Heinz was no ordinary traveler. He rode a bicycle around the world for more than half a century.
When he left his small village of Hövelhof, Germany, in November 1962, at just 22 years old, he carried little more than a modest three-speed bicycle and a few personal belongings. And what was meant to be a trip became a way of life for the next 51 uninterrupted years.
He traveled more than 648,000 kilometers (400,000 miles), the equivalent of cycling around the Earth sixteen times, crossed all 193 UN countries, and documented his adventures in more than 100,000 photographs and thousands of pages of handwritten journals which he used to finance his travels.
In the words of Carlos Useros Moyano:
Heinz was a unique individual who learned the true values of humanity and showed us what it means to be a rebel and get your way. He used to say: “A man who reaches a place through his own efforts, riding a bicycle, can’t be a bad person. Home is somewhere else. A world without globetrotters is like a garden without flowers”
But among the many experiences he had on the road, Heinz also endured some dangerous episodes. He survived a hit-and-run by a truck while crossing Chile's unforgiving Atacama Desert, was shot in the big toe in Zambia, endured a swarm attack by bees in Mozambique, and was beaten during periods of civil unrest in both Haiti and Egypt. Yet Heinz kept riding, the road became home.
Since returning home In 2014, Heinz Stücke, he spent his time organizing his archives from his personal travels. His incredible story was later celebrated in the 2021 documentary The Man Who Wanted to See It All (watch on Netflix), and on his book: Home is Elsewhere
Rui Piçarra, who interviewed for his podcast, shared with us:
Heinz Stücke was the greatest traveler I have ever known. He had a wonderful sense of humor, an extraordinary memory, and a remarkable ability to observe the world.What fascinates me most is that he never left home with a plan to travel for one year, five years, ten years, or fifty-one. The journey simply unfolded. He approached each day as a blank page and accepted whatever the road brought him as a gift. Is there a better way to travel than this?
Watch Rui's podcast with Heinz Stücke
Heinz Stücke left behind more than an astonishing travel record. He left behind a timeless reminder that sometimes the bravest thing we can do is simply keep pedaling.