Jobst Brandt first rode the Alpine passes in 1959. At that time most of the roads were unpaved. Since that first trip he has returned to the Alps more than 20 times, documenting his rides with photographs that have inspired many others to do their own rides.

There are thousands of photographs in Brandt’s collections. A hundred of the best are shown here, and of these 19 were selected for display at Palo Alto Bicycles, enlarged so that every detail of the alpine scenery and roads is shown.

Brandt is a mechanical engineer with a keen understanding of the bicycle. He wrote the classic book The Bicycle Wheel and has had a wide influence on the design of cycling equipment. These photographs show a rider undeterred by the most difficult cycling conditions. Consequently, his philosophy of bicycle design demands no-nonsense reliability.

The photographs, however, are not about the bicycle. They are about the the sense of adventure, accomplishment, and delight it can provide. Beyond that they are an appreciation of the Alps and the roads that cross them by a man who has experienced them with the intimacy that only the bicycle can provide.