 kilometers of exhilarating off-road and on-road riding, commencing and concluding in the town of Rimini. As the rain that had been our constant companion all night began to relent, we made our way to the starting area, the heart of this incredible event. So, the weather looks quite different to what we had yesterday. It looks very much like a fall day. It's very windy and wet, but the torrential downpour that was promised just a few days ago for today is not happening. There's a light drizzle and the forecast is telling us it's gonna get better. It's 19 degrees, it doesn't look it, but it's relatively warm. So, it's 19 degrees. We'll be ending up today at a higher elevation, so we're expecting somewhere in between 22, maybe 24 degrees. We'll see how warm it gets. Anyway, I'm super excited, guys. The start is gonna be quite late today. In the previous years it's been quite early and we have very high starting numbers, so we're not the first to start. Today's journey would cover 190 kilometers, taking us from the town of Rimini to the historic Città di Castello. Riders from all walks of life gathered, united by the shared passion for adventure. The official start time was set to 10 o'clock, but in the true spirit of a rally, with riders named one by one, the process took more than two hours to complete. So, we're in the back of the starting pack now, we're about to start. Super excited, this is where we're gonna start. The clock ticked past noon before we could finally hit the road. The anticipation building with every passing moment. Ready to race! Join us as we dive into the heart of stage one, where the skies may have cleared, but the road ahead promises its own set of challenges. Soon after we left Rimini, we would encounter our first traffic jam on the trails. A challenging muddy downhill section slowed down traffic. And there's someone must be struggling, so someone's telling us to hold off. It is downhill, yeah. Should be nice. So, we're hitting the first difficult part. It's muddy here and there's a downhill slope. I haven't seen it yet. Just assume it's gonna be fun to ride on. People are getting in position. I discovered that maintaining better control of the bike was achieved by standing on the footpegs rather than dragging my feet, although the video doesn't quite capture how steep it truly was. The mud's slipperiness posed a significant challenge and considering the traffic ahead, maintaining a safe distance was essential. Occasionally, even with some distance, unexpected encounters like this would catch us by surprise. This scene shows quite well how muddy and slippery it actually was. If you're a little off balance, it doesn't take much to lay the bike down. I put my bike down because I didn't have enough distance and I didn't want to slide into Jochen's rear end. Pretty soon, we were back on our feet again, just in time to help other riders pick up their bikes. Jochen is looking the part, for sure. A nice crust of Italian mud. Oh wow. We had just taken our lunch break when the route took us through this nice historic town. We decided to continue our journey. What we didn't know is that this was one of the checkpoints that we were supposed to check in. The initial low-speed crash in the mud was playing tricks on Jochen's mind. Stirring up memories of the incident early in the year when he broke his leg. However, as we progressed further along the track, the initial concerns gave way to confidence, even on the partly slippery terrain. In stage one, we had settled into our comfort zone. After navigating the challenging muddy descent, we enjoyed a long stretch of backcountry gravel roads that were easy to ride. However, our journey was about to take a more demanding turn as we approached a steep incline, which promised to be the most challenging part of today's track. So, we're in our last probably 30-40 kilometers of day number one. I can definitely start to feel it now. We still have a good flow, but it's getting a bit more exhausting and the hardest part is still to come. So, I'm quite curious to see what that is like in these sort of wet conditions. Look at all of the smaller tracks again. I have a single track-ish. So, I mean, we keep running into other riders, but the field really kind of spreads out across this long distance. It tends to be the same kind of groups we run into. We kind of seem to go similar speeds, you know, we're taking breaks and all. So, we keep passing each other. But there are long stretches like these here where it's just you and me. Whoa, after such a long gravel section, it was quite nice to be back on pavement, to be honest. So, Joch and I aren't sure if we were indeed on the complex track, which is the more difficult one, or if we missed sort of the last challenging bit. Now, the tracks are complex. We loaded it, but it was also the longer distance and what seemed like a shortcut was supposed to be the easy route. Now, we backtracked that a little bit and just looking into the route, it looked like we missed the fun part. So, what we're going to do now, I mean, you can see the sun setting. It's getting dark. We're going to trace our way back and we'll do the other section too, and then we'll see if we did miss the complex track or not. So, we'll do both and probably be riding into town in the dark, but might as well. We don't want to miss it. So, we retraced our steps and we're now in what we think is the complex section, because the majority of riders seem to have gone this way. Smaller track. So, we'll see. Retracing our steps to include the last section marked as difficult part was a decision we were glad to have made. Even if it meant arriving at our final destination after sunset. Looking back on stage one, that very last section proved to be the easiest in comparison to the challenging mud hill and the steep incline we faced earlier. Had this section been muddy, as the earlier tracks, it would have been an entirely different story. As the day came to a close, we were among the last riders to arrive at our final destination for the night, where hundreds of riders and their motorcycles were already gathered on an old historic plaza. After each stage, all riders and staff came together for dinner and the organizers had chosen a fantastic spot for us tonight. Along with a multi-course meal, there was a touch of non-motorcycle entertainment as two fencers displayed their impressive sword fighting skills, adding a unique and memorable element to our evening. So it's the beginning of day number two, stage two. It's about eight o'clock. A lot of the riders already lined up. We have 270 kilometers today of riding with a net riding time of probably nine hours. So it's going to be a very long day. So we're moments away from the start. This is day number two. We were trying to get in here a bit earlier, but somehow we just ended in the rear of the pack again like yesterday. Still, it's an earlier start. It's going to be shortly after nine o'clock by the time we leave. And at the front line, we get handed our little check card that we have to present at the checkpoints so they don't come looking for us, which we did forget yesterday. We had to hand it in after we got here. So they will look for you if you don't meet the control points, if you don't make it to the final destination and then they'll start sending out search teams to find you. So we want to avoid doing that. So Jochen, I'm behind you. Oh, Valle, Valle. See, he does like KTMs as a BMW rider. Look, tender love and care. This is day number two for us. We're on the first off-road section of the day. I'm following Valle. He's riding like a maniac in front of me. He's listening in as well. It's much drier today than it was yesterday. Quite dusty too. In stage two, Jochen and I teamed up with Valle and three other riders for the day. It was a unique experience as many of us were connected through a communication unit. A novelty for me as I had been riding without one so far. Given that I had relied solely on my mobile phone for navigation during this event, the communication units greatly facilitated the exchange of track updates. We were just about to deviate from the main track to explore one of the special sites thoughtfully marked out for us by the organizers. This was Marto on his KTM-ready record car motorcycle. We will run into him many more times throughout these stages. Monte Santa Maria Tiburina is situated in northwestern Umbria near the border of Tuscany. The village's most prominent landmark is the 16th century castle perched at its highest point in town. This is definitely one of the more fun sections so far. Very technical, slightly inclined. This is awesome. This section as well as the following stretch quickly became one of my favorite parts of stage two. These single tracks were a delightful blend of technical challenges and smooth and flowing paths that made the riding experience truly enjoyable. As I followed Valle through this terrain, the ride took on a whole new level of excitement. It wasn't just about the thrill of tackling the obstacles, it was also about the camaraderie and the motivation that came with it. With each twist and turn I felt the adrenaline rush, the kind that comes from navigating these technical trails with precision. Valle's experience riding added a layer of confidence to my own abilities helping me to push through my limits. The pace was high and the rhythm was impeccable as we danced through the landscape. Stage two had already proved to be a journey of diverse experiences and this section was a highlight that left a lasting impression. The blend of technical skill and pure joy of the ride set the stage for the adventures still to come. It was a testament to the power of shared passion and the bonds forged on these off-road trails making this journey all the more memorable. Stage two marked a westward journey, where the once muddy and challenging trails began to give way to dusty gravel roads. This transition in terrain was a welcome change as it brought a different set of challenges and a shift in the riding experience. However, as we rode behind other participants a new challenge emerged. The dusty gravel roads combined with the wake of riders ahead created a cloud of fine particles that hung in the air. This resulted in significantly reduced visibility for those of us trailing behind. At the time, we were puzzled by the police message. Later that night, we learned that a frustrated firm had illegally used this tractor to block public roads, forcing riders to take a detour. Even though we were on a tight schedule for this stage, we made a few brief stops to soak in the breathtaking scenery that surrounded us. One such stop brought us to a high vantage point along the trail offering a stunning panoramic view of Lago Trasimeno. Spanning an impressive 128 square kilometers, this lake stands as the largest in Umbria and the fourth largest in all of Italy. Stage two was a dynamic chapter of our journey, highlighting the ever-changing nature of the Transitalia Marathon. It was a testament to adaptability where riders had to adjust to the evolving conditions. Whether it was the terrain or the visibility challenges created by the dusty gravel roads. The ability to navigate these shifts in real time showcased the rider's skill and resilience, making it a memorable stage in our adventure. Ice cream! Gelati! What's happening here? Someone bailed. That's my daddy. Walle finally got to ride the KTM that he was treating so nicely on on the way to the early start to the tour and there he is. Given the extensive ground we needed to cover in stage two, we greatly appreciated the occasional faster stretches of the track. San Cassiano de Barni is a charming Italian town located in the southern part of Tuscany, known for its historic significance and the thermal waters. This idyllic village is set amidst the stunning Tuscan countryside and the organizers of the Transitalia Marathon were so nice to include this town as a place to take a longer break for us. This is what it does to you, the Transitalia Marathon. After a break, we're back on the road, our final destination now firmly in our sights. As we reflect on stage two, it emerges as one of the highlights of the Transitalia Marathon. This is Tuscany for you. Cypress trees to the left and right of me and the wine smacked in the middle of it. Riding 270 kilometers, we traversed some of Italy's finest off-road tracks. The journey was exhilarating but it demanded a precise pace, particularly on tracks that challenge your skills. It's an ambulance, hopefully that's not for one of our guys. As we passed an ambulance, it served as a poignant reminder of the riders we had seen along the way who had encountered misfortune. Yeah, that's one of our guys. That's the tricky thing, these are really fast gravel roads. It underscored the reality that in these stages, success requires not only skill but a fair amount of luck. So let's bring this home safe. This is end of day number two. We arrived at our destination, which looks a little boring, I have to say. Not sure of this, I think we have to go a little further. Oh, this must be the final checkpoint. So making sure that everyone gets back safe. As the sun began to dip below the horizon, we arrived in the town of Cianciano Terme. It's warm embrace welcoming us right before sunset. Yes, baby, we're home. Marking the perfect end to a memorable day of adventure in stage two of the Transitalia Marathon. So it is the morning of day number three at the Transitalia Marathon and we're just about getting ready to get going. So the entire gang's packing up. Today we're going to try to maybe find a better starting position because yesterday, even though we were early, we still ended up in the rear of the pack, which means you have a bit less time for the entire track. So let's see if we can do better today. It's a bit of a shorter distance today. We have about 220 kilometers, doesn't mean it goes faster. It could also mean that it's just more technical stuff that we can expect. So it can still be a very long ride in there, which I actually expect. Expect the unexpected. You never know what will happen on Transitalia Marathon. But yesterday night when we had the briefing, they said it will be, should be, should be the same as the second stage, but with some small single track rocky roads. So these can be also some good technical parts. The parts you, Oli, and I love so much. So stay tuned and have fun with day number three. So day number three, we're the starting line. I'm gonna pick out the check sheets again. All right, so we got our tickets. We have got to wait for the other guys that are just right behind us. And we'll be in a group of six today again. At the start of stage three, we found a rhythm and flow. It was a moment of clarity where riding experience and confidence came together, propelling us into the next set of adventures. The beautiful gravel roads of Tuscany stretched before us, inviting us to embrace the serpentine path and captivating vistas. One of these long, dusty gravel roads. We have a lot of faster gravel like this today, but I'm sure they've built in some technical stuff for us. I know they did. So they told us in the briefing it will be narrower, single trail, more technical tracks coming up for the day. Oh, this is fun. We did not have to wait long to enter the first single tracks, which were a welcome change to the faster gravel roads we had encountered earlier in our journey. It's a sharp lift. As usual, it's hard to see, but this track is going slightly uphill. So it was a bit of a struggle to get momentum going. Oh, this is the tricky part here. Whoa. Momentum. What's the... It's going. It's going good. Whoa. I'm definitely heating up quite a bit. This technical stuff is getting me warm. Plus, it's a much warmer day. Got all the vents open. But I'm getting warm. Walle is riding in front of me again today. It's so much fun to ride with him. We had a whole day yesterday. Yeah, you can listen in. It's such an amazing day and it's just an absolute joy to ride with him. So, of course, for my English-speaking friends, if you don't know Walle yet, he's one of the top motorcycle YouTubers, probably the best known that we have in Germany. So if you haven't seen his channel, we'll find the link in the description for that. Now, big shout out to Stefan from rentaktm.com. If you guys have no idea, this isn't my motorcycle. This is a 1290 Super Adventure R, also a 2022 model. But this is not my bike. Stefan came in at the very last minute and offered this motorcycle. About two seconds after Walle did exactly the same thing, I was so bummed when my bike broke down with an engine damage and I couldn't participate and do this here all day long. And these two guys came through and offered a motorcycle for me so I could participate. So, Stefan, thanks for this. You're a legend. Haha, cool! So, this is the big boss of the rally here, of the Franz Italian Marathon that we saw. As I turned the corner, I noticed this rider in front of me. He was keeping his left hand floating over the handlebars. And when I passed him, I noticed that he was riding with the cast on his hand. One of the unexpected and inspiring moments you encounter on the Franz Italian Marathon. So, we arrived at the midway point. It smells like really good food here. Let's see a checkpoint. So, this is what a checkpoint looks like. Oh, sorry, that's it. Not surprisingly, this place is crazy busy. Oh, wow. Crazy Italian chaos. This was pretty good. Just another day in the office. Well, actually, it was for Valle because that's what home office looks to him. He just rides his motorcycle, sells some motorcycle tours that he guides. That's what he does. I've had great fun with some crazy motorcyclists behind me. So, it's lunchtime now. We had covered a lot of ground on this day, making excellent progress. This allowed us the luxury of pausing for photos and engaging in leisurely conversations in yet another charming Italian village square. After a break, it was time to resume our journey on the track. I found myself enjoying the chase of a single-cylinder motorcycle through a captivating forested area. The lush foliage provided a welcome shade on what was undeniably the hottest day of the event. However, soon we would be reminded of the inherent risk and danger that comes with navigating these challenging tracks. We're standing here on the track and one of the guy's staff members told us we can't move on because apparently right in front of me there is a serious accident. So, they won't let people pass and, you know, we're pretty close to the end of stage three today. So, I can just hope that the guys are right. We're just meters away from our final destination of this stage. We had to cut it short. First, we had to do a detour and cut it short because of a serious accident on the track. This is the earliest we've made it to our destination. It is 10 minutes past four. Also, we made it all the way from the east coast to the west coast in those three days. So, this is where we roll in and hand in our check sheets. So, this gives us a bit some time to rest and to have a beer or two because tomorrow's day is going to be 400 kilometers, the longest stage of those four days. Awesome, awesome day! Awesome, awesome, awesome! Really awesome! Jochen! Hammer, hammer hard! You can't see me, can you? Sebastian, awesome! Awesome, awesome, awesome! Very, very good! Uwe, great! Awesome! Full, full, full! It was fun! Awesome! It was great, it was amazing. Beautiful landscape. Not too warm? No, quite a little bit. But if you have some speed, you cool down. So, it was great for us. Excellent, thank you. But unfortunately, we had an accident at the last five kilometers. With a broken... One of your guys? Yes, yes. Oh, one of your guys. Okay. As we concluded stage three, the sweltering sun made it the hottest day of the event. Early arrival at the ocean presented a perfect opportunity to escape the heat. Shedding our heavy motorcycle gear, we eagerly plunged into the refreshing waters, seeking a much needed cool off from the scorching summer sun. And there was Mato, once again making a grand entrance. Right on time to join the party, but with no time to fuss over shedding his clothes or boots. We checked into a hotel, which was close by and made our way to the restaurant to meet the other riders for drinks and dinner. With the last and longest stage still ahead of us, we called it an early night. It's five o'clock in the morning and I'm packing my bike up. We'll leave here in half an hour, start today. It's at six o'clock in the morning, so we can make it through the almost 400 kilometers of stage four today. Today, the marathon stage spans from the Mediterranean to the Adriatic Sea, concluding in Rimini, where the Transitalian Marathon began three days ago. It's 5.30 in the morning. We left the hotel and run away to the starting grid. It is 6.15 and we're just moments away from the starting line. It paid off to leave a bit earlier today. There's a lot less riders ahead of us today. The sun is going to rise in, I don't know, an hour or something. So we're early, early. We got up this morning without breakfast or coffee just to get a head start. Sometime down the road, I'm sure we're going to stop and have a break. Right next to Valle at the starting line. Excellent. We hit our first off-road section. It's still pretty dark. The sun hasn't risen yet. So this is a special experience. It's kind of a smaller track too, a bit technical. And I'm wearing my dark goggles, which are perfect for this, because I can't see as much as I should. I was just beginning to adapt to the dim forest surroundings when Valle abruptly hit the brakes ahead. He had just realized he'd lost his mobile phone, alerted by the disconnection signal from his communication unit. Searching in the dark proved challenging, and little did we know, this wouldn't be the last time we'd be searching for Valle's phone on this day. Hello? I'll call you back. After a successful phone retrieval mission, we swiftly resumed our journey. Our early start to the day was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise, and riding during the golden morning hour in these stunning landscapes was truly fantastic. I was flying our drones earlier, so the rest of the gang, the other six guys, they just kind of went ahead, so we're catching up to them. And it's a beautiful morning still, golden hour, best time of the day. And it's really interesting, as you start to descend down to lower elevations, the temperature difference that you experience. We were close to 1920 degrees up top, and came down to, it says 13 on mine and 11 on Valle's, so close to a 10 degree temperature drop, and you can definitely feel it. And for right now, I'm quite happy to be wearing my Climb Badlands suit. I know that later in the day when temperatures drop to 25, we'll be cooking again. But this is perfect right now. And after riding on the pavement for a while, it was time to get back onto the gravel roads. So despite the long distance of today's stage, we made sure to pack a few of these in there, into the track. It's not just long on-road sections. Very glad. And the smaller the roads, the more exciting they are. As we journeyed through the picturesque landscape, a profound sense of tranquility and wonder washed over us. It was an extraordinary moment when the world seemed to pause, granting us the opportunity to fully savor the natural beauty surrounding us. Soon, we would rejoin the rest of the group and make a stop in a charming village, where we indulge in a delightful breakfast and cappuccino at a quaint bakery. Nice, isn't it? I've got a real tan, don't I? A real heater. Our buddy Uwe, riding his Ténéré 700, suddenly felt the need for speed and positioned himself at the head of the pack, setting the pace. The track conditions were extremely dry and dusty, with visibility plummeting if you followed too closely. I made every effort to keep up with Uwe and Walle, but eventually found myself stuck in traffic. Then, the track widened and I had my opportunity for a clean pass. I caught up with Uwe and Walle again. Wow, nice! I took one with me. Dude, what the hell! Damn! I can't say that. This particular section of stage 4 was my favorite, a blend of speed and technical challenges with a smooth flow. Holy ----! This is technical and exhausting. And it's hard on the material, too. Lots of bumps that are hard to see because of the dust. The communication units proved us worth in situations like these. As we encountered a slight drop in the track, it was reassuring that we had something to hide in front. This extra bit of information was invaluable, especially when visibility was reduced by dust. Walle veered in the wrong direction, turning right, while the track indicated the left foot route. He singled to me to continue ahead. Little did I realize at the time that he had lost his mobile phone once again. How was that track? That was awesome, wasn't it? Yeah, it was really, really fine. And when I have a free way to go, it's absolutely fantastic. You were gone in seconds, absolutely. So when there are too many bikers, it's not really good to find the rhythm. But when I'm alone, it's so fine. Absolutely. And everything clean? Clean, mega clean. Do you know what just happened? What? When you overtook the Swiss guy from GS, just before the puddle, it probably hit him right in the face. Oh, ----. But the whole width of the track, and then you saw how the left-hander did it to him, and then it hit him right in the face. I don't know what happened, because his colleagues came. There were a few crashes on this section of the track. With the limited view we had on the track incidents, we gathered to discuss and piece together the events. You having a good time? Yeah, a bit stressful. You look like you're having a good time. Yeah, I'm having fun, but it's not really easy. This was a bit tough, wasn't it? How do you find the Desert X? I like this bike. Yeah, it's nice. But I'm just 60kg versus 230kg, so it's not really easy. Me too, 60kg. A little bit more. I don't believe you at all. While we waited, we always extended a helping hand to fellow riders. A couple of us retraced our path to locate Valle, and eventually a staff member handed me Valle's phone, which had been retrieved by another rider. Wait a minute, I have to give Valle his phone. After this unexpected and extended pause, we resumed our journey. Checkpoint. Checkpoint is definitely here. After a short ride on the tarmac, we stopped at another scenic spot that the organizers had marked for us on the track. I just said other members of a group, and there was a bunch of riders in front of me. It's crazy, crazy dusty. To the point where you just have to pay attention to the rear lights of your front man in order to see where you're going at all. Despite traversing small back roads, these are still public thoroughfares with occasional oncoming traffic. In the dusty conditions, the communication units played a vital role in providing other riders with a heads-up about potential oncoming traffic. Slow, slow, slow. This is bad. Similar to the previous three stages, towards the end of stage four, the extended riding time and fatigue took a toll on riders. We witnessed multiple scenes like this, where a minor misjudgment of the track resulted in a crash. Film protection. Many off-road segments were swift gravel roads like this one, providing a welcomed relief as we aimed to cover almost 400 km in this stage. However, staying intensely focused was crucial to evade potential crashes. So guys, we have an unplanned stop here. We had a few incidents happening on the track. One of the guys hit a car, frontal. He's okay, but there was some kind of an accident. And then one of the other guys lost his license plate and some other rider was nice enough to pick it up for him and hand it over. And yeah, we're still sitting here. And now the only thing that we're missing is some kind of a bandana or something that Uwe is missing. So once we get that done, we are ready to go. So our group is following the crazy Austrians out in front. And it's really good to have the intercom on if there's oncoming cars. There's quite a bit of traffic today on the roads. And it's nice to get a warning, especially if you're on the left lane like I am, to know that there's a car coming so you have enough time to make room. We already had one incident with a car today. One of our riders hit a car. It's a frontal. That wasn't really a crash, but they bumped into each other. It was the car's fault, but still, that kind of ---- can happen badly. So, you can have comms on. We've just under 100 kilometers left, just sitting in a nice little town. And there's tons of these on the Turin's Italian Marathon. One of the reasons why this event is so special, it's not just the off-road tracks, but it's also just being in Italy. I'm here every year in Italy for one or two tours, and I've never done something like this. And this makes it very, very special. To ride off-road like this and to cruise through towns like this, even though we did take a whole lot of breaks, but the ones we did take were amazing. In the concluding stretch of stage four, we encountered more of the exhilarating gravel roads before reaching our last checkpoint, officially marking the end of the day's off-road sections. So, we're very close to the first stage. We still have to continue on to Rimini. I think this must be a checkpoint or the official close of the stage, but then there's still quite a few kilometers to get back to Rimini. I'm not sure what to expect here, if they're going to check the punch card or what they're going to do. Oh, wow! So far, this has been an absolutely amazing experience. I can't believe it's almost over. Oh, my friends. That was good, right? That was good. Are your shoes dry again? Yes, they are. I can't believe it. I can't believe it at all. That was awesome. Was that awesome or what? Thank you. Master! Awesome, awesome, awesome. That was an absolute festival for me. Yes, that was great. I'd love to do it again next time. Absolutely. Awesome! That was an absolute festival for me. How awesome was that? Awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome. Oh, God. That was... Unbelievable. That was... I've arrived. He's been annoying for four days, but he's so good at it. He can drive really well off-road, but what he still has to learn, I can teach him. I don't want that at all. When you blink, you have to turn it off again. I know, I know. I can tell him what it's about. What is it about? The mirrors are folded in front of the display. I can't see that. I can't see it. Thank you very much. Dude, thank you. So awesome. So, we have our last stop at a little sort of picnic spot where they have free sandwiches, some cake, got some water. We could rest for a few minutes, and now we have about 15 minutes to get back to Rimini, where officially the Transitalia Marathon is going to end for us. So, as we close out this amazing day of riding, stage four, the longest stage of the Transitalia Marathon, we're about half an hour away from sunset, and it's a beautiful scenery. This entire four days has taken us through some of the most spectacular places in Italy, the nice villages, the amazing off-road tracks. Some were really nice and technical. It was all doable on this bike. No one got hurt in our group, and that's the most important part. We had a lot of people that were injured. We saw them on the side and later at dinner. So, luckily, if we make the next 15 minutes without a crash, this was a successful, absolutely breathtaking event. Now, the Transitalia Marathon was the first event of its kind for me. It was absolutely amazing. 400 riders coming together for four days to ride together and enjoy these amazing tracks, and then the whole community part that they organized around the event. So, we have dinner together every night. There's these locations, the spots, the checkpoints, where you can have a lunch or a snack or dinner, and you always run into the same group of people. I've met a lot of people that I've met throughout the past few years that are just as crazy about off-road riding on these large adventure bikes. So, it was almost like a family meet. The group that we're riding with was absolutely awesome. We had nine riders today in a group. That's difficult to do on road, and we did this with off-road tracks in relatively high speed. Super, super amazing. If I understood correctly from people that have been here a few more times, this started out as almost exclusively an Italian event. Now, there's a lot of Germans that come to these events. And it's an international event, so you can sign up. And if you've ever considered something like this, I can absolutely recommend to sign up for this. Even if you're a bit iffy about if you can ride all the tracks, there's always shortcuts that you can take. You can leave out the complex parts, the more difficult ones. But we were all riding on heavy adventure bikes, and we had a blast going through some of the more technical parts. As we pass through the finisher gate, our trans-Italian marathon journey concludes, leaving us in awe of the conquered obstacles and personal growth. This is the goal we hear! Yes! Ha ha ha! Woo! Ha ha! Thank you! Hey! Yes! Yes, yes. So, we are back in Rimini, the place where it all started four days ago. The camaraderie with this incredible group made each stage a joy, emphasizing our indomitable spirit for adventure. Successfully navigating challenges, both on and off-road, stands as a testament to our perseverance, bringing about collective relief and joy as we reach the finish line unharmed. Follow this channel, leave a thumbs up, and leave a nice comment. Excellent!