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TitleHeinz Stuecke, most-traveled person, visits Eugene, OR
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World's most-traveled person makes stop in Eugene

Heinz Stuecke, the German biker who holds the Guinness world record for
"most-traveled person," made a stop in Eugene, Oregon, recently to pick up
his new bike.

A 64-year old native of Hoevelhof, Germany, Stuecke has been on the road
for 42 years. What began as a challenge to make it to the 1964 Olympics in
Tokyo turned into a lifetime on the bike, giving new face to the notion that
Germans love two-wheel travel. He made it to Tokyo two years too late, but
decided that the journey was the real event and hasn't stopped since.

Altogether, Stuecke has biked 300,000 miles, roughly twelve times around the
globe, and he's seen every country on earth. He funds his travels by selling
pamphlets and booklets about his adventures.

Stuecke doesn't have a favorite country, though. "Ach! You Americans and
your superlatives. I hate it. Everything has pros and cons," he told the Portland
Tribune. "I can say, though, that I do like India, because it's exotic and colorful
and the food's delicious."

Stuecke used to travel more or less constantly, trying to achieve his next title
as "most-traveled man." But these days, he keeps Paris as his home base and
is gone for around three to four months at a time. To meet the requirements
set by Guinness, Stuecke needs to find ways to reach some of the most
remote locations on earth, many of which are army bases.

But he doesn't tempt himself into stagnancy by visiting the country of his birth.
"I sneak around Germany like a cat around a bowl of cream," he said recently.

Links:
http://www.indienerlebnis.de/s06/s06.html
SourceThis Week in Germany
Inputdate2004-08-05 10:07:00
Lastmodifieddate2004-08-05 10:07:00
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