EDILTECO ALONGSIDE ENRICO MONARI ON A 4,711-KILOMETRE JOURNEY OF SOLIDARITY

I keep wondering: would you do it? Set off by bicycle from San Felice sul Panaro and ride all the way to North Cape.

I honestly wouldn’t do it. But following Enrico Monari stage by stage meant gradually becoming part of his journey. We weren’t riding beside him, yet every update took us a little farther north: the weather, the effort, the encounters, the detours, the problems with the bike. We supported Enrico, shared his journey on our social media channels and waited for each new stage, sharing the excitement of the best days and the concern when the road became more challenging.

Over those 62 days, his ride became a shared story. Enrico’s was not simply a sporting achievement: it was a personal challenge undertaken in support of an important cause, one that managed to engage both those who already knew him and those who began following him along the way.

The Journey in Numbers

4,711 kilometres cycled, 28,678 metres of elevation gain, seven countries crossed and 62 days on the road.

From San Felice sul Panaro to North Cape, Enrico travelled through Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and finally Norway. Kilometre after kilometre, he carried with him a clear goal: to turn a personal achievement into a journey of solidarity.

Through the “Una Pedalata per la Vita” project, he chose to spread the message of AVIS and raise awareness of the importance of donating blood and blood components, while supporting a fundraising campaign for a prevention project focused on skin mole screening and mapping.

Edilteco believed in this project from the outset. We followed Enrico’s departure and each stage of the journey, shared his updates across our social media channels and helped raise awareness of the fundraising campaign. Above all, we chose to stand by him even when the journey stopped going according to plan and called for him to pause, respond to the challenges and get back on the road

When the Road Changes the Plans

The road to North Cape proved to be long, demanding and anything but predictable. The weather offered little respite: at the Brenner Pass, the temperature was already down to just 5°C, and for much of the journey, cold, wind and rain replaced the sweltering heat Enrico had left behind in the province of Modena.

Then came the punctures, the falls, the climbs, the descents and even a veritable “army” of mosquitoes before Berlin. Each day could take an unexpected turn, forcing Enrico to adjust his schedule, manage his energy and rethink his route.

The toughest setback came when his bicycle broke down. The journey came to a halt, and Enrico had to return to Italy to collect a replacement bike. For those following him from afar, those days marked a crucial turning point: it was no longer just a matter of waiting for the next stage, but of wondering whether — and how — he would be able to get back on the road.

We shared what had happened on our channels, followed every update and shared his frustration during the enforced stop. Then the new bike arrived, bringing with it the relief of being able to set off again.

At times, the effort became so intense that, even if only for a moment, Enrico considered giving up and flying home. But only for a moment. In the end, his determination kept him going and, day after day, Enrico kept riding. After all, before setting off, he had said it himself with a smile: “I’m crazy.”

Crossing paths

As the kilometres added up and North Cape drew closer, the road brought more than just effort and unexpected challenges. It also brought encounters, stories and people who gave each stage of the journey a different meaning.

There was Esa, a Finnish writer who gave Enrico a book for Roberta and showed him around a small, now-abandoned village. Then Steve, a German motorcyclist coming from North Cape, with whom a few gestures and the help of a translator were enough to understand each other and wish one another good luck. And finally Loi, a young Frenchman also heading north by motorbike, with whom Enrico shared a great lunch, plenty of laughter, a few language barriers and an immediate sense of connection.

Passing encounters, often lasting no longer than a stop or a single stage, yet enough to remind us that a journey this long is never only about the kilometres. It is also about the people you meet along the way and the way, even for just a few hours, they become part of the journey.

Further and Further North

From Stockholm to Finland, with a stop at the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival along the way, the landscape began to change. The distances grew longer, towns and villages became fewer and farther between, and the vastness of the north started to reveal itself.

Enrico kept riding until he reached the Arctic Circle. On 23 July, he arrived in Rovaniemi and at Santa Claus Village: a symbolic milestone, surrounded by sweeping landscapes, reindeer along the road and, finally, a few rays of sunshine after so much rain.

On 4 August, he reached Honningsvåg, after facing more bad weather, relentless climbs and descents, conditions that could change several times within the space of an hour, increasingly distant supermarkets and the constant need to carefully manage both his energy and supplies.

By then, North Cape was just around the corner. After weeks of following each stage and waiting for every new update, even for us the distance suddenly seemed much shorter.

The Final Stretch, Together

For Enrico, however, the finish line could not simply be a point on the map. One person was still missing: Roberta, with whom he wanted to share the final stretch of the journey. She flew out to join him on 7 August and, each on their own bicycle, they set off together towards North Cape. The following day, they arrived at the iconic Nordkapp globe.

Standing in front of that globe were Enrico and Roberta, but the moment also belonged to everyone who had followed those 62 days of travel: family, friends, sponsors and all those who, stage after stage, waited for an update, sent a message, made a phone call or simply cheered him on from afar. Every social media update had opened a window onto the road. Every message had brought a little extra energy. And every setback, from the rain to the broken bicycle, had strengthened the sense of involvement among those following his journey.

We at Edilteco were there too, in the way we could be: supporting the project, sharing the journey, standing by him through the difficulties and celebrating every fresh start. We may not have ridden beside Enrico, but we truly accompanied him all the way to the final kilometre. That is why North Cape was more than the finishing point of a sporting challenge. It was the culmination of a journey that brought together determination, solidarity and community.

Thank you, Enrico, for taking us with you across all those kilometres and for allowing us to be part of “Una Pedalata per la Vita”. When you reached North Cape, it felt as though we had made it there with you.