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Allgaeuer News (Germany), May 2006

Work away from the road 

Holger Meinck on the road

Kaufbeuren/Buenos Aires (avu).
The man from Kaufbeuren, Holger Meinck wants as reported, travel through Southamerica with his bicycle. The 12000 km tour will lead him through cliffs, deserts, mountains and through rain forests. Start and aim is the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires. Holger Meinck planned for his trip app. 1 year. His trip alreday began in December 2005. Holger will report regulary for the AZ readers.

Away from tough days and nights on gravel roads and endless roads, Holger Meinck had another big aim. He wants to inform people about female genital mutilation (FGM) and supports the organisation “Target”. The organisation was founded by the adventurer and survival specialist Ruediger Nehberg.

A couple of weeks ago, Holger Meinck visited the German school in Bariloche, where he talked about his travels and discussed about the organisation “Target”. “ The students were really interested and it was definitly something different than the normal class!”, the extreme biker is sure. After the discussion he left up north and wants to talk about his travels and his aim in other German institutions.

At this time, Holger Meinck is in Mendoza, where he is getting organised for his further travels. Ahead of Holger are beautiful landscapes, like the Valle de la Luna in Argentina and the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. But before he had to cross two more than 4000 meter high passes of the Andes. “I just hope that I am not too late for the passes, because it’s getting winter soon and there will be snowing in high altitudes. Therefore Holger was happy about the mild temperatures in Mendoza, after he travelled in Patagonia.

A couple of days ago, the extreme biker got a parcel with spare parts from Germany. So Holger could count on the support, but the weather is still not predictable....

Cuxhavener News (Germany), 22.05.2004

Bike Adventurer is back in his hometown

World traveler Holger Meinck is back in Cuxhaven since Thursday.. “Bloody cold over here!” he complains at the photo shooting at the Kugelbake. As he left Bangkok by plane it was 35°C.
World traveler is back in his hometown. He continues travelling in December.

35°C in Bangkok, 7°C in Cuxhaven-“ It’s hard to get used to it!” Holger Meinck, world traveler from Cuxhaven is back in his hometown since Thursday. He surprised his mum and was standing in front of her door. Rosemarie Meinck never expected him and was totally confused. Her comment:” What the hell are you doing here?” At the North Sea the bike adventurer is taking a break, but in December he will continue his trip and wants to cycle from Southamerica up to Alaska. The young guy wanted to turn Germany his back, but the marriage of his brother brought him back. Now he is looking for a full time job, to finance his continuing travel plans. South America, Alaska and maybe Africa he wants to explore by bike. His 28” bike Focus will be his companion on these trips. Globetrotter Holger Meinck:” I prefer to travel alone” The last time the globetrotter traveled around Australia by car, because his travel companion Sandy from Bavaria wasn´t keen to join him on a bike. Nevertheless the both split up, because Holger prefers to travel alone.
Holger Meinck wants to say thank you to the following sponsors: Ortlieb (Christoph Schleidt), Primal Wear (Alann Boatright), Casio and the Bike Shop “Auf Draht” in Cologne. Holger would be very pleased if he could find local sponsors. Now he is sorting his pictures out. Some of the pictures will be published in his homepage www.meinck-tours.de . The homepage will be updated during in the next months. Also Meinck is considering to publish a picture book or do a slide show, “but for these actions I need Money!”
Dangerous situations, pain and hunger couldn’t stop Meinck in his travels. He even survived the dangerous Dengue Fever, which he got in Thailand. Just a few grey hairs are showing the affect of travelling. Holger Meinck: ”Traveling is not a holiday!”

Australian Cyclist magazine, January/February 2004

Letter from overseas

My destination was the Taman Negara Nationalpark, which is situated in the middle of the Malayan peninsula. Locals warned me that the road I wanted to take would be too tough on a bike. I have heard things like that before, because people had no idea, which road you can cycle and which not, so, with a grin I ignored them and headed off. Not knowing that the locals were damned right this time…
Because of the rain from the day before, huge areas of the thick green jungle were already flooded and white clouds hung low in the forest as I passed. Herds of monkeys played in the top of the trees and were making a lot of noise. The road turned from sealed into gravel and, later on, a muddy track. That was going to be a tough day!
The road was under construction and should be sealed within the next year, but with all my luck, I was on this road today. I regretted my decision already as cycling became impossible and my smile faded away with every meter I pushed my bike through the deep red mud.
I slipped after a couple of times pushing the heavy bike through the mud. Streams of sweat ran down my belly and within minutes, I was totally covered in mud soaked and wet.
Every five meters my wheels got completely stuck, even without mudguards. I scratched the sticky dirt from my tyres, and my swearing became multilingual and coarser as I pushed the bike further through the red sticky mud.
Trucks from a construction companies even got stuck, but with their horse power and their careful driving they became free pretty easy. One driver offered me a lift but as I refused his offer, he shook his head, laughed and had a story to tell his family and friends. Bloody tourists!
I was totally covered in mud and drenched in sweat when I arrived at a small restaurant beside the track. My favourite dish in Malaysia was Nasi Goreng (noodles with mixed vegetables, chicken or beef). After I threw a plate down my neck, I cleaned my bike completely with a water hose. Luckily, I had Ortlieb panniers which took the shower and the mud without complaint. As the companies ads are promised, everything stayed dry in my panniers.  I was pretty glad about the fact, because I had some electrical equipment and heaps of film rolls in my panniers. I couldn’t handle loosing the film, because the pictures became sort of diary of my trip.
After a while the clouds broke and the sun came out. Within half an hour, the temperature rose over the 35°C mark. The fact wouldn’t be too bad, but the humidity was very high too, and made the sweat run like rivers!
The fierce sun turned the track into a road with deep ruts as hard as concrete. Cycling in them was pretty technical so I got stuck and fell a couple of times. Fortunately I was riding very slowly, so nothing serious happened.
Late in the evening, I arrived at one of the four entrances of the Taman Negara National Park. The Malaysian peninsula wasn’t affected by the ice age nor by volcanic eruptions, therefore, with an age of 120 Million years, is the park considered as one of the oldest Nationalpark in the world.
At the park headquarter, the rangers showed me pictures taken by a laser triggered camera. After seeing them, I decided, that it would be better to take a knife and a signal flare with me, because I wasn’t keen to see a tiger in front of me, without a fence, of course!
I pitched up my tent on a designated area beside the ranger headquarter. The park ranger headquarter was surrounded by thick lush green rainforest and a small bridge led into the park. During my stay I explored the variety of animal life and insects and was a couple of times chanted to sleep by the sounds of the jungle.
I was amazed by small worms with a funny way of moving. Later on, I figured out that these worms were leeches, when I found them on my bum sucking my blood. The worst things were the ants, these little bastards were that small that they found their way into my closed (!) Nutella jar!
Finally, I have to say that Malaysia was one of the highlights of my trip and well worth a visit! The friendliness of the locals and the nature was just overwhelming and I am sure that I will visit this wonderful country again!
Holger Meinck started his world bicycle tour from Germany in June 2000. He crossed Germany, Austria, Italy, Corse, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and India before cycling into Nepal, where he flew to Bangkok. From Thailand he cycled up to Laos, then Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia before coming to Australia.
For more of Holger´s adventures see: www.biketraveller.de

Thanks to my sponsors and supporters: Ortlieb (panniers), Casio (watches), Primal Wear (clothing) and Ewa-Marine (underwater housings for cameras)

Sine (Germany), 13.11.02

More than two years ago, I started with my bicycle from my hometown Cuxhaven. My plan was to cycle around the world. Before I started I prepared myself intensively, bought equipment and got maps from the countries I wanted to cross. I planned very carefully because I also wanted to avoid simple mistakes.
 

In July 2000 the big moment came: I started in a drizzling rain. Full of expectations I pushed strongly into the pedals. The Brenner Pass towards Italy wasn’t as spectacular as I thought. From Italy I took the ferry to Corsica, where I even had to pedal when going downhill, because of strong and gusty winds. Afterwards, I took the ferry back to Italy, and after a few more hundred kilometres, I took the ferry to Greece.

From there I went through Turkey, where I slept in a cemetery with the temperature at -8C (well, at least it was quiet). From Turkey, I cycled into Iran where I visited beautiful mosques and experienced unbelievable hospitality from the locals. Through Pakistan, I took the bus because of safety reasons, but it annoyed me afterwards, because the people I met were also very friendly and helpful, even if everybody carried an AK-47 over their shoulder (well, in western countries everybody is carrying a mobile, other countries have other laws!).

In India, I cycled around Rajasthan, slept in a golden temple in Amritsar, visited the Taj Mahal and the desert fortress in Jaisalmeer as well as other places of interest. Despite the interesting culture and lots of impressions, I was quite glad as I cycled into calmer Nepal. The mountain panoramas left me speechless, and I still get goosebumps when I think about them.

Unfortunately, I had to fly to Bangkok, because China was too cold and it was not possible to cross Burma overland. What a controversy: I just had been in the coolness and serenity of the Himalayas and now I was in the bustling and humid 12 million-strong metropolis of Bangkok. After I got used to the hot climate, I cycled upwards into Laos. There, I slept in temples and lost myself in the colourful markets. From Laos, I crossed the border into Vietnam. The unfriendly people, terrible traffic and moody policemen, brought me down to earth and gave me a tough time. The landscape made my travels better , or at least I enjoyed it much more than the people. It was beautiful and I felt like I was cycling through a South East Asian picture book.

The roads in Cambodia put everything else I experienced into the shade, because they were non-existent. Every hundred metres I was covered in more dust and sent prayers for my material up into the sky. Also in Cambodia, I visited one of the wonders of the world: the temples of Angkor Wat.

Enriched by more experiences, I arrived back in Thailand. There I had my first break from travelling and spent time on an island in the gulf of Thailand. Afterwards, I cycled south into Malaysia. This country pleased me so well that I cycled around the Malaysian peninsula, and not as originally planned, just through it.

From Penang I took the ferry to Indonesia or, to be more exact, Sumatra. After visiting gigantic volcanic craters and seeing the largest flower in the world, I had to rush and took the bus to Jakarta to avoid my Visa expiring. While I was in Jakarta, an event took place that no one ever thought would happen: the 11^th of September. This date entered history and the events made any further plans for travel by bicycle come to a sudden end. A call to the German embassy confirmed my suspicion: travelling by bicycle had become very dangerous. I have a white face and am obviously not a Muslim and to some people, therefore an ally of the United States.

24 hours later I was already in Bali and tried my luck on the waves of Kuta Beach. Unfortunately, I had no chance against the pros and ended up with German precision headfirst in the sand. Completely frustrated, I put my surfboard beside my towel in the sand and rarely touched it afterwards.

Tanned and relaxed, I flew to Darwin, Australia, with the intention of crossing the continent from north to south. The sun burned down with the temperature at 65C at noon and my water reserves of 16 litres lasted for one-and-a-quarter-days. The width of the continent and the contrasts of the landscape as well as the friendliness of the people completely blew my mind. Cycling in the desert was enjoyable and very relaxing. I became part of nature and felt everything more intensely: the hot wind, the annoying flies and the always-burning sun. Around the coast, I cycled on one of the dream roads of the world: the Great Ocean Road, which still changes its coastline by the influences of wind and weather.

As I saw the Harbour Bridge and the world famous Opera House of Sydney from the bird’s eye view of a plane, I was already on the way to Auckland, New Zealand. From Auckland I cycled to the northernmost point of the North Island, the Cape Reinga. As I returned back to Auckland, I got the message that my father had passed away. After quite a while of thinking, I left my bike with friends in Auckland and interrupted my cycling trip after two years to give my father the last farewell he deserved.

Later this year, I will fly back to Auckland to continue my trip, in order to live a dream: to experience the world with its great landscapes and interesting cultures and simply to let the adventure become daily life.

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