One of them happened to be me…

Check out the full interview where I talk about the joys and challenges of cycling around the world on https://youtu.be/UnYcx0yavP8 or directly below:

By the way, it’s still not too late to order my new book that is mentioned in the interview. Point your browser to http://www.cyclingtheglobe.com/book/ for all the information you need

It took a while, but my book “He Who Cycled – A Ride to the End of the World and Back” is now available!

If you are interested – get a copy at: http://www.cyclingtheglobe.com/book/

Best wishes,

Thomas

Physically I moved from South America to Africa and Asia and back again, but even with all this moving around, it was more year of reflection and looking back. The book about the trip has been taking form over the year. It has not been an easy process, but who said writing a book would be easy. The working title is now “He Who Cycled” and the book is into the final stages of editing. The result will be released in the beginning of the new year – something I’m pretty excited about! News regarding the release will be posted here, or sign up for the newsletter to be the first to know.

I’m now back in Cali, Colombia with Manon where we just celebrated Christmas surrounded by palm trees and good friends. From near equator we would like to wish you all, friends, family and followers, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  May the holiday season be a peaceful time and may 2018 be filled with Love, Happiness, and Adventure.

Do I miss life on the bike? Of course I do, but not as much as I would have thought. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that winter was coming fast after I arrived back home. I was somehow happy enough to be staying indoor looking out into the cold winter mornings, rather than being out there looking into people’s houses from my bike. But there was something more to it, more than just winter, that kept me satisfied to be a little more stationary. I guess I just had my fair share of this thing called adventure over the last years, and now it felt right to slow down a little.

I’m usually taking photos in exotic places, but today’s tourist shot is from my own city… #nyhavn #copenhagen #denmark #visitdenmark #berejst

Et opslag delt af Thomas Andersen (@cyclingtheglobe) den 7. Nov 2016 kl. 10:09 PST

The first weeks I spent catching up with family and friends who I hadn’t seen for too long. Copenhagen still looked the same, but people had moved, got new jobs, found new partners, and quite a few babies had been born since I left – a sign that the world is slowly but surely moving along.

I then got a chance to show my hometown to my girlfriend who stopped by for a visit. Life was certainly not as solo as it once was, which was a very good thing. Denmark put on a nice show of clear although very cold days, and Manon got a chance to see where this strange bicycle guy she had chosen to be with came from. Northern Europe was nice, but this was not where we would stay… Instead we took an airplane across the Atlantic to semi-settle down in our adopted hometown of Cali, Colombia.

Et opslag delt af Thomas Andersen (@cyclingtheglobe) den 29. Dec 2016 kl. 9:18 PST

Thus, the winter hasn’t been that tough to get through this year. I now enjoy the fact that I can go for a walk and randomly bump into people I know. The six years on the bike still makes me appreciate the comfort that I now happily enjoy every day; a real bed, a warm shower, a washing machine, the ability to keep my phone charged, and reasonably stable internet.

Et opslag delt af Thomas Andersen (@cyclingtheglobe) den 19. Dec 2016 kl. 6:24 PST

For the past months I have been busy going through most of the Cycling The Globe material. The old hard disks that hold the tens of thousands of photos and hours of videos have been plugged in again, bringing back lots of memories from the corners of the world. I have also managed to finish the blog which now contains a diary entry from every single cycling day. Finally, I have started writing “The Book” about the trip! I’m now 40.000 words or about half way into it, and once again writing about my experiences has brought back fantastic memories from places and people that mean so much to me. The book will be in English and I expect to write the final pages later this year. Stand by on this channel for more information

Et opslag delt af Thomas Andersen (@cyclingtheglobe) den 2. Jan 2017 kl. 8:32 PST

And so, from Cali I send the very best spring wishes to everyone around the world. As always, thanks for being a part of this journey.

Thomas

#1 Wroclaw Bridge

It’s a tradition that young couples put a lock on this bridge in Wroclaw, Poland when they get married. I spent a couple of days in this beautiful city with good friends who were also perfect guides. Poland is an interesting country. So close to Denmark, yet culturally so different. You don’t have to travel around the globe to experience a different culture.

#2 The Merry Cemetery

The Merry Cemetery in Săpânţa, Romania is famous for its colourful tombstones with paintings describing the persons that are buried there as well as scenes from their lives. A lovely place that I enjoyed to visit.

#3 The Bosphorus

In Istanbul you take a short ferry ride across the Bosphorus strait and suddenly you are in Asia! I went there an early morning and got this shot of a bird flying behind the ferry.

#4 Snow in Damascus

When I reached Turkey I thought I had managed to escape the winter. Not quite. In Damascus, Syria I was taken by surprise by 5 days of snow. Not at all a bad place to be stuck though.

#5 Escaping the Crowds at Giza

I expected the pyramids in Giza to be swarmed with tourists. In some parts they were, but I found my own path leading behind one of the pyramids and spent three hours there all by myself reading a book. Possible the most special place I have ever read a book.

#6 The Paryaya Festival in Udupi

I was lucky to arrive in Udupi, India just in time for the annual Paryaya festival. A spectacular show.

#7 The Center of Attention

In rural India a western guy on a bicycle will draw a lot of attention. This is usually what happens if I stop for 5 minutes in a village to buy a bottle of water.

#8 Hampi

Hampi and the ruins of Vijayanagara is a fascinating area that you could spend weeks exploring. The area is so big that cycling between the ruins is the best way to move around.

#9 Orissa Street Scene

In a small town like Bhadrak, 400 km south of of Calcutta, there might not be any tourist attractions to see. On the other hand there is plenty of street life. What the picture doesn’t capture is the sounds and the smells that are also a very integrated part of traveling in India.

#10 Thai Beauty

While talking about natural beauty, the beaches around Krabi in southern Thailand are hard to beat. A perfect place to rest the legs for a week or two.

#11 The World’s Biggest Water Fight

The Songkran festival is the celebration of the Thai New Year and is also known as the biggest water fight in the world. If you venture out in the street during those 3 days, you will get wet. With the temperature around 35 degrees I didn’t mind the extra cooling as I cycled towards Malaysia.

#12 Chinatown

I didn’t have a chance visit China yet, but in SE Asia you will usually find large Chinese neighborhoods. Here in a Chinese temple in Penang, Malaysia.

#13 Bromo Erupting

I spent my 28th birthday on top of the erupting Bromo volcano on Java, Indonesia. I didn’t know what an erupting volcano would be like. That night I had to clean my bags and wash my clothes as there was ash everywhere.

#14 Aboriginal Kid

In Northern Territory in Australia you will meet many aboriginals. While the adults can be somewhat shy and not like cameras, the kids are the opposite.

#15 Uluru

The iconic Uluru might just be a big rock, but what a rock. I happened to go there on a rainy November day. I guess not many people get to see Uluru in it’s rain colors.

#16 Mount Cook Cycling

New Zealand is just such an incredible beautiful place. When you add to that the fact that the Kiwis are also some of the friendliest people on this planet, you got a killer combination that makes cycling touring there a pure pleasure.

#17 Along the Andes

I was following the majestic, snow capped Andes Mountains all the way from Ushuaia in Patagonia towards the northern end of South America. Being out there among the mountains was a hard ride, the wind was usually not in our favour, and we climbed several times to over 4000 m of altitude. If there was something I learned from all this it was: A hard ride is worth it! Photo by Petter Hällberg

#18 The Milky Way

The ride north of Mendoza in Argentina and into the mountains was one of the most desolated places I have been. I was cycling with my Swedish cycling mate Petter who took this photo of the Milky Way one day as we were getting ready to sleep. Our 5 million star hotel room for the night. Photo by Petter Hällberg

#19 Laguna Brava

After I had teamed up with Petter, the cycling became even more adventurous. We were loading up the bikes with 20 days worth of food as we would climb towards Laguna Brava at 4400 m. That would turn out to be an epic ride.

#20 Camping at Salar de Uyuni

I knew I was in for something special as I left the strange tourist town of Uyuni and headed towards the famous salt lake. Just how magic the place would be I couldn’t have imagined though. As I put up my tent I felt like the only person left in the world.

#21 Fiestaaa

It was only a few days cycling from the Salar de Uyuni that I arrived in a village where the biggest fiesta of the year was reaching it’s climax. Everyone in town seemed to be out dancing and drinking! The somewhat reserved Bolivianos had suddenly turned into real latinos!

#22 Climbing Chachani

It was in Peru that we decided that we would no longer just look at the summits of the Andes Mountains from the bike – we would try to climb up there to enjoy the view as well. We aimed for the 6057 m high Chachani volcano close to Arequipa. Climbing the mountain was no walk in the park, but the feeling of standing at the summit for sunrise made it absolutely worth it.

#23 Coastal Desert

Cycling through the coastal deserts of Peru reminded me of being back in the Middle East. A steady tail wind pushed me north along the Pacific Ocean.

#24 Billion Star Hotel

The morning view of the 6000 meter high Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador after spending another night in my 5 billion star hotel…

#25 Crossing The Line

Yes, I was happy After 3 years in the southern hemisphere I crossed the equator in Quito and was back up north again.

#26 Tropical Paradise

Cycling Around The World is not a beach holiday. But, in Mexico I took a day off to visit Islas Mujeres – picture perfect – but this paradise come with a million tourists…

#27 New York, New York

New York, New York… the city of cities. It was a big moment for me to arrive here by bike and cycle down 5th Avenue and through Central Park.

#28 Wild Beauty

In 2016 I flew to South Africa to the ride through the 6th and final continent. Two weeks later on my first day in Namibia I was cycling through those amazing landscapes.

#29 Out Of This World

Wow! They told me Namibia would be beautiful… but not that the whole place would be out of this world!

#30 Me, me, meeee

“Take a photo of me, no me, no meee”, the kids are not shy in Namibia…

#31 Watch Out for Elephants

I was looking all day but didn’t see any…

#32 Simplicity and Freedom

With 10000 km to go in Tanzania I felt I had entered the final stage of the ride. In some ways I was looking forward to return to a more stable life style. At the same time I also very much knew that once I returned I would miss the freedom and the simplicity of life on the road for the rest of my life…

#33 Tribe Country

It was a big contrast to leave the civilization of Nairobi behind and make it into the remote Lake Turkana area. The road turned into sand tracks and the local tribes with their traditional clothes were suddenly seen everywhere. The crossing into Ethiopia would be a proper adventure!

#34 No Man’s Land

I was cycling in no man’s land between Kenya and Ethiopia as I met these young boys. It’s not easy to see in the photo, but that’s AK47 riffles they are carrying; the tribes out here often fight each other… I shared a bit of water and food which created a good atmosphere before I took this quick photo and continued into Ethiopia

#35 Costa del Sol

Africa had been a real adventure – a place that made a lasting impresion. Things got more relaxed and comfortable in Spain where I cycled with Manon, met old friends, and went for daily swims in the Mediterranean between a bit of cycling as well. Life was pretty good on the bike those days. Photo by Manon Koningstein

#36 Wild Camping

In Africa my daily budget of 20$ would get my a room for the night and plenty of food from the cheap road side restaurants. In Switzerland 20$ will not get you very far – back to wild camping!

#37 Home Sweet Home

58.201 km, 2200 days, and 58 countries… but those are only numbers. What’s really important was the memories; the fascinating places I saw, and the amazing people I met. Trust me, the world is generally a good place At the same time it felt right to be back among friends and loved ones again. Such were my thoughts as I cycled into the Copenhagen City Hall Sqaure yesterday – the very same place where it all started back in 2010. Thanks for coming along. Photo by Jørn Alsted

You are also welome to check out the photos over at the Flickr albums or follow along on Instagram

Day 2200 on the road, 6 years and 8 days since I left Copenhagen with the idea of cycling around the world, and now I was about to finish it all.

My first thought as I started to pack my tent was how much I will miss this nomadic lifestyle. The fresh air, the exercise, the new friends, the extraordinary landscapes of our planet, that fact that all my belongings fit into 3 bags, the hospitality of strangers, and above all the freedom. Then I attached my bags to my bike as I have done so many mornings over the last years. After all, it was time to go home.

The towers at the Cathedral of Roskilde welcomed me proudly to the suburbs of Copenhagen. There was nothing foreign or exotic about the landscapes, and I knew my way by heart; no need to look at maps or the GPS anymore.

For a moment I considered to turn around, make it down through Europe the same way I had just come up, but I realized that this would be the easy solution. For the last six years the predominant goal in my life had been to cycle around the world. When I sometimes stopped for a job or for a break it was always with the thought in the back of my mind that the cycling would continue. Now I would have to find something else to occupy my body and mind with. Perhaps a scary thought at first, but being the optimist that I am, also an exciting position in life. The end of one adventure, but at the same time the beginning of a new.

I had told my family and friends that I would be arriving at Town Hall Square at 4 o’clock, but before that I had a visit to make. I truly wished my mom would have been able to wait for me there at the square together with the rest of my family. Now her presence would have to be more of a spiritual one; after this important stop I could sense her smile from above as I continued on.

It felt utterly strange to be cycling through the busy streets of Copenhagen where other cyclists were going back from work on a perfectly ordinary day. I went to a coffee shop and sat down to savour the moment of being so close to the finish line. The feeling of actually having completed what I sat out to do six years ago, despite all the challenges and all the hardships. The feeling of joy and accomplishment was intense.

I thought about the people I met and the almost unbelievable amount of help and hospitality I have received in every corner of the world. I couldn’t have made it without you and will be forever grateful. Thank you. If you take one thing away from all of this, it should be: The world is a much better place than the media would make you think these days.

I then turned around the final corner and cycled into the Town Hall Square where my family and friends were waiting. This has been the best six years of my life. Thanks for letting me share them with you.

The program at the Cycling The Globe office is a rather intense one these days. Yesterday I had arrived just in time for a nice home cooked dinner at my dads house, and then I was so tired that I went directly to bed. This morning I was doing a quick interview with a journalist from the local Horsens Folkeblad before taking off. If you happen to understand a bit of Danish, the interview ended up like this.

(Large photo here)

Saying goodbye to my family was not as hard as last time I did it. Now I was not going to cycle around the world, but merely going for a two day ride to Copenhagen. Soon enough I will be back in Horsens, but first I had a job to finish…

Denmark has a lot of islands – in fact over 400 with 70 of them populated. My plan was to do a bit of island hopping, making a quick stop at the island of Samsø before continuing towards Copenhagen.

Tomorrow as I ride the final 50 kilometers into the Central Square there will be plenty of time for reflection and contemplation about the adventure that is now rapidly coming to an end. On the other hand, today felt like business as usual as I had to make sure I made it to the ferries on time.

On the island of Samsø I only had half an hour to make it to the next ferry. Luckily the island is only 10 km across, and I made it just in time. I could now finally relax while having one of the most expensive lunches of the trip. Oh well, after 58000 km of cycling I would say I deserve it

With stable ground under the feet (and tires) again, a sign reminded me that I had exactly 100 km to go. I had to take a deep breath to actually believe it was true. Tomorrow the whole thing will be over. I still don’t know if I have really understood this fact.

The clouds now cleared and the weather finally showed itself from a more friendly side, as if Denmark after all welcomed me home. After a final stop in Lidl for dinner I was cycling into a beautiful sunset over the rolling hills. I know people in this part of Denmark, but I had decided that I wanted to spend the last night of the expedition in my tent – just as I had spent the first night after leaving Copenhagen six years ago. It just felt right.

And so, with a tired body but an active mind, full of thoughts about the mentally heavy day that will come tomorrow, I put up my tent in a field and tried to get some sleep…

It felt pretty surreal, waking up in my tent on Danish soil and start to cycle through the familiar landscape of fiords, small cities, and rolling country side. With an average temperature of 6°C and strong winds I thought my country could have welcomed me a bit more gentle, though.

I was thinking about exotic cycle destinations such as the beaches of Southern Thailand or the Caribbean coast of Mexico, but then again, I really wouldn’t like to be anywhere but right here, cycling through the rough but beautiful Danish autumn landscape, aiming for the city where I was born.

As usual cycling provides a better understand of the surroundings than driving through in a car or a bus. The border between Denmark and Germany has moved north and south quite a bit over the years, and often I would see a stone or a sign reminding me of the history of the places I was cycling through. The experience made me realize that you don’t have to be on the other side of the world to have interesting cycling adventures.

I always tell people that Denmark is a flat country. While its true that our highest point is only 170 meters above see level, according to my GPS I still managed to accumulate a respectable 649 meters of elevation gain over the day. In other words, Denmark is not as flat as The Netherlands or Florida

There is a lot of “finals” happening these days – today it was time for the last thousand kilometer celebration. 58000 km by bike around the world, and only a few hundred to go before it is all over.

For every town I passed I felt more and more at home. In Vejle I stopped for very welcome hot cup of coffee at Jørn’s, a family member who runs a photography shop in town. The next town up the road would be Horsens, the town where I was born and lived until I was 13.

As if it was a sign from above, the clouds parted for the first time of the day as I got closer to Horsens, and I enjoyed watching a beautiful sunset over my city. While I’m in foreign territory I don’t like to cycle after dark, but today was different. As a kid I had cycled through Horsens after dark countless times, and I obviously know the roads.

On my way towards the city I passed my old school, observing a group of teenagers out on a evening walk who I thought could have included me some 20 years ago. For several months I had envisioned the moment I would be cycling through town and up the street where my dad lives. Now I was here, the last meters of pedaling filled with feelings of happiness and accomplishment.

For the first night in a long, long time I would be spending it with my loved ones and sleeping in a bed that I know very well. Home sweet home.

Its not all over just yet. Tomorrow morning I will be leaving for the final push towards the Central Square in Copenhagen. Stay tuned for the final two days of Cycling The Globe…

The temperature was 2°C as I packed my tent and started cycling into the steady head wind coming from the north – nature is still throwing challenges at me, but with the prospect of crossing the Danish border later in the afternoon it would take more than that to stop me.

After cycling through the tunnel under the Kiel Canal I was looking forward to have breakfast with Carsten and Conny in Rendsburg. Carsten is a radio guy who I have met several times over the years. These days both him and Conny work on yachts that need to moved around the world. The season for crossing the Atlantic is coming up, so they might be on a boat going to the Caribbean sooner rather than later.

Fueled by the nice talks and good coffee I continued north, passing the old fortification at Dannevirke, used to protect Denmark from threads further south. I found it fascinating that the oldest embankments were built around year 500.

The next two stops were the cities of Schleswig and Flensburg, beautifully located at the end of a long fjords. Apart from the big lakes in Switzerland, this is the first time I have seen a coast since leaving the Mediterranean in Southern France three weeks ago. I really love mountains, but being close to water is where I feel at home.

Signs of the Danish minority living in the area kept showing up with higher and higher frequency – it was now undeniable that I was getting close to the border…

Then the Danish border was right there and it was time to celebrate; back on home soil, back where I understand the language and the culture, where my friends and family live, and where I was born. This was indeed unlike any other border crossing in the rest of the world.

I remember standing on the ferry to Germany an October day in 2010, watching Denmark disappear in the clouds. If only I could have imagined it would be six years, two days, and 58.000 kilometers before I would be back again. Sometimes real life is bigger than dreams.

I had been so focused on reaching the border that I hadn’t really thought about what I would do once on the other side. My solution was to go and get a Danish hot dog and call my family to let them know I was home. It was already getting dark, and the next city where I knew people was too far away. Instead I cycled a few kilometer into the country and put up my tent in a field.

Tomorrow I will cycle to my home town of Horsens for a happy reunion with my family, some good food, and a real bed. Then from there towards Copenhagen and Central Square where it all started 6 years ago; more big moments to come…

The morning was considerably more sunny than what I have experienced lately as I made my way towards Hamburg. Now, nothing comes for free, and I was paying for the sunshine in terms of a strong head wind, bringing the average speed of the day down to 16 km/h. I final blow from nature on this last stage of the adventure, but I have the feeling that nothing can stop me now…

Lunch number one consumed at the sunny parking spot of Lidl before continuing towards Hamburg to cross the Elbe river.

On the way towards the river I passed the Airbus headquarters, and lo and behold, there was an Airbus Beluga cargo airplane landing just as I passed by. Only five of those strange looking planes exist in the world – sometimes you are just lucky to be at the right spot at the right time.

From my childhood road trips to Germany I remember that when we drove through the Elbe Tunnel it meant that Denmark was getting closer. You can’t cycle through the tunnel, so I was taking a small river boat across instead.

The Elbe, another one of Europe’s main rivers, has its source a thousand kilometers away in the mountains of the Czech Republic.

Another and very interesting fact for me is that the Elbe used to be the border between Denmark and Germany before 1864 – granted, a few years ago, but even so I managed to spot small signs here and there. For example this mile stone from 1832 with the Danish King Frederik the 6th Monogram.

Another sign that I’m getting closer to home; branches of the Danish supermarket chain Netto started to show up. A feeling of excitement came over me as I noticed those homely connections to the places I was cycling through. There is no doubt that crossing the real border tomorrow will be a big deal.

After two nights in fancy hotel beds I thought that a night in my tent would be entirely OK. I easily found a spot next to a forest which proved perfect for camping in the fresh autumn night, the last in Germany for now.

Tomorrow at this time I will be back in Denmark – a though that I right now find absolutely unreal.