Episode 190: Marcello Pacifici

Bikepacking in the Nordic Countries

When Marcello Pacifici moved to Helsinki from Rome he knew he needed to change his life around. He didn’t know it at the time but his decision to use the city bikes there as a way to save money and commute around Helsinki would be what would lead him to discovering a passion for bike travel.

Marcello shares how cycling first became a way for him to learn more about the area he was living in and to ‘expand his map’ of Helsinki. One thing quickly led to another and he hasn’t looked back since. Something he especially loves about living in Helsinki is that he is never more than a ten minute walk away from true nature. It’s something that he has found helps to ground him, and has given him energy and a new lease on life.

In Italy Marcello was a musician, making a living from teaching music and playing Jazz guitar at various gigs. Music was all around him and equally was his way of closing off the world and escaping. Moving to Finland provided Marcello with a total new start. He still teaches, but as a primary school teacher and what’s more, he has discovered cycling and a love for the outdoors. Marcello says he never listens to music when he rides because he wants to take everything in. He doesn’t want to shut the world off anymore and it is this ‘grounding’ and mindful approach, that he attributes to feeling so much happier than he was when he lived in Italy.

Something else Marcello shared was that while he considers himself to be an introvert, this changes completely when he is on the bike. Through bikepacking he has discovered a curiosity within himself to reach out to people, seek out conversations with strangers he meets along the way, in a bid to learn more about them and the area he is riding in.

He prefaces riding quiet off road trails where possible, and in Finland there is no shortage of this to be found, often snaking its way through the forest. It’s also a country which has great infrastructure in place for people to appreciate the outdoors, which means finding places to wild camp couldn’t be easier.

Marcello’s first bikepacking trip was to Rovaniemi, in Finnish Lapland in the Arctic Circle. He planned out an 800km route which included some detours to visit friends along the way, and then loaded up his bike with bikepacking bags and just went for it. Once finished he planned to take the sleeper train back home to Helsinki. Marcello also prefers for the route to reveal itself to him, rather than research everything about it before setting off.

Marcello has been hooked on bikepacking ever since taking that first adventure to Rovaniemi and it has put the wheels in motion for him to explore even further afield. He has since taken adventures to Iceland, Norway and recently the Faroe Islands as well. Each has been unique in it’s scenery, the latter made Marcello feel as though he was cycling on the edge of the world. He had a particular day on the Faroes where he cycled an entire mountain pass with no one else around. As Marcello says, it was an absolute gift, where else in the world could this be possible?

Marcello spent over three weeks in Iceland but things didn’t exactly go to plan. Initially he’d hoped to tackle the Iceland Divide, but unfortunately the roads were covered in snow which made the route impassible by bike. Rather than give up on bikepacking in Iceland completely, Marcello instead decided to change course and consider other options. This led him to ride the route of the Westfjords Way instead and he says it ended up being his favourite part of the entire journey.

So what of future adventures? Well Marcello has an ever increasing bucket list, which now includes participating in one of the Mountain Races. Perhaps we shall see him at the start line of the Atlas Mountain Race before you know it? You can follow Marcello’s future adventures via his substack blog and also via his instagram @WhereIsMarcello

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