Another adventure on the road together with Spazio, this time cycling all the way from Como to Barcelona. Days of heat, long climbs, endless roads, and the excitement of slowly crossing entire regions powered only by our legs.

Bikepacking changes your perception of distance. Places that once seemed impossibly far away suddenly become connected by effort, patience, and determination.

The day I completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering.

To celebrate the occasion, I launched the model rocket I had designed and built as part of my final project from the summit of Monte Crocione, surrounded by some of my closest friends.

The launch was successful, although the rocket decided to make things more interesting by landing on top of a tall tree, forcing us into an improvised recovery mission. Looking back, that unexpected adventure became one of the most memorable parts of the day.

Graduation marks the end of a chapter, but what I remember most is not the degree itself. It is sharing that moment with the people who supported me along the way. Achievements feel more meaningful when there is someone beside you to celebrate them with.

A three-day adventure on the road, cycling from Como to Lucca, nearly 300 km in search of So-So.

Sometimes you simply have to pause, step away from the routine, and set off toward something you know you will remember!

A short night ascent of Monte Bregagno, together with Mosca.

When your friend Spazio suddenly says, “Why don’t we go to London by bike?” and, against all logic, you say yes. That’s how this crazy adventure began :)

Two weeks on the road, riding day after day toward a destination that felt impossibly far away at the start. It became a journey I will never forget, one that felt like rediscovering ourselves and the world around us, one pedal stroke at a time.

That trip was a turning point in my life. It taught me that even the most intimidating goals can be reached if you break them down and move forward step by step. Nothing is too far when you truly want to get there. Small, consistent efforts add up to extraordinary results.

Kudos to Marco for introducing me to bikepacking, a passion that remains to this day.

I’ve always had a soft spot for construction machinery, but of all of them, the excavator has always been THE machine par excellence for me. I’m not even sure what it was that really drew me to it more than the others. Maybe it was the distinctive roar of the engine starting up, or perhaps its incredible ability to maintain a steady RPM, but maybe it really was its versatility. It happened rarely, but I remember my neighbor doing yard work and bringing out a mini-excavator on occasion. I’d spend hours watching them work from above, and I have no doubt that I’d go to bed at the end of the day still dreaming of that mini-excavator I’d seen just a few hours earlier.

To tell the truth, as far as I and my parents can recall, our first encounter, and perhaps the true beginning of this long-standing love, dates back to 2003. More precisely, June 1, 2003, at the (now-defunct) Zoo of Como. I have very few memories of that day, including the toy camera my sister Margherita used to take pictures of the animals. Then, in fact, the memory of that camera in my mind breaks off and is replaced by one linked to a sandbox. Fortunately, the toy camera wasn’t the only one we’d brought along that day, since that sandbox was actually photographed as well and remains to this day one of my perhaps very earliest memories.

As I grew up, my passion didn’t fade but quite the opposite. Perhaps fueled even more by all the LEGO Technic sets I assembled (or perhaps I should say, devoured), I continued to have this obsession with construction vehicles and excavators.

Meanwhile, after moving into a house with a much larger yard and more maintenance to do, the excavators I used to see as a child from the window and in the neighbor’s yard, I now had many more opportunities to observe them up close, since they were right there in my own yard. I spent hours watching (or rather spying as if it were a crime) out the window at the gardeners as they operated the mini excavator.

Then one day, after coming home from middle school, while I was waiting for lunch to be ready at the table, I heard the excavator start up.. I ran into the garden and found my dad sitting up there, not quite sure what to do or what to touch. I didn’t let the opportunity slip by, and with all the confidence in the world, as if I’d operated it my whole life, I climbed on up and simply put into practice the hours of training I’d gained from my countless previous spying sessions. I was finally playing with the “Ruspetta” which, as my dad was quick to point out, wasn’t really a little “Ruspetta” anymore.

In the months that followed, I became completely hooked and had countless opportunities to play with the excavator again. In fact, let’s just say I even had several “Ruspette” to play with. While I never really got too close to the gardeners, the same can’t be said for the construction workers, Salvatore and Amadì. So much so that one day I found myself in the garden with an extra excavator and a nice jackhammer just waiting for me. Well yeah, that was a memorable day, but that’s another story.

In the end, I think what I find fascinating about this type of machinery is the idea that it truly gives humans superpowers in terms of strength, precision, and versatility. It’s like having an arm with superhuman strength; you start thinking differently about what you’re capable of doing, and not just in terms of physical strength, all while operating controls that feel like you’re using a giant PlayStation controller. Mamma mia, if only I had one of those “Ruspette” in the garden right now…

Every journey in programming begins with a simple “Hello world!”, a proof that the system is alive.

I’ll leave the introductions to the homepage. This space exists simply because I like to build things, and I wanted a corner of the web to call my own. You can expect engineering projects, outdoor adventures, and some occasional thought experiments.

Feel free to explore, Tommaso 🐼