Interview with Harry G
TOUR: Mike Kluge, the cycling world champion, received his first racing bike at Christmas 1976. A Peugeot bike that he wanted to try out on Christmas Eve. However, before he set off on the road, he removed the mudguards. After a quarter of an hour, the first eight was in the rim. After 30 minutes, his bike was a case for the recycling centre. Can you remember your first bike?
Harry G: Heini, my uncle from Frankfurt, gave me a great silver racing bike - it must have been around 1984. It also had these stupid mudguards on it. But I didn't care, I was as proud of the thing as a schnitzel. I used to ride it from home to school. I felt like a young Eddy Merckx. I rode it for a really long time. Until 1989 or 1990.
TOUR: And then you changed tack ...
Harry G: ... on a neon yellow Checker Pig. But I didn't have it for long because it was stolen from my bike cellar at school. I then got a Fuji. I did tours on it that you can't even imagine. The distances were endless.
TOUR: How long?
Harry G: About 10, 15 kilometres for sure. (Laughs) It became more after my studies in Innsbruck. I started working for an investment fund in Munich. Every morning I cycled from Haidhausen to Oberhaching on my trekking bike. But the Canyon bikes that were coming out at the time were much cooler. So I bought one of those too. I felt like I was flying through Perlacher Forst on my Canyon Jet.
Cycling in discounter style
TOUR: In suitable racing bike gear?
Harry G: The clothes I wore on the mountain I also wore on my new Ultimate CF. Underneath I was wearing some cheap Aldi knickers, cycling shorts. I looked like a crazy parrot on coke. It was terrible.
TOUR: Why is that?
Harry G: That was because of the Crane stuff that was available at discount stores back then. The designer must have been either totally drunk or completely drugged up. There were these hypnotic circles all over the clothes. I'm sure that the Aldi designers simply copied the Apple background image of the time one-to-one and pasted it onto the racing bike clothing. One hundred per cent! But I didn't care what I looked like. Every evening after work, I thundered off on my racing bike towards the foothills of the Alps. That was when I got infected.
Road bike virus
TOUR: Infected with what?
Harry G: With the racing bike virus. I've been addicted to road bikes ever since. I'm a classic road bike aficionado, a real road bike junkie. If you like: always on it. (Grins) My drug period lasted about five years. But then I got to know everything there is to know in the Munich area: Lakes, mountains, beer gardens. Simply everything.
TOUR: Have you always travelled alone?
Harry G: Always. That was because I didn't know how well I could really pedal. Of course, I suspected that I wasn't the lamest of snails, but I wasn't sure. And to be honest, I didn't quite understand why everyone was always talking while I was cycling. I thought: either I go for a drink with friends - or I just ride my bike properly, with a lot of pressure on the pedals. However, the corona period changed me and my life as an athlete.
Higher and further
TOUR: What do you mean by that?
Harry G: After that time, I rode a lot more with friends and in groups. On the one hand. On the other hand, I increased my radius by travelling somewhere in my hybrid car. That was my second spring in cycling terms. Suddenly I was enjoying cycling even more. Just a moment ago, I thought a friend was insane when he told me that he was going to cycle from Kitzbühel to Munich. On a racing bike.
TOUR: And today?
Harry G: I cycle the 130 kilometres - to exaggerate - without bottles and without bars. I don't take anything under 100 kilometres seriously these days. (Grins) Fun. Seriously, what can we take away from this world at the end? I'll tell you: true love and beautiful moments. I get love from my wonderful family, my wife and my children. I also gather experiences and adventures with my loved ones - but also a lot of kilometres on the road. I really enjoy that. What's more, anyone who spends a lot of time on a road bike saves money.
"Anyone who cycles a lot can save the cost of therapy sessions"
TOUR: But cycling is expensive. Modern high-end bikes can easily cost more than 10,000 euros, not to mention clothing and accessories ...
Harry G: I don't mean that at all. The way I've almost got to know myself again over the past few years has been incredible. Anyone who cycles a lot can save the cost of therapy sessions. And I mean that seriously. I now know how to deal with situations better in everyday life thanks to the situations I experienced on the racer. What's more, I've learnt to push my limits further on the road bike.
TOUR: Can you give an example of this?
Harry G: I ran my finger along the map. 100 kilometres? Blimey, I'm already in Garmisch. What? It's not even 300 kilometres to Bolzano? That's actually possible. So I dared to do it together with my mate Olli. Together we travelled from Munich to Lake Garda. That was awesome ...
On the way to your dream job
The many trips to my gigs make me much more fit. But the others don't like that.
TOUR: ... At least 160 kilometres longer than the Ötztal Cycle Marathon, albeit with fewer metres in altitude.
Harry G: The two days were absolute hell. And heaven at the same time. But my learning was: I can do it. And because it works, I thought to myself: Why don't I cycle to my gigs too? On my racing bike. And that's what I do now. I always jet off to Augsburg, Nuremberg or Regensburg on my racing bike. My tour companion takes my clothes, my hat and my equipment with him in the car. So during the day, for example, I can shoot to Augsburg on the racer, take a shower there, have a nice meal and then perform. In the evening I go home again by car. Of course, I can't go to Bremen or Hamburg. That would be a bit long.
TOUR: But it still sounds like a dream job.
Harry G: I don't have to stay in a hotel, but instead spend the evening at home in bed with my wife. The many trips to my many gigs make me much better physically. But the others don't like that. Not at all.
Cycling with friends
TOUR: Who are the others?
Harry G: My friends. A carpenter, a dentist, a hotelier. We've had a new WhatsApp group for a few months now. When I wrote in there that we were travelling to Vienna in four weeks, none of them got back to me. So the next day I called everyone like a mafia boss. "Listen," I said to each of them. "I just wanted to let you know about Vienna. We'll leave on such and such a day, meet there and there."
TOUR: And the reaction?
Harry G: It was always the same. "Listen," every single one of them said. "What is there about my statement 'Me! Drive! Don't! With!' now exactly not to understand?"
TOUR: Reminiscent of the legendary scene in the TV series "Kir Royal". When Mario Adorf as factory owner Heinrich Haffenloher threatens the gossip reporter Baby Schimmerlos: "I'll fuck you with my money." Haffenloher repeatedly threatened the tabloid journalist Schimmerlos.
Harry G: (Laughs) That's exactly what I do. I call them every day. Every day. And then one day, when they can't do it anymore, when they're just lying on the floor and whimpering, then I know: I've broken them. (Laughs) On the last ride, Willi, the hotelier, rode in front of me and I was chilling in his slipstream. Then he suddenly shouted at me: "Reigning times! Am I riding in front now too? I was the one who said no for weeks. And not you, Zefix!" (grins) But at some point I no longer had to threaten them. They were hooked. They all wanted to join my group voluntarily.
Club300
TOUR: Does the group have a name?
Harry G: "Club300" because we drive more than 300 kilometres a day. And do you know what the difference is compared to before?
TOUR: I'm sure you're about to tell me ...
Harry G: If I write in: "Guys, what do you think of a trip to Berlin?", it doesn't take ten seconds before it says: "I'm in!" "I'm in!" "I'm in!"
TOUR: But does everything always run smoothly?
Harry G: Of course not. We once got completely lost on the way from Munich to Lake Garda in Trento. Our legs were blue and our nerves were on edge after 250 kilometres. But it didn't help. We have a plan, so we stick to it.
Training plan? No thanks
TOUR: Do you actually train according to a plan? So according to the motto: Today I'm doing GA1?
Harry G: I don't even know what that is.
TOUR: I don't think so.
Harry G: I also don't give a shit about stuff like VO2 max or any wattage values. Strava? Zwift? I've never been there and never will. Why should I go on the roll at home? Why?
TOUR: To keep fit in winter?
Harry G: Do you know what I do to stay fit during the cold season? I do something really crazy: I go cycling. I get up at half past five, get dressed warmly and go for an hour's ride. At home, I have a hot shower and a delicious breakfast. What could be better? There are really only three scenarios in which I don't cycle in winter: when it's snowing, when it's hailing and when there's black ice.
TOUR: Some road cyclists don't want to buy long thermal clothing and therefore ride a roller.
Harry G: Who said that? The YouTuber who skis virtually through Barcelona with a towel around his neck like Rocky once did with a 20? Every athlete has a ski outfit at home. Then he or she should just put it on. If need be, I'll ride with flat pedals and moon boots! It doesn't matter. And what do the Instagram stars do? They're wearing designer jerseys costing hundreds of euros and are in the ironing room. Huh? What a load of rubbish. I say what's much better: when I set off in winter, the fog lies over the country road and I can feel myself in the freezing cold. That's real cycling. And not at 22 degrees and watching Netflix.
When the fog lies over the country road and I feel myself in the freezing cold, that's real cycling.
Anecdotes from the many kilometres travelled by bike
TOUR: But on your videos you can see a GPS device from Garmin.
Harry G: The only thing I want to know is the time, the kilometres and the altitude. I'm not interested in anything else. Others have wickedly expensive wattmeters and are better equipped than a Tour de France rider. And then there's the "boazn" faction.
TOUR: The what?
Harry G: I was once travelling with a group. Everyone at full throttle. And what does a guy next to me suddenly do? He takes out his e-cigarette and smokes at a 45-metre pace. Things happen. But then I really pushed myself up the Kesselberg at Walchensee. That's when I realised: sometimes riding alone isn't so bad.
TOUR: But it doesn't happen too often any more?
Harry G: A few weeks ago, my family and I wanted to go to Italy. As I hadn't been able to sleep the night before, I thought to myself: Oh well, I'll go ahead now. So I set off shortly after ten and drove through the night. Via Sterzing, the Penser Joch, then into the Sarntal valley to Oberbozen. That was also a bit sick: 5000 metres of altitude in 15 hours. But after that I was really pampered. That was quite a slog, a hell of a ride.
Future plans
TOUR: What's coming up next year?
Harry G: I find the Via Claudia Augusta quite interesting: from Donauwörth to Venice, I think, 700 kilometres, 5000 metres in altitude. The Supermaratona (a route variant of the Maratona dles Dolomites, which you can ride on your own, independently of the event) is also nice. That's 8500 metres in altitude spread over 285 kilometres. Quite okay.
TOUR: All in one day?
Harry G: I don't count in days or nights. For me, it's important that it's in one go. So 8500 metres in altitude and 285 kilometres. In one go.
TOUR: What is the difference between 2008, when you rode your new canyon through the Perlacher Forst, and today?
Harry G: I got on a racing bike because I wanted to ride a racing bike. Today, Perlacher Forst is like the catwalk in Milan: everyone dresses up, everyone wants to be cool.
TOUR: The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" once asked in an article: "What a silly rooster! Can he also ride a racing bike, or does he mainly collect his kilometres by doing pirouettes in front of the mirror?"
Harry G: In a video in which I poked fun at racing cyclists, I talked about the oh-so-important shaved legs, goggles that are as big as windscreens and wind tunnel helmets for full-on professionals. The helmets are often worn by athletes who pedal with a huge paunch in front of them and 120 kilos underneath them. They seriously say that every gram counts on the bike. I find that very funny.
About Harry G
Harry G's real name is Markus Stoll and he comes from Regensburg. The business administration graduate first worked as an investment banker before founding his own social media marketing company. His career as comedian and cabaret artist Harry G began in 2013 with a video clip to mark the start of the Oktoberfest in Munich, in which he pokes fun at the peculiarities of the Oktoberfest and its visitors. Stoll now tours Germany as Harry G and his current programme is called "Hoam Stories". As an actor, he has made guest appearances in the Rosenheim Cops on ZDF and in the Eberhofer crime thrillers based on novels by author Rita Falk ("Sauerkrautkoma", "Leberkäsjunkie"). Stoll is 45 years old, married, has two children and lives with his family in Munich.
