If there's a living legend of bicycle touring, it's Heinz Stucke, the world's ultimate bike traveler.
Born in 1940, the cyclist has been pedaling down the road for 48 years after leaving his hometown of Hovelhoff, Germany, on a 3-speed bicycle.
Nearly 370,000 miles later, Stucke has visited more than 200 nations and territories and he's still going strong. Most recently, he completed a 6,000-mile tour between Brazil and Alaska on his Brompton bike.
Website, videos
Now, in conjuncton with Bike-Tech, which sells Brompton folding bicycles, Stucke has launched a new website and a series of videos in which he talks about his life on the road.
The website — www.heinzstucke.com — contains excerpts from a long article he wrote, photos, and a series of 10 videos posted via the HeinzStucke channel on YouTube.
Best transportation
In the first one, “The Man Who Wanted to See It All” (see video above) says that he didn't choose the bicycle so much because he liked cycling, but it turned out to be the best mode of transportation for a world traveler:
“I'm excited about traveling; the bicycle turned out to be the form of transportation… It's cheap. I mean it's a fantastic passport… You come on a bicycle to people, you can't be a bad guy. … They see the bicycle, that's why it's so nicely painted with the names and everything on it. …
“It's a good starter, immediately making goodwill with the people you encounter, and with the goodwill, you get the help of the people. And that was important because I didn't have the money in my pocket, you know.
“People do the journey today for one year, they have saved the money, they have good equipment but they don't think of being able to finance their journey while they are traveling. I didn't know if I could do that, but I learned.”
Island hopping
Bike-Tech is based in Barcelona, and Stucke has been there for a few weeks to meet with the people putting together his website and make the interviews. The website has an English translation, and the videos at YouTube are in English.
Bike-Tech says that Stucke will be hitting the road again, this time traveling to remote islands that he plans to explore by bicycle.
Stucke's goal is not just to see the world, but to regain his listing in the Guinness Book of World Records at the “Most Traveled Person by Bicycle.”
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