With 30 days off work, Wiebke Lühmann embarked on a 3,500-kilometer solo bike journey from Hamburg, Germany, to Norway’s North Cape. The idea came from her father, who had traveled to the Arctic Circle by bicycle in eighth grade. Filmed by Luhmann’s longtime school friend Fabienne Engel, On Her Own documents the highs and lows of a bikepacking journey through wind, rain, and sun en route to the Arctic Circle.
Lühmann starts nervously and breaks a chain on the second day of the trip. But she continues through Norway, taking on gravel roads, rain, and more rain. As the journey progresses, she gains confidence and revels in sunny skies and towering mountains interrupted by fjords. Day after day, she bikes. “It’s not about being permanently happy or being satisfied with oneself every day,” she says. “It’s about learning and making [my] own decisions, and for me that is riding a bike.”
Being alone is something Lühmann looks forward to. “To be alone while traveling is to have quality time with myself,” she says. “And to find the strength in myself, and to find the strength to be there for others again.” She does that too, bikepacking with people she meets along the way. Wiebke’s school friend Fabienne accompanies her for five days to film the journey, leading to her first wild camping experience and the making of her first long-format film. This expedition celebrated many firsts for both women.
Now, two years later, Wiebke has embarked on the ultimate challenge: bikepacking from Germany to Cape Town via West Africa. That’s the thing about firsts—they often push you to find the next one.
To learn more about Wiebke Lühmann’s journey, visit her website, YouTube channel, and Instagram.
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