With Albion & Hunt Wheels to Maastricht to Off The Map: a road trip in two groups of Schicke Mütze and friends.

We would like to mention it briefly to start with: For us, convinced global citizens and Europeans, the title Crossing Borders has a broader meaning in times like these than just crossing over to our neighbors. In all the international discussions, we have never met anyone who thinks Brexit or other nationalist movements are a good idea. Which speaks for our bubble. We value Europe, value diversity and freedom, common values ​​and currency, and an open and tolerant culture. The choice of the title is therefore deliberate.

We honestly can't explain why we've had a soft spot for English brands since the hat was first made. Whether it's Genesis bikes, Brother Cycles frames, Rapha clothing or Hunt wheels - the presence of English brands in our little shop is certainly above average. There are of course reasons why Albion is another brand to be added. And as we saw this weekend, they are more than good...

John from Albion contacted us for the first time in August last year and suggested a conversation, and in October we took a look at the winter collection. There were many details that convinced us, and John was able to convey to us that Albion's path and their plans fit well with the Mütze. Don't worry, we don't fall for marketing bullshit bingo so quickly, but it also takes people who understand how the hat works to be able to make such a statement. And to convince us.
Long story short - we have Albion clothing in the shop and we love it. And because Albion in the UK work with Hunt, whose wheels often play a role in our individual builds, we and Alex from Hunt quickly came up with the idea of ​​putting on a joint event. To everyone's delight, our friend Cyril also has Albion in his shop Off the Map, which he runs in Maastricht with his friend Ruud. And so one thing led to another and we went on a trip from Düsseldorf to Maastricht. With Albion and Hunt.

To kick things off, we were delighted to see a small film premiere in the MotivAktiv store on Oststrasse 20: Albion had a team of three competing in the bicycle edition of the Speed ​​Project, and a small, talented film crew translated positive madness, unwavering enthusiasm and ambitious suffering into appropriate images. More than 1,000 kilometers of racing between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, including Death Valley, in forty minutes of film. Hunter S. Thompson would have enjoyed this "no rules, no spectators" format; after all, you need a good portion of madness to start at such a party. Originally developed by Nils Arend as a running format, there is now a bicycle version. The film will soon be available to admire online, I'll definitely watch it again.
Not quite as epic, but still a ride-along experience, it continued on Saturday morning: 40 riders in a great mood in the yard in front of the Mütze, plus an ingredient that we always invite but don't always come: the sun. As someone said so aptly yesterday: maybe we deposited so much sun into our credit account during the WSP season because we had so little of it that we now got something like a cashback: plenty of sun. It was still a bit chilly in the morning, but after 25 kilometers there was already an internal group undressing orgy so that we could roll into the Netherlands in the right temperature.

Our travel mode in two groups was perfect, as was the company of a van, which was driven by Cyril and was not only Kerstin and Cyril's photo-mobile, but also a refreshment station, laundry storage, pumping station and transport vehicle for the small refreshment station. Konrad's route was designed under the banner of "All-Road", which included idyllic county roads, extensive farm tracks and Dutch cycle paths as well as various cute forest motorways, bumpy gravel roads and epic strings of potholes. It worked with 25mm, but anything between 30 and 40mm was really good.

Along the way there was a flat tire, a small improvised refreshment station, another flat tire, one or two completely crazy drivers, great scenery, a wonderfully rolling peloton, a few easy climbs, wind mostly from behind and happy smiling faces on all sides. The fact that both groups had two flat tire stops each can be called balancing justice. However, considering the proportion of participants and kilometers ridden, four flat tires is a pretty decent result and speaks for good tires in the Mützenpeloton.

The aforementioned limits that need to be crossed are sometimes physical in nature. While some riders enjoyed a relaxed 130km ride at the beginning of March, others had to push themselves to their limits. And those who weren't sufficiently challenged simply rolled back from Maastricht to Düsseldorf after a short break and a delicious snack at Off The Map, clocking up something like 240 kilometers plus on their wahoo. While around 10 riders made their way back by bike, the rest rolled to the bus stop around the corner, where, after stowing their bikes in the hi-tech trailer, they settled into their seats and began the journey home to Düsseldorf in a relaxed manner.

Conclusion: it rocked. First of all, thanks from the Mütze to everyone who was involved: John from Albion, Alex from Hunt, Cyril and Ruud from Off The Map, Yannick and Lars from Cyclezirkus, Ondrej from Chimpanzee, our fabulous guides Andi, Birgit, David, Ivo, Torben and Volker and everyone else who helped.
We are already working behind the scenes to bring a slightly more extensive version of Crossing Borders to life in the summer in collaboration with Albion, Hunt, Off The Map and other interested partners. As soon as we can give you details, we will get in touch with you. One thing is certain: long-distance fans will get their money's worth.

If you're in Maastricht or the surrounding area in the near future, be sure to check out Off the Map . Ruud and Cyril have a wonderful shop there with lots of charm and attention to detail. Hi guys, putting our heads together is a great idea... we're still checking out the brands with a C that make your shop really hot.

Our rides continue as part of the Cyclingworld, Alex from Hunt, John from Albion and Cyril from Off the Map will also be there. And if you have a soft spot for good-humoured cycling events in the Netherlands: next Sunday Pathfinder is in Eindhoven again. We assume that you will meet a Mützen delegation there...

Let the people boogie...

Carsten