Spain to Ukraine, On A Bike: 6 In 16

Stop scrolling, start riding - together

Let me be brutally honest with you.

I've been scattered as hell lately. Plans changing faster than I can type them, updates arriving later than a Spanish dinner, a literal house fire (don’t worry, we’re all OK)… and Lucy the Bike sitting in Malaga probably wondering what the actual f*ck its human is up to this time. I had a completely different vision for where we'd go next – something involving fewer war zones and more wine regions, if I'm being honest.

But sometimes life doesn't ask for your carefully crafted five-year plan. Sometimes it just shows up wearing combat boots and speaking Ukrainian, demanding you choose: keep making excuses, or shut up and ride for something that actually matters.

So here's what's happening: In exactly twenty days, I'm throwing my leg over Lucy in Malaga, Spain, and pointing it east toward Lviv, Ukraine. Six countries in sixteen days. And this time – this time – you can come with me.

Not just digitally. Not just in spirit. Actually come with me.

Because while we've been busy doom-scrolling, gossiping over the Elon vs Donald show, and debating the 2025 ‘Strada V2S vs the 2024 one (or tariffs, or Canada, YMMV), Ukrainian defenders are still waking up every morning to air raid sirens. Still loading medical supplies into pickup trucks. Still fighting not just for survival, but for the right to keep being who they are – artists, dreamers, and tech entrepreneurs who can also drive combat missions.

And I'm done being scattered. Done with the endless planning and replanning. Done watching from the sidelines while my Ukrainian friends show the world what it means to be several things at once – magnificent, terrified, determined, and absolutely fucking unstoppable.

Time to ride for something bigger than my own restless energy.

For something that matters.

My Ukrainian friends taught me something that's been rattling around in my brain for months now: you can be several things at once and do them all with fierce intention. You can discuss vintage wines at lunch and deliver medical supplies under artillery fire by evening. You can throw a drum-and-bass rebuild party while cleaning up bombed-out homes.

You can be a comedian who becomes Europe's most courageous leader.

And you can be an adventure rider who uses two wheels to bridge the gap between "thoughts and prayers" and actually showing the hell up.

The Route That Remembers

This isn't just a ride across Europe – it's a journey through memory and promise.

Starting in Malaga, I'll thread my way north through Spain toward Guernica, a town that once suffered immeasurable destruction designed to break the spirit of its people. Sound familiar? From there, across the Pyrenees into France, heading toward the Somme – where we carved "never again" into the landscape with blood and conviction.

Through the Netherlands and Germany, where battlefields became peaceful communities. Into Poland, a country that remembers what aggression from the East feels like, up close and personal. And finally, into Ukraine – the country that's defending all of Europe right now, whether Europe wants to admit it or not.

Here's what I keep thinking about: we said "never again" in 1945. We carved it into monuments, wrote it into treaties, taught it to our children.

But saying it and meaning it are two different things entirely.

Every kilometer of this ride is a question: Will we deliver on that promise now? When it matters? When the cameras aren't rolling and the hashtags have moved on to something more palatable?

Join Me. Literally.

Here's where this gets real: you can ride with me. Because together, we count for something bigger than ourselves.

Whether you're in Spain sipping cortados, France arguing about wine, the Netherlands navigating bike paths that put the rest of the world to shame, Germany engineering the perfect motorcycle tour, or Poland remembering what solidarity looks like – if you're anywhere between Malaga and Lviv and want to throw a leg over your bike for a coffee stop, a hundred kilometers, or a full day's ride, hit me up.

Because here's what I've learned from three years of rally racing and ten years of wandering the world: the best adventures happen when strangers become family over shared miles and terrible coffee at gas stations that smell like diesel and possibility.

The Part Where I Ask You to Put Your Money Where Your Values Are

Every kilometer of this ride raises funds for Rally 4x4 Ukraine – and before you roll your eyes at another donation request, let me tell you why this one's different.

I know every single person on this team personally. I've watched Aidas Bubinas drive sixty-plus trips to the front lines, delivering over 150 vehicles. I've seen the spreadsheets, the receipts, the photos of pickups being handed over to Ukrainians who will use them to evacuate wounded soldiers. 100% of your donation goes directly to Ukraine aid – no admin fees, no charity management costs, no executives getting rich off other people's suffering.

Just pure, volunteer-driven support where it counts most.

What This Is Really About

Look, I could dress this up in adventure rhetoric about discovering yourself through travel or finding meaning on the open road. But that's not what this is.

This is about using what I have – a bike, a voice, and a community of riders who understand that freedom isn't free – to keep attention on what matters. To remind Europe that Ukraine's fight is our fight too, whether we're brave enough to admit it or not.

This is about connection in an age of digital isolation. About showing up instead of just showing off. About turning the restless energy that drives us to seek adventure into something that actually makes a difference.

And maybe, just maybe, it's about proving that ordinary people on ordinary bikes can do extraordinary things when they stop overthinking and start riding.

How YOU Can Be Part of This - From Anywhere in the World

Can't join me physically? Join me anyway:

Create your own 6 in 16 Ride wherever you are. Six friends, sixty miles, sixteen dollars donated for each country I'll cross. Or sixteen minutes for sixteen days creating your own solidarity loop. The math doesn't matter – the showing up does.

Share your stories of connection and resilience. Follow along and amplify the message. Organize a breakfast ride, a sunset cruise, a weekend adventure – whatever gets you and your people on two wheels with purpose, creating a movement of 6 in 16. For our communities – and for Ukraine.

Because this ride isn't about me. It's about every one of us who's tired of scrolling and ready for doing. Who's craving real connection, real-world rides, real campfire conversations that matter. Who understands that sometimes the most meaningful adventures happen when you point your bike toward something bigger than yourself.

Ride Shotgun

I'll share everything – the daily struggles, the moments of doubt, the incredible humans I meet along the way, the stories from Ukraine that need telling, the connections that prove motorcycles really can transcend borders and bullshit.

You'll ride shotgun through every mile, every border crossing, every coffee stop where strangers become allies in the fight for something that matters.

Because in the end, that's what this is about: the road to freedom. Not the glamorous, Instagram-worthy kind, but the daily, unglamorous work of showing up, speaking up, and refusing to let the world's attention drift away from people who are literally fighting for their right to exist.

My Ukrainian friends are still out there, being magnificent in the face of horror. Still discussing art over lunch and driving supply runs by evening. Still proving that you can be several things at once when those things matter.

Time for the rest of us to prove we can be too.

The road to Lviv starts in twenty days. The question isn't whether you're ready for the adventure.

The question is whether you're ready to make it count.

6 IN 16 RIDE: THE NUMBERS

📅 DATES: June 27 - July 12, 2025

🗺️ ROUTE:

Day 1-3: Malaga → Guernica → French border (Spain)

Day 4-6: Somme region → Netherlands border (France)

Day 7-9: Amsterdam area → German border (Netherlands)

Day 10-12: Cross-country → Polish border (Germany)

Day 13-15: Krakow → Ukrainian border (Poland)

Day 16: Lviv arrival (Ukraine)

☕ MEET ME STOPS:

Spain: Guernica (June 30-July 1)

France: Somme Memorial area (July 3-4)

Netherlands: Amsterdam region (July 5-6)

Germany: TBD - message me your suggestions (July 7-8)

Poland: Krakow area (July 9-10)

💰 SUPPORT OPTIONS (all funds go directly to the Rally 4x4 Ukraine)

Road Companion: EUR 50

Become a supporter & receive a signed Rally 4x4 Ukraine sticker

Sign up HERE.

Journey Champion: EUR 150

Signed sticker+your name or logo on my bike

Sign up HERE.

Defender: EUR 250

Signed sticker + your name/logo on my bike/free Substack subscription for 1 year

Sign up HERE.

Daily Hero: EUR 75

Personal video shout-out from the road

Sign up HERE.

🏍️ JOIN THE RIDE:

Email: egleontheroad at gmail.com

Message me on any platform with #6in16ride

Create your own 6 in 16 solidarity ride anywhere in the world (message me for a blueprint – or just go ahead and ride!)

📱 FOLLOW ALONG:

Daily updates on Instagram/Facebook: @egleontheroad

Substack: @egleontheroad

Hashtag: #6in16ride #RideForUkraine

P.S. I know, I know - the original plan was to do a relay ride. The reality? Too many moving parts to juggle, and too little time to do it well - so I’ll just ride Lucy to Ukraine myself.