Lessons From Heinz Stücke

Today for News, Networking, and New Media, we have a wonderful guest post from Friedel Grant, former journalist and world traveler, who writes and creates podcasts for Travelling Two.

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He's the world's most travelled man. A true bicycle nomad, who left his home country of Germany in 1962 - the year when Marilyn Monroe sang “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy and Ringo Starr joined the Beatles. Now 70 years old and with 600,000km of touring under his wheels (enough to go 15 times around the globe), Heinz Stücke's experience contains lessons for other bike tourists.

1. Use A Mirror
He doesn't wear a helmet (it gives him headaches) and he hates cycle paths but Heinz Stücke is adamant about one thing when it comes to safety: a rear view mirror will save your life.

“It must be a law to have a rear-view mirror. I think without that, I would be dead by now. You must see what is coming from behind,” he says.

“If there is a truck from the front and a truck from behind and there is no shoulder you have to know that. And you can know exactly where they will come together when you look in the mirror.”

2. A Simple Bike Can Go A Long Way
In an era of touring bikes that test the wallet with custom-built frames, belt drives and Rohloff hubs, Heinz Stücke is still travelling on the same 3-speed bike he started out with. He could have upgraded it many times but, aside from the sentimental attachment to his “old clonker”, Stücke is also proud of his bike's ability to stand the test of time.

“The frame has been welded so many times, broken so many times,” he says.

There have been the usual break downs but perhaps the worst was a trans-Atlantic flight, which left the frame fractured in 3 places. The solution? Not a new bike, but an overhaul that left it in better shape than ever.

“We stripped it down to nothing. Sandblasted the whole thing and then the welder went at it and it was reinforced just about everywhere. The bicycle became at least a kilogram heavier with all the reinforcements and then it was beautifully painted. It's in beautiful shape now.”

3. Bike Touring Isn't Just For The Young
Think you're too old to bike tour? Take a leaf out of Heinz Stücke's book. Rather than slowing down with age, these days he's riding further than ever. All of his last 10 years have made it into his 'top 20' in terms of distance. Sometimes he rides for up to 16 hours a day. And in 2008, Stücke covered 22,000km – his biggest year yet.

“The reason is that I like more and more those lonely stretches in the desert and in the forest so I can do more cycling. In the olden days it was like more living: going into the city, staying 3-4 weeks, participating in the culture of the country, which is also interesting. But as I'm getting older somehow it seems more a daily rhythm of progress, of camping, of independence, of nobody bothering you,” he says.

“I can really meditate on my bicycle when I'm riding alone in the bush. And I still have that feeling of progress. I think it's the motion. You're riding into the unknown and that is what keeps you quite happy.”

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Check out the lively, full podcast interview.

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Friedel Grant gave up life as a journalist for Reuters to ride a bicycle around the world with her husband. They pedaled 48,000km through 30 countries before settling down to ride bikes in The Netherlands. Friedel writes about bike touring on her website, Travelling Two and you can follow her on Twitter (@travellingtwo). She also contributes to Transitions Abroad and has written about Central Asia for the Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook.