The record-setting around-the-world bicycle life-journey of Heinz Stücke has come to a dead stop in Portsmouth, UK, where his bike was stolen this week.
This is not any old bike. This three-speed is the one Stücke has ridden to nearly every country on Earth since he embarked on the 335,000 journey from his home in Germany in 1962.
(Update: Bike found)
Stücke's bicycle is black, painted with cities visited and a map of his journey hanging from the frame's crossbar. It has two sets of handlebars so he can vary his riding position. (It's shown above in this photo taken in India by Martin Atzenhofer in 1991.)
The 66-year-old world traveler arrived in Portsmouth by ferry on Sunday, tied up his bicycle with rope and bungee cord and went to sleep in his tent. He's quoted in the Times Online :
“I always sleep with my tent door open so that I can see it.'I woke up at 3am and I immediately thought 'I must check my bike' – like I always do. But when I looked outside, it was gone.”
Police in Portsmouth offered him a bike from their lost property holdings, but he wants to find his old bike. “I would do anything to get my bike back – I'm emotionally attached to it.”
I can understand that emotional attachment as they've been together for the equivalent of 10 times around the globe. The Times says he's been hit by a truck in the desert in Chile, chased by a mob in Haiti, and burnt by a volcano in Central America.
At the Bike China Adventure website hosted by Peter Snow Cao, Stücke writes it was donated by a German company.
“It weighs about 25 kgs (55 pounds) because it has a reinforced frame, thick spokes and solid luggage-carriers. I insisted on these things because on earlier tours I had always had trouble with broken spokes and broken carriers, etc. Imagine a broken frame in the middle of the desert! The bicycle has 26″ wheels and a three-speed Torpedo hub-gear (incorporating pedal brake). I never felt that the three speeds were insufficient and I am happy with the little service the Torpedo has required.”
He carries another 80 to 100 pounds of belongings, which includes the books, pamphlets and photos he sells to finance his journey. He's not worried about speed. He doesn't mind walking up the hills.
There's good reason why Stücke is willing to wait for his bike to resurface. This is at least the fifth time it's been stolen, the latest in the Philippines where it was recovered miles away.
Stücke tells about his journey at the Bike China Adventure website. He concludes:
I cannot recommend that everyone should do as I have done. It depends on the individual. Anyone can do it. Determination, consistency and imagination are more important than mere physical ability.
A lot has been written about Stücke . Here are a few more links:
Heinz Stucke, the World by Bicycle
Let's hope Stücke gets his wheels back.
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