How Luca raced around the Netherlands in just a few days to cool down the planet

Some people go the extra mile to make a positive difference for the planet. Luca Trombella, an Italian environmentalist living in the Netherlands, is one of those. He finished a 2000-kilometer cycling race last month, where he rode the entire circumference of The Netherlands in just a few days while raising money for our projects through his bundraiser. 

Luca on his first day in Hoge Veluwe

Hi Luca, what an adventure! Why did you decide to do this race? 

“Cycling is my passion, it always has been. And I have always wanted to do an ultra-cycling race like this, as I love challenging myself. To expand my limits and see what I am capable of, so to speak.”

Where did your journey begin?

“I started in Amerongen in the southeast of the country. Afterward, we went straight up north, to Flevoland. We coasted past the eastern part and at Zeewolde we crossed the bridge to Elburg. Next was the Veluwe, the beautiful nature area, from where we went east to de Achterhoek and Enschede. Afterward, it was time for Emmen and Groningen. 

And that’s where I ended the first day.”

The first day?!

“The first day. I cycled almost non-stop for 20 hours, about 540 kilomteres. The next few days, I went around the IJsselmeer, eventually making it to Den Helder, where I started the long and very windy descent along the coastline of Holland. After the port of Rotterdam and Zeeland, I went down to Brabant and hilly Limburg. For the final stint, I went up to Nijmegen and from there back to Amerongen to conclude the journey.”

How did you experience these long and challenging days?

“Well, the first two days my legs and mind felt really strong despite hardly sleeping and some seriously challenging weather circumstances. Because of a heavy windstorm, I could not cycle faster than 13-15 km/h on the first day. After that, it didn’t get exactly easier. 

My journey from Neeltje Jans in Zeeland to Goes and Roermond was especially a night to remember, cycling straight through a hurricane with thunder and lightning all around me for an entire night and no possible place to sleep. Eventually I knocked, completely exhausted, on a door at a random farm and asked if I could sleep there. That’s also where I found out I somehow ended up in Germany instead of The Netherlands… 

Anyway, luckily I could sleep there and it’s just a great memory now. But yeah, some moments were tough, especially at night. However, not finishing the race never crossed my mind – not even for a moment. I felt a strong determination from the beginning to the end.” 

On the left, Luca his arrival under torrential rain and on the right with his daughter

What gave you that drive?

“Apart from my huge passion for cycling and my wish to challenge myself, I was driven by the fact that I didn’t just do this for myself – it was also for a good cause. I chose to raise awareness and money for an environmental organisation with this race, as I love nature and protecting the environment has always been close to my heart. 

After learning about Justdiggit, it was an easy choice for me. I love how measurable the impact of your projects is, and most of all how the projects are led by the communities that live off the land themselves. 

During my years at humanitarian organisations I have learned that local ownership and empowerment of groups of people through training and education is essential if we want to make a real and long-lasting difference. To me, joining forces like this and people taking charge of their land is the way forward for humanity and allows us to live in harmony with nature again.”