Because of the Corona crisis, I don’t know if and when my tour through North America is going to happen. I have one tour prepared from San Francisco to Denver and in case the situation in the US should be too bad, I have another one mapped out through Canada going from Vancouver to Winnipeg. Both tours lead to pretty remote areas with a lot of wildlife. I get really exitited thinking about it. I don’t know what is going to happen, but nonetheless, I keep on training and prepairing. My goal is to have completed at least 2,500km this year on the bike before I go on my tour. I have allready reached 1,800km.
Over the Easter holidays, I spent 4 days cycling, using and testing my all new gear. The bike itself with the 4l water tank, the packing system and the GoPro mount as well as the tent, air matrace, gas cooker, water filtration system and solar panel. I spent three nights in the tent and I am loving it. My biggest luxury on my next tour – believe it or not – will be a foldable stool (a tribute to age).
About 30 years ago, two zis scholarships helped me to broaden my horizon, expand my understanding of what is possible, and develop more self-confidence. zis is a non-profit organization that has been awarding scholarships for study trips to young people between the ages of 16 and 20 for more than 60 years. Today, the word we use for tenacity and grit is resilience - and I've made it my profession, to help managers around the world to develop more of this inner power.
In retrospect, the experiences I've had on these trips to Scotland and Iceland have been priceless for my development. After having had a childhood with some challenges, I learned that I could cycle 1,700km on my own and get wet every day without despairing. I have learned that I was able to get along with only 300 € for 4 weeks and still had a good time. I have learned what it's like to be threatened with deportation and how to get an interview with the President from such a crisis. I have understood that limitations are primarily constructs in our heads, and I want to make these insights available to as many adolescents as possible.
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