Bike tours a great ways of self-isolation, especially when you travel alone, sleep in a tent and cook your own food along the way. Hence I always felt kind of ok with planning my trip for 2020 and it gave me something to look forward to in this crazy year.
However, after talking to friends in the US, I finally had to accept that there will be no possiblity for a bike tour through this country in 2020. This is quite depressing, I find. So, I planned for a backup tour through Canada.
After following the news and the Covid-19 statistics from Canada, I had to accept that also this country will be most likely still closed down in July still. What a pitty – I had just fallen in love with this country and the tour.
However, I am not ready to entirely give up my plans for a big tour in 2020. So, Plan C is a self-isolation bike tour through the East and North of Germany. Let’s hope for the best!
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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