Ernst Artner

Wheeler

The cyclist did not make it directly to the Brandenburg Gate, preparations for the fan zone at the EURO are underway.(Bild: Artner)

Despite shivering and exhausting exertions, an athletic Burgenlander managed the long distance from Austria to Germany in under 24 hours.

Ernst Artner has always been an ambitious sportsman. The police officer from Bad Tatzmannsdorf once cycled 2200 kilometers and 20,000 meters of altitude in just a few days to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.

At the finish line: Ernst Artner and "his" Karin, who fully supports him.(Bild: Artner)

3300 kilometers in 14 days
Another time, he covered more than 3300 kilometers and almost 21,500 meters of altitude in 136 hours over 14 days to get from Schlaining to Portugal's Atlantic coast. Now came the next adventure.

To Berlin in one day
The Burgenlander set off from the Heldentor in Vienna at 10 a.m. on the dot and was standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin at exactly 9.27 a.m. the following day. The 49-year-old mastered the 613-kilometre route non-stop in 23 hours and 27 minutes, including all the short breaks and red lights.

"At the end"
On average: 28.8 km/h with 4457 meters of altitude. "It was no child's birthday party. The biggest hurdle was when I had to cross the Lusatian Mountains at km 350 to 380 - already plagued by chills and at the end of my strength. I don't know how I managed to get out of that hell," says Artner. But everything went well!