World Traveler Heinz StückeHeinzStucke This is Heinz Stücke , the holder of consecutive world records in the Guinness Book of World Records forworld travel by bicycle. He cycled more than 539,000 kilometres on his bicycle (seen here next to him) beginning in 1962. He was in Paris near the Sorbonne on this particular July day in 1999, selling postcards and books about his travels, when I encountered him. The sale of postcards (which he photographed and had printed himself) and his excellent 20-page illustrated, individually autographed brochure on his travels (which he also produced himself) provided him with funding to continue his travels. He was 59 years old when this picture was taken in 1999, but looked a good deal younger. Heinz lived on his trusty bicycle, carrying 50 kg of luggage and supplies with him throughout the world, and had no fixed domicile; he stayed at small hotels, youth hostels, and in accommodation provided by friends in the course of his travels. During the course of his travels he took more than 100,000 superb photographs of just about every conceivable landscape on the planet. He had no telephone or mailing address during his travels, and was not a fan of technology. Eventually, as he got older, he moved back to his hometown of Hövelhof, Germany. His bicycle was overwritten with the names of many places he had visited. It converted into a boutique when he stops in a location to sell his postcards and books, as you can see. In 2002, Heinz rode across Canada with a partner, on a Pino Tandemrecumbent bicycle built and sponsored by Hase Spezialräder . Heinz passed away in 2026, Photographed on July 9, 1999. |