Strangers Make Great Friends
Story and Photography by Jacob Martin
Stood nervously at the most northern tip of Europe, the start line of what was to be the biggest journey of his life, Jacob was contemplating what was likely to be several months spent largely alone as he navigated the European Divide Trail. Then he met Anna. This chance encounter in the most unlikely of circumstances saw the two then tackle the 7600km route across Europe together.
Straightening out of the corner the large eagle perched on the ruined building to my right took flight across our path just a few metres in front of me. Its wings stretched out so wide it felt as if they would knock me off my bike. I turned to check Anna hadn’t missed the show. There she was, right behind me, a smile spread across her face almost as wide.
Looking up, the eagle was joining the ten or so others circling on the thermals high above the valley. I’m not sure they took much notice of the two cyclists travelling slowly along the dusty dirt tracks which wiggled through their garden. Maybe they did. Maybe they wondered which of the many hills we had started beyond, maybe they wondered where we were going, or why we were here.
In case they were, the answer was a lot further than the furthest mountain, river or town they could see, even from way up above us. It was a lot further than I ever believed I would come.
Two and a half months earlier Anna and I didn’t know each other. We met unplanned, both arriving at the start of the same trail, on the same day, at the same time. I was sat with my friend Max on the coast of Norway, just a couple of hundred metres away from Russian territory. A long, long way from home. Then Anna turned up with very, very similar gear.
As soon as I saw her, I knew exactly where she was going. The plan was to ride with Max for the first three weeks before I’d continue alone in the hope of meeting others along the way. I’d never imagined meeting someone else on the very first day.
We were there to ride the European Divide Trail, a 7,601km bikepacking trail from the North East to the South West corner of Europe. It’s a mostly off-road trail I had discovered online a few months prior. Designed by Andy Cox, this was the first season to ride it since he had shared it with the world, he recommended starting in the North not before the start of June to ensure you miss the last of the snow. This year it was gone just two weeks before we arrived.
About half an hour after meeting Anna, the three of us began our journey south. Our bikes were packed with everything we’d need for the next three months. Tents, sleeping bags, stoves, tools for fixing our bikes and clothes for both the coldest and hottest weather.
A lot had changed by the time that group of eagles watched us quietly pedalling through their dry and dusty yard. We had cycled 6000 kilometres, left the Arctic, travelled through eight different countries and the stranger I had met on the first day was now one of my best friends.
Up in the far north it was too cold for anything much to grow. And now, as we baked in 45°C there wasn’t much growing here either. The landscapes had changed from the fjords on the coast of Norway to the seemingly endless forests of Sweden, from the flat trails of Denmark to the mountains that started growing south of Hanover that proceeded to carry us into the skies of Spain.
We carried with us a thick layer of dirt by this point in the trip, the soft dust stuck to our sweaty skin and continued with us along the trail. We had also picked up many other things, stories to tell, lessons learned.
Though I may not have noticed until my return home, I was now carrying a confidence I didn’t possess when I set off. It grew in my young brain over the many miles and the many problems solved and new experiences lived. I could do things now that I couldn’t do just three months prior.
Another two weeks of cycling, after travelling again well beyond the furthest mountain the eagles could see, we arrived on the coast of Portugal at the lighthouse of Cabo de São Vicente, the furthest southwest point of Europe and the end of this trail.
I never expected to meet Anna. I never expected to meet anyone for more than a day or two so I never really expected to get this far. I’m not really sure what would have happened after Max had gone home had I been left to continue alone. I certainly wouldn’t have gotten here.
For more from this journey, check out Jacob’s brilliant photobook, here.