From racing bike to e-cargo bike: Simon Geschke and his Riese & Müller Load
10.03.2026 | People & Society
Former professional cyclist and Tour de France stage winner Simon Geschke moved from Berlin to the cycling city of Freiburg back in 2012. Immediately after retiring from his career two years ago, he bought himself a cargo bike. The Riese & Müller Load is his constant companion in everyday life.
A cargo bike is very practical in Freiburg
Hello Simon, did you use your bike for everyday transport during your active career?
To be honest, I was always a bit lazy and often rode my motor scooter. I did enough training and racing kilometres on my bike (laughs). But I immediately noticed that the conditions for cycling here are ideal. For example, there's a cycle path that runs through the whole city along the river, which is really cool. It was always super easy to train – I could just ride out of the city on the cycle path and hardly had to brake.
And how is it today?
When you're no longer doing it professionally, i.e. sitting in the saddle every day, you feel much more like cycling in your free time and everyday life. I've also pimped my city bike a bit and am doing a lot more with it, especially since I got the cargo bike. Simply because it's so practical in Freiburg. The possibilities are really endless.
Von Weihnachtsbaum bis Beistellbett – die Ladung immer im Blick
From Christmas trees to extra beds – always keep an eye on your load
We have a garage that is a little further away. And I transport almost everything we store there and need at home or bring back with the cargo bike. For example, all the baby stuff, the cot, a plastic Christmas tree, the rear carrier for the car – really big and heavy things. It also saves time, because I just pack everything into the box at the front, set off and have a good view of the load. There's really nothing I don't do with the cargo bike. I also use it to take our dog to the vet. And when my wife was in hospital shortly before the birth of our daughter, I took him with me in the cargo bike and visited her.
The dog loves to ride in the front
So your dog likes to ride along?
Yes. We used to have a trailer for him, but he hated it. Maybe because he couldn't see anything. We felt really bad riding through town with him because he howled so much. But he wasn't in any pain, and we had to get from A to B somehow. With the cargo bike, it wasn't a problem at all from the start. He was a little excited at first, but now he loves it. In winter, we use the rain cover so he's not exposed to the cold wind. We can take him anywhere, which is really cool.
And soon you'll be using the Load to transport children too?
Exactly. Our daughter is now just over a year old and can sit up properly, hold her head up well and ride in the cargo bike. We haven't done it yet because the weather has been so bad. But now it's slowly getting warmer again and we'll definitely be going on some nice trips together.
A different driving experience, new freedom
You come from road cycling and have been riding very agile and extremely light bikes for many years. Did you have any difficulties switching to a cargo bike?
Sure, it's a very different riding experience to a road bike, obviously. But a road bike isn't that nice to ride either. It's very stiff and super direct, and if you hit a bit of sand somewhere, you actually slip away immediately. The Load reminds me more of a mountain bike. And I like that. Privately, I now ride an enduro mountain bike more than a road bike. The biggest change for me was the length and the fact that you have a different steering angle and a large turning circle. But you get used to it very quickly.
Has Freiburg changed for cyclists over the last ten years?
Freiburg has always been a bicycle-friendly city. What is striking is that whenever any measures are taken, for example when a road is being resurfaced, extreme care is taken to ensure that bicycle traffic has priority. There are many bicycle lanes and you simply feel very safe on your bike in Freiburg. What's more, the bicycle network is really great, there's no other way to put it.
Creating an alternative to the car
What would you like to see from politicians and administrators in terms of developing cycling?
Cars are very dominant in Germany, and I think relatively little is being done to give people an alternative to cars. We need to make sure that people in all cities feel safe on their bikes – that's the be-all and end-all.
Do you miss professional cycling?
I miss certain aspects, but the list of things I don't miss is a bit longer. On the one hand, it was a very tough business, but on the other hand, it was a nice lifestyle. You could organise your day however you wanted – the most important thing was simply that you went cycling. But then I hated it just as much in winter. Of course, I follow the big races, and I also like to be there in person. Last year, I was on the road as an expert for ARD and Eurosport.
What was your best moment as a professional?
Winning the Tour stage will always remain the highlight of my career. On that day, I felt like the king of the world. That's what you dream of as a child.
Thank you for the nice chat.
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Simon Geschke was born in Berlin and has lived in Freiburg for 14 years. He was most recently under contract with Team Cofidis as a professional cyclist. His most notable victories include a mountain stage in the 2015 Tour de France and winning the mountain classification in the Tour of Poland. In 2022, he wore the famous Tour de France mountain jersey for ten days – longer than any other German athlete – and in the end, only overall winner Jonas Vingegaard was ahead of him in the mountain classification. He ended his career after the 2024 season.