Episode 149: Heinz Stücke (Part 2)

Life Lessons from 51 Years on the Road

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What 51 Years on a Bicycle Really Teaches You About Life (Part 2)

In Part One of my conversation with Heinz Stücke, we explored the scale of his journey spending 51 years cycling across 196 countries and 86 territories. Travel in this magnitude can be awe-inspiring and almost overwhelming in its scope. In this episode I explored the human side of Heinz choosing to live a life in this manner. Behind the Guinness-record-breaking adventure lies a life that didn’t come without sacrifice, contradictions, and uncomfortable truths.

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The Cost of Freedom: What Heinz Traded for a Life on the Road

There’s a romantic sheen we often place around a life of permanent travel. There is this idea of freedom, adventure, and being able to experience brand new things happening each and every day. Leaving the routine of a ‘normal life’ behind and instead leaning into the unknown. Then there is the other side to the coin and Heinz didn’t sugar-coat what this life required of him.

He was honest about the choices he made and to some extent the ones he didn’t.

“Freedom means you must be ready to pay the price. If you fall into a hole, don’t blame the road. You must look ahead.”

Heinz chose a life that never stopped moving and inherent in that choice was the reality that some things couldn’t co-exist alongside it. He sacrificed long-term relationships with his family, stability, and also the ability to build a shared life with someone else.

In the episode, I reflect on his eight-year relationship with Zoya, a woman Heinz did care deeply for. Yet somehow despite this love he couldn’t offer her the “next step” because the road kept calling. Heinz couldn’t commit to Zoya because to put it simply he decided to stay committed to something else.

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The “Bases” He Built Instead of a Family

One of the most revealing parts of the conversation was when Heinz shared about the “bases” that became his versions of home around the world. A tiny studio in Paris. Mr Lee’s place in Hong Kong. His agent’s place in London. The Australian family who cared for him as one of their own in Melbourne.

He certainly had places where he was welcomed, fed, and loved. Places where Heinz could go to recover from the physical act of cycling long distances. But they weren’t home in the traditional sense that you or I would refer to them as. And they weren’t a family he built himself.

Heinz spoke about these places and people with warmth, but also with a matter-of-fact tone. A tone that suggested acceptance more so than regret.After all, Heinz chose this world. Instead of one life rooted in a single place, he collected pockets of belonging across the globe.

Something which struck me though when I reflected more on my interview with him, was his own family in Hövelhof wasn’t one of these bases. Indeed, Heinz didn’t mention his own family too much at all. He lightly touches on the fact his dad reared his children with an autocratic style, that he mailed his sister packages from his travels, filled with journals, photos and worn out equipment, but it’s clear she didn’t necessarily enjoy the idea of having to store them. I got the feel that there was distance between them – emotionally and not just physically.

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The People Shape You More Than the Places

Many of us imagine that someone who has seen the entire world would speak about landscapes and landmarks. But Heinz didn’t do this too much in our conversations. That’s probably because what he remembered and what he valued were the people.

“Number one, always the people. On the bicycle you make contacts much more easily.”

This line struck me. I’ve interviewed many long term travellers and often something they crave is that solitude. Indeed, it’s often an assumption that solo travellers are choosing to be away from their communities because of that solitude. But Heinz’s approach was the opposite and he very much travelled alone in order to connect more.

There is also the fact that Heinz knew encounters with people could also lead to great experiences, a shared meal, bed for the night and an opportunity to connect and learn more about the area he was travelling in. These encounters are also what shaped the way Heinz travelled and also how he chose the routes and directions he would ride in.

It’s also how Heinz was able to string out his journeys for so long. He very much leant into the idea that kindness from strangers would mean a place to stay and a free meal. He made a point of keeping himself looking respectable, and always meeting others with a smile so they would be more likely to come to speak with him.

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A bike is a bike is a bike…

For many bike travellers, their bicycle almost becomes a companion. Some give it a name and it’s an extension of their identity. But for Heinz? Not at all.

“It was only a bicycle and my mode of transport. You do not fall in love with a bicycle. My God!”

There was no sentimental attachment. No emotional bond. The bicycle was the most efficient way to see the world plain and simple. Steel frame. 3 gears. Low maintenance. Nothing more.

And I found this strangely… refreshing. Because in a time where we place so much identity in the gear we use, the brand of bags we put our possessions in, the setup of the bike, the kit we ride in, Heinz’s approach was that none of this matters. As long as the bike has the ability to be loaded up and can be reliably used day in day out, what’s the point of extra gears? He said that if the gradient ever got more than 5% he would be walking, and he also didn’t care much about that.

Heinz very much wasn’t a “cyclist”, instead he was a traveller who used a bicycle.

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Mr Analog: Travelling the World Before the Digital Age

One of my favourite sections in this episode was when Heinz reflected on how travel has changed and how he still refuses to embrace modern technology to this very day. No smartphone. No social media. No GPS. No digital maps. No internet research. It’s what has served him well for all his life, why change now?

He joked that if he travelled today, he wasn’t sure he would recognise the version of travel people now experience.

“People now, they have the whole world in the phone. I had to go and find it.”

There was a charm to hearing him speak about this but also a thought-provoking undertone. He questioned whether today’s hyper-connected world leaves enough room for the unknown and discovering things for yourself. He also quips that perhaps he’d take his tours on a fixie and reject every bit of technology.

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Learning to Be Alone to Truly Connect

Heinz repeated a phrase that encapsulates both the paradox and wisdom of long-term travel:

“To travel alone, not to be alone.”

Travelling alone forced him to rely on others, interact, adapt, and stay open. It meant each encounter held possibility and each moment with another person mattered more to him. The simple fact is, Heinz knew that travelling solo meant there was more likelihood that he’d be approached by others than if he was travelling as part of a group or couple.

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So What Did I Learn From Heinz?

After my interview with Heinz I didn’t leave with an urge to pack my bags and cycle across continents myself. Which is the opposite to how I feel when I interview other guests. It’s clear that he lived a life very few of us would choose to experience. It was very unconventional and came with it’s own sacrifices.

My mind boggles at the idea of the landscapes he has seen, cultures he has experienced and people he has encountered. But there are also big trade-offs to choose this permanent travelling lifestyle. Heinz knew this and didn’t avoid the costs of it. He simply accepted it.

We often talk about this idea of “having it all.” Heinz’s story highlights that no one ever truly does. Every life whether it be adventurous or rooted in one place requires us to give something up. Which means the real question is are we actually conscious about what we are choosing, and what we are trading for it? Heinz certainly was and as he works through all his journals, photos and mementos from his travels, he also declares that he is still travelling now.

I’m still permanently on my journey.…

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