Bike touring pioneer Heinz Stücke - the man who spent decades riding around the world - has passed away in his hometown of Hövelhof in Germany.
The 86-year-old was being cared for by friends, neighbours and his Spanish ‘family’, who had been living with him and lovingly looking after him right up until his last breath. A friend said Heinz remained alert right to the end, but sadly his body could no longer keep up.
“The doctor and the nurses looked after him every day, ensuring he was free from pain and that his wounds were tended to,” they added.
Stücke spent more than 50 years exploring the world by bike, covering well over 600,000 km and visiting almost every country.
“It is the bike that makes it possible; the bike is my passport,” he once said of his fascinating life and inherent passion for exploration and adventure.
It all started in 1962, when the 22-year-old toolmaker left home on a three-speed bike with the plan to ride around the world and never return to factory life.
Over the next five decades, Stücke would become a living legend in the world of cycling and adventure travel. Clocking up hundreds of thousands of kilometres, he rode through 196 countries and 78 territories. He holds the distinction of being the most widely travelled cyclist in history, riding the equivalent of 16 times around the world.
“I had an idea of the places I most wanted to see,” Stücke said in a documentary on his life on the road.
“But I happily kept postponing the return again and again. In the end, the journey became unending.”
“I found the way of life I enjoyed,” he added. “And what is better than following a life filled with fulfilment? The journey was my fulfilment.”
He collected more than 100,000 photos, documenting his encounters with landscapes, cultures, and people across the globe.
In 1995, around the time Guinness World Records recognised him for his achievements, he self-published a memoir titled Mit dem Fahrrad um die Welt (“Cycling Around the World”).
He reached his goal of visiting every country by 1996, but Stücke didn’t stop there.
“I realised there was still so much to see, and I hadn’t spent enough time in some places,” he said.
His last big journey by bike was across Canada in 2016, covering some 8,000 km at the impressive age of 76.
Heinz’s life story was documented in the 2021 film The Man Who Wanted to See It All, directed by Spanish filmmaker Albert Albacete. This can be seen on YouTube, along with various interviews with 'the Godfather of bike touring'.
In Heinz’s hometown of Hövelhof, locals have built a small museum dedicated to preserving his incredible journey. All his belongings, including his bicycles, have now been bequeathed to the municipality of Hövelhof.
Heinz Stücke
- Born: 11 January 1940, Hövelhof, Germany; died 22 July 2026 in Hövelhof
- Started Journey: November 1962
- Total Distance Travelled: Over 640,000km
- Countries Visited: 196
- Territories Visited: 78
- World Record: Most widely travelled cyclist (Guinness, 1995–1999)
- Bicycle: Steel-framed 3-speed, the same since 1962 (often stolen but always recovered)
- Photographs Taken: Over 100,000
- Books: Mit dem Fahrrad um die Welt (1995), Home Is Elsewhere (2015)
- Documentary: The Man Who Wanted to See It All (2021)