Visiting Heinz Stucke.

In June 2025, I had the pleasure of visiting the greatest cyclist in world history, if you ask me. He has never won the Tour e France. But he cycled around the world, non-stop, for 52 years. His name is Heinz Stücke.

I think that many of us who love to travel are often quite tired of it all when we are at work and would rather be out and about. But most of us accept fate and are happy that we can travel around the world in our free time. Heinz Stücke wanted it differently. In 1962, he was so tired of his job as a toolmaker, back home at the factory in Hövelhof (a provincial town near Bielefeld, Germany) that he packed his bike bags and went on a journey. Not just for a week or a month, but for 52 years, during which he did not come home to Hövelhof at all, but lived as a globetrotter on his bicycle. He ended up cycling to all the countries in the world and covering 625,000 kilometers on his bike, before he turned his nose back home.

Early photos of a young Heinz, as he set out to explore the world by bicycle.

My visit was arranged by my friend Henrik, who is friends with Heinz. Henrik is Danish/German and visits Heinz as often as he can. I am in the car to Hövelhof with Henrik this time, where we will visit Heinz for a couple of days and spend the night at his house.

Heinz is now 85 years old and has stopped tour cycling because his hips can no longer carry him. Several other health problems have also occurred in the past few years and he has not been out of bed for several months when we visit him.

But Heinz’s mood is not bad. He talks like a waterfall and is a living encyclopedia. It may well be that his legs and hips can no longer handle it. But his head and mouth are still running at express speed. You can just spit out the name of a country or a geographical location and Heinz will talk excitedly and tell you about when he was there himself. He remembers pretty much everything, down to the smallest detail. So it’s a real pleasure to visit him, even though he’s bedridden.

Heinz has not lost his good mood, even if he is bedridden these days.

He’s also full of banter and loves to joke with us and everyone else who comes to visit him.

When he doesn’t have guests and talks all day and night, he spends his time packing books. He’s had a journalist write a book about his life that he’s selling to people all over the world, and he also sells postcards with photos that he’s taken himself.

It’s also necessary for him to earn some money, since he’s been traveling his whole life and has no retirement savings. Henrik and a few other friends come by as often as they can and drive to the post office with the book packages. We’re doing that too, the day I’m there.

His record breaking world journey is also officially recognised.

During his long journey, he made a living by selling postcards that he produced himself, plus he sold photos and articles to newspapers and magazines.

And he was also the official press photographer at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.

Heinz was not at home at all for the 52 years he was on the road. But he sent various things from around the globe to his family address in Germany during all those years. So today his home is a museum of his extraordinary life, where photos, maps and memorabilia from the big world hang everywhere in the home. It’s like walking around the wildest globetrotter museum when you go from room to room in his house.

His home is like a globetrotters museum.

Of course, Hetz is not like most people when you talk to him. But I’m not like that either, so we get along well. He has his opinions on things and we get to turn and turn many topics during the two days we’re there.

At night I sleep on a mattress, next to the 3-speed bike that Hetz rode most of his 52-year journey on.

Sleeping next to his legendary bicycle.

It’s a bit like getting to sleep with the crown jewels.

Some people dream of meeting the King, the Pope, Lionel Messi or Taylor Swift.

I’m more glad I met Heinz Stücke, because in my eyes he is probably the wildest traveler in the history of the world.

If you want to get some updates about Heinz and his life, he has a Facebook page. It is also managed by Henrik, who I ride with. Because Heinz has never been digital and never had an email.

But there is a link to the Facebook page on this link, if you want to read more and see photos from his long life on the road.