Between the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, Eleveit and T.ur supported the journey of Gianni Fersini and Salvatore D'Emilio, the protagonists of an extraordinary two-wheeled adventure with a special goal: raising funds for research into pancreatic diseases.
The idea was as simple as it was ambitious: to raise one euro for every kilometer traveled, taking on a route of 10,000 kilometers through Greece, Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Nepal in just over a month.
A journey that put not only the riders to the test, but their gear as well. From the winter cold of the Anatolian plateau to the extreme heat of Iran’s Lut Desert, through India’s humidity and the high altitudes of the Himalayas, Gianni and Salvatore crossed completely different climates, elevations, and conditions.
To tackle every stage safely and in maximum comfort, we equipped them with Eleveit footwear and T.ur apparel designed to adapt to heat, cold, and rain, allowing them to focus exclusively on riding, the adventure, and the value of the project.
Supporting them along the route:
• Eleveit X Privilege E-Dry Enduro boots
• Roadbook Jacket
• Transfer Jacket
• Niagara Pants
• G-ADV winter gloves
• Roadtrip rain suit
But we'd rather let Gianni Fersini tell the story himself. In the final chapter of his travel diary, he shares the moments that left the deepest mark on him throughout the journey, made even more memorable by the comfort and versatility of the gear he relied on every mile of the way.
"We are on the streets of Kathmandu, we have just packed up the bikes to ship them back to Italy, but we are still wearing our dusty, well-worn adventure jackets, like a reassuring security blanket. We are heading home after about 40 days in the saddle and, while in the alleyways the usual stream of scooters plays a symphony of horns and coils wrapped in hundreds of electrical wires give off a hum that fills the air, in my mind the images gathered over the past few days keep flowing by.
The departure from the port of Igoumenitsa before sunrise on a freezing morning at the end of December and the first few days that flew by, as if to put as much distance as possible between us and home, so that the thought of turning back would not make us give up on continuing east.
The mountains of Central Anatolia and New Year's Eve are memories I'll never forget. We took longer than expected to reach the Dark Canyon, which meant riding through it after nightfall. Without realising it, I rode straight into a pool of water nearly a metre deep. The temperature was close to freezing, but thankfully my boots kept the water out, sparing me from spending the following days with soaking wet feet.After leaving Turkey, we caught sight of the Syrian border and received a warm welcome from the Iraqi people. We then crossed into Iran, despite our initial hesitation given the complex international situation. Yet it was the people of ancient Persia who made us feel truly at home, showing travellers a level of kindness rarely experienced back home. The checkpoints were frequent and thorough, of course, but the locals were always willing to share whatever they had. I still remember when Hussein welcomed us into his home so we could connect to his Wi-Fi. We were in the mountains overlooking the Varzaneh Desert, between Isfahan and Yazd.
We had left Iran with the heavy heart of someone who had discovered an unexpected country and headed into indecipherable Pakistan, forced to spend five days in a border barracks waiting for an escort and drinking tea with our guards. Despite the setbacks, we crossed that country too; the cold of the first half of the trip had given way to unusual heat, in the Lut Desert and then in Balochistan temperatures reached almost 30 degrees during the day, but fortunately our four-season riding gear allowed us to ride safely without suffering from it.
India welcomed us with all its contradictions, from the imposing parade at the Wagah border to the poor, polluted countryside of Uttar Pradesh, passing through the wonders of the Taj Mahal and the vibrant streets of New Delhi.
At last, we reached the country we had been aiming for all along: Nepal. A narrow strip of land unlike anywhere else, where, in just a few kilometres, the landscape rises from tropical jungle to the highest peaks on Earth. From humid heat to the sub-zero temperatures of the Himalayan Mustang, the climate puts both rider and machine — and the gear you rely on — to the ultimate test. The ever-changing landscapes and the faces we met along the way still flow through my mind in an endless stream of memories. By then, we had arrived at Durbar Square, the beating heart of Kathmandu. A group of young women welcomed us with a warm "Namaste", wearing flower garlands around their necks. Sasà and I looked at each other with the same smile on our faces and, without even saying a word beforehand, we both asked exactly the same question: when do we leave again?"
