Greetings from Squalo delle Alpi: Our Unforgettable Ride
Hello everyone,
I’m Squalo delle Alpi, but my fellow Muckers can call me Sharky.
If someone had told me years ago that I would be riding indoors, joining an online group, travelling to Germany to ride with people I met online, and meeting 20 friends from Rouvy in real life, I would have told them they were crazy. Impossible!
But in 2025, it all happened. I drove seven hours to the Black Forest Meeting, and there, the magic of my group—our group, the Muckers—truly continued. It’s more than just cycling; it’s a mindset, a positive way of life shared with friends from all over the world.
A huge thank you to Neil and Kyle for starting this movement, but also thank you to every one of us who contributes each week during training sessions, races, on the blog, and in the WhatsApp chat.
Monday, July 14th, will always be a special date for me because I had the chance to organise a beautiful ride in my region with so many friends.
It all started when my special friend Denny (who perfectly organised the last Black Forest Meeting) wrote to me saying he was on holiday in Caldaro and asked if I wanted to ride together. I immediately requested a day off work. That same day, I saw an Instagram post from another top Mucker, Mads, who was on holiday in Bardolino on Garda Lake.
An idea sparked in my mind: a special day with some very special Mucker guests!
So, on Monday the 14th, I met Mads (Rouvy nickname: Grochang) from Denmark for the first time in real life. I also met up with Denny44 from Germany and my friend Alessandro, who also came to the Black Forest meeting. Along the way, another friend, Lorenzo from Val Di Sole, joined our ride.
Everything turned out perfectly. We first climbed the Mendelpass (Passo Mendola) and then the Gampenpass (Passo delle Palade), for a total ride of 70 km with 1700 meters of elevation.
It was a special day dedicated to riding and having fun up and down the mountains of my region. We finished with well-deserved beers, big smiles, and easy conversation between old friends.
I love the Muckers style! Remember, the next Muckers meeting will be here in Italy, and I can’t wait to see all of you.
I’m a Mucker and I love you all. See you next year, or perhaps even sooner… never say never!
See you soon, Your friend, Sharky
Well spoken Shaky, I’m as mindblow’d as you, and I have no worries for you to be the next host of The Muckers Meeting – you got the AURA of calmness and no panic for creating new routes in the last minute. Long story short I forgot to pick up my bike in the shop, and Shaky quickly changed the route for my benefit. We are in in good hands for next years meeting 🤟
Thanks Alessandro, Denny44 and Squalo for an amazing ride❤️
@sharky: Nice report. It was also a special day for me. I wanted to ride with you in your region on my holiday. But I wasn’t sure if we can arrange this beacause of your work or may be other plans. So it was good to notice how excited you were after I contacted you and that you can arrange it. You took an extra day of to ride with us!!! That is just marvelous. I had a great day with all of you. Nice bike ride in this great area with my mucker friends. Wonderful day 🙂 Thanks sharky, you are special Mucker and I am looking forward to our muckers meeting next year at your home.
It was a very nice day, and very happy to ride with Denny and Mads.
Thanks a lot for the beautiful words, it will me give more energy to the next meeting organising.
Muckers go on 💪👋🦈