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Cycling from Orlando to San Francisco
When confronted with the diagnosis of "Morbus Waldenström", a particularly rare, incurable variant of leukemia, seven years ago, my life suddenly changed. For years I had desperately been trying to forget about my disease until my immune system collapsed in 2009. Only a combination of chemotherapy and antibodies prevented the worst from happening. It seems that there was more than just one single guardian angel that protected me. Besides, I had the absolute and strong will to regain strength and continue life as normally as possible. Whereas in those days every single step was a big challenge for me, it is rather a miracle to be able to go an bicycle tours of more than 60 miles without any problems.
In June, I attended a congress for patients of "Morbus Waldenström" in Hamburg which was hosted by the "Deutsche Leukämie-Hilfe"
www.leukaemie-hilfe.de , a German leukemia association. At that congress it was the first time that I had the opportunity of getting in touch with other people having the same disease. There, I felt the same fears I had known for years.
Those impressions and experiences motivated me to run this special mission for the benefit of the German foundation for leukemia
www.dlh-stiftung.de
From January until April, under the patronage of this foundation, I am going to take a specially prepared bike and cycle about 3700 miles from Orlando, Florida to San Francisco, California, especially to
encourage
other people that have to accept their fate of having cancer.
My desperate try to forget my disease would alsmost have been fatal. Today, I don`t shy to talk frankly about it. I know that "Morbus Waldenström" is a disease that, in combination with a sufficient will to survive, can, at least temporally, allow its victims to live a qualitatively satisfactory life.
My trips to the United States years ago - e.g. travelling through the US by my own RV for eight month - taught me the geographical and climatic conditions I will be confronted with the beginning of 2013. Furthermore, due to my studies of geography, I was able to find a suitable and feasible route for my tour through the South of the US.
I am going to sleep in a small tent on private camp grounds as well as on US state parks. Since I will face challenges like heights of more than 6500 feet, a professional sleeping bag keeps me warm will be indispensable. Beside, particularly in the south western semi-deserts, I am expecting some serious temperature drops at night. Another problem that will probably come up ist the fact that shopping facilities in those regions are rare. Water might not always be available.
Nevertheless, I am really looking forward to these challenges, to meeting people, finding new friends and to admiring beautiful natural wonders such as the one in the Petrified Forest National Park, but also man-made wonders such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Generally, I would really appreciate it if you supported the leukemia foundation for every cycled mile. Please do so by giving a donation to:
Bank account
Stiftung Deutsche Leukämie-Hilfe
Account number : 151515
Bankcode : 370 205 00 (Bank für Gemeinwirtschaft)
Keyword : "CYCLING"
Travel data
START : 09. JANUARY in ORLANDO / FLORIDA
MILES : 3 7 0 0
DESTINATION: 16. APRIL in SAN FRANCISCO / CA.
