Patrik von Känel was one of the youngest people to gain his paragliding certification in Switzerland. A few years later, he is a test pilot for a Swiss paraglider manufacturer and competes in selected races. Next year, he will be taking part in the prestigious Red Bull X-Alps for the second time, a flying and running competition starting in Salzburg and finishing in Monaco. To add variety to his endurance training, he recently took up mountain biking. And just a few months later, he can claim to have completed one of the longest jumps on a mountain bike. And he did it freehand to boot.

You were born into the world of paragliding. Nevertheless, your first flights were in unfamiliar surroundings. Tell us about it!
My parents were among the first paraglider pilots in Switzerland in the mid-1980s. However, the law didn't allow me to get my license until I was 16. At 14, I was allowed to do handling exercises on the ground with my mother's glider. Once, when I was alone at home, I didn't leave it at the dry runs, but took off, but immediately turned around in the air and crashed into the meadow where I had taken off. Then I went back up and took off again. Unfortunately, a couple of my parents' paragliding friends saw me. My mother wanted to ban me from flying, but my father thought I should learn properly rather than messing up like that again. When I was 15, I was allowed to join the flying school.

You now earn your living by flying. How did you come up with the idea of taking your bike into the air? I only started riding mountain bikes this year, but immediately had a lot of fun on the trails in my home town on Lake Thun. I knew the Sigriswilergrat from flying and really wanted to ride it by bike. The disadvantage is that it ends above a rock face. From there, I would have had to carry the bike down a via ferrata. So I came up with the idea of paragliding to the end of the trail, where I could continue riding.

Are there any other pilots who have paraglided with a bike before?
Yes, two or three. But I didn't follow their example. I knew how to do it and how to attach the bike to the harness. Then it took a bit of practice before I was ready.

To ride a mountain bike and launch or land a paraglider at the same time, you would actually need four hands. How did you solve the problem?
When I took off, I had my hands on the handlebars and only grabbed the lines when the glider was above me. When landing, I steered and braked using the lines of the glider until the wheels were on the ground.

So technically you landed hands-free!
Yes, if the direction and speed are right, it's not that difficult. The 29er wheels rolled cleanly over the bumps.

Would something like speed flying be possible with the bike? (In speed flying, you fly with skis on your feet, repeatedly touch down on steep slopes and take off again immediately after one turn.)
Not for me. Speed flying is done with a very small wing to fly particularly fast. To be able to take off with the bike, I used a particularly large wing. I'm also quite cumbersome in the air with the bike. But who knows, maybe one day there will be a particularly daredevil Russian who tries it. That would be far too dangerous for me.

Are you still pursuing flying with the bike? I did it because I wanted to ride the Sigriswilergrat. I don't find doing the same thing again that exciting. If I can find another place where it makes sense - why not? Over the next few months, however, my focus will be on training for the Red Bull X-Alps.

In thermals, you can gain a lot of altitude with a paraglider. Would it be possible to fly up a mountain with the bike on the glider?
When practicing on a meadow, I always took off again after a short touchdown and flew back to the launch site. Flying up a mountain in good thermals and landing at the top would be possible. Then I would just need a trail that I could ride down.