MORE THAN 211 COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES CROSSED
GETS BIKE STOLEN IN ENGLAND
From the UK Guardian : Forty-four years on the road and a third of a million miles have given Heinz Stücke a philosophical cast of mind. Within hours of getting off the ferry from France in Portsmouth on Monday night, the bicycle that has been his constant companion since 1962 was stolen. But he's not bitter.
....his bike was returned to him little more than 36 hours after its theft. After the story was picked up by the national media, the thief probably realised that Heinz's steed might be more trouble than it was worth.
...he chiefly earns the money to finance his travels by selling an illustrated booklet about his experiences. He just sets his bike on its stand and that's his pitch. He is constantly meeting people yet it's a solitary road he travels.
Did he ever imagine when he set out, 44 years ago, that he would be on the road all this time?
"Nobody knows that far ahead. Ten years into the journey, it was 'I don't want to go back to the factory'. But then it just becomes such a part of you."
The freedom of travel is something many people crave - one reason they love his story and buy his brochure. But, he says, it takes special commitment.
"That dream is for everybody all the time, but unfortunately it can't be easily realised. You really have to cut all your relations, family, and be free. You have some saved-up money for a year or two, and then you have to find new money. Eventually, people wind up again where they started from. Or they get a good job somewhere else. And then the woman comes, you know. And then they buy a house and then, maybe, children come.
"And then only the dream stays."
Go here for the full story.
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