Who am I?

Who is this slightly crazy person planning to cycle half way around the world?

From being a child to leaving home...

Born in Switzerland in the latter part of the 1960's I was given the name Markus Gerber. I've spent my happy childhood in the valleys and hills of the Emmental region in central Switzerland, enjoying lots of outdoor activities from hiking the Swiss mountains, skiing, playing football and getting up to mischief in the nearby woods and the Emme river to cycling everywhere I had to go. Yes, I did go to school too... which wasn't my favorite activity but admittedly, somewhat did help me to get where I am now.

Buying my first proper bike when I was about 12 years old was a big deal & learning curve for me and probably worthwhile a blog at a later stage of this journey. However, at the time, I was not only loving cycling around on my bike, but also developed an interest in food, mainly driven by having an almost unhealthy big appetite which was reflected in the oversized trousers my mother had to buy me when I was in my early teens...

I left school and home by the time I was 16, starting an apprenticeship at a renowned Country Hotel in the Emmental, where the seed for cooking my mother planted in me, started to grow and developed.

Those formative years of learning the trade of becoming a chef, built the foundation of the world-spanning career I was able to have as a chef.

Conquering the world...

At the time, cycling wasn't much part of my life. No, I was cooking and eating which was a lot of fun too! Barely 21, the opportunity came up to join the opening crew of the largest cruise ship in the world at the time - and off I went!

With a small suitcase in tow and my mothers, by now legendary 'famous last words' during our farewells 'to make sure I do wear a condom in case I got involved with any females on my travels', I headed West, to the Port of St Nazaire in France to join the ship.

Fast moving forward, two children, a wedding and a few years working in Switzerland later, the burning desire to see more of the world was still there!

This time it was packing several suitcases, a few wooden boxes and endless filling in of paperwork, but finally, mid 1993, my wife, the two older children and I migrated to Australia where we stayed for the next 8 years.

During those years in Australia, apart from supporting the family, bringing up the two children and adding a third one, it was mainly about focusing on my career as a chef, working my way up from being a Head Chef in a small Swiss restaurant to becoming an Executive Chef in a large Hotel-Club and eventually venturing out into the 5* hotel industry in Sydney, just in time for the Olympics 2000.

And yes, it was at the Olympics 2000 I've won a gold medal too! Chef, sport, Olympics, gold medal....?? Does this all fit together?

For the time being, I'll leave you guessing in what discipline I won the gold... one clue I am giving you: it wasn't in cycling... Feel free to post your guesses on the comments though!

What followed was a divorce, a few years working as Executive Chef in Dubai and on cruise ships before I ended up in England starting a new chapter in my life together with Rebecca.

And finally...

...with having a bit more time, I rediscovered my passion for cycling again! Mountain biking at first, followed by road cycling for a good number of years, I'm now, together with Rebecca, transitioning to bike trekking! Let the long ride begin...