On a sunny November morning in nineteen sixty-two, twenty-two-year-old Heinz Stucker quit his job as an ink manufacturer, and rode out of his native Hovelhof, Germany, on a three-speed bike. Full of dreams, you will see the whole world on two wheels. That's the beginning. The young man did not return to Germany for 50 consecutive years. Traveled to 196 countries, owned 21 passports, rode 6 lakh 48 thousand kilometers on multiple bikes. Imagine, if he wanted to, he could reach the Moon, travel 69% of the way back to Earth, and circle the Earth 51 times along the equator.

Stuker has overcome many obstacles on this journey, he almost died after being hit by a truck in the infamous Atacama desert in South America, chased by angry mobs in Haiti, attacked by dangerous bees in Mozambique, captured by the military in Cameroon, lost his bike in the wilderness of Siberia, another Stolen in port of Portsmouth, UK. The main reason for Stuker's desperate desire to see the world, to listen to the incomparable music floating in the world's air, is that he never wanted to return to that dingy factory in Hovelhof, for anything.

Kishore Stuker is very attracted to the earth. His favorite subject in school. He used to swallow all the information about the new country, its people and culture. That's when the desire arose in his mind, I will go on an adventure one day.

He felt that a bicycle was the most suitable vehicle for seeing the world. Firstly it is the least expensive. Next comes a bicycle slow enough to enable him to perceive life around him properly, and fast enough to cover great distances without any major obstacles. At the age of 18, Stuker started going on big cycling trips in Europe. In 1960, he went on a 10,000 km bike trip along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. That one year poured gunpowder into all the desires of his heart.

By then he had become disillusioned with his work. Do you have to do a job that you have no passion for, for a living? "Could it be a reason to live? I could even explore the world if I wanted to in my life!" Stoker said.

After a fierce argument with his father, vowing never to ask for a penny from him again, he set out on his perpetual journey in November 1962.

His mother left the world in 1966 and his father in 1989. After saying goodbye that day, they never met their son again.

Heinz Stücker took more than a hundred thousand photographs as he traveled like a ghost, sometimes financing the trip with proceeds from exhibitions, donations, and his travel writings, and from the sale of postcards, booklets that published his photos, writings, and more. . Never worked again. Work work, and work. Neither act seemed disrespectful to Heinz.

He got money by selling his pictures for the first time in London in 1967. An East London booklet publisher bought his story for $300! Once in Ethiopia, he ran out of money. Although there he received the help of incredible luck. He received his visit, and an Ethiopian bar worth 500 US dollars, courtesy of the then Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia.

His bike was much heavier than normal bikepackers. Along with the tent and clothes he had to carry a lot of photography equipment, that would continue his journey! And there were booklets, which he would sell along the way. Many would buy them for many times more than the printed price, as a sign of love for him. People used to tell him, why don't you put an engine on your bike? His answer would have been: Do people ride helicopters to climb the mountain, have you heard?

Stoker had no definite course, no plan for the next day, or even an idea of his next move. “A new day will come, and I will not know what will happen to me on that day” was his motivation. Days after weeks, months, years, ages continued his journey, and a great universal family began to be formed. Thousands of members of this family are of different races, religions, colors and cultures, but all of them call Heinz a friend and love him. A friend you may never see again, or a dramatic reunion! Let's talk about such a person!

Stuker was in Barcelona, Spain in 1983. Struggling with the paperwork to get a visa to Albania, he meets an unlikely friend, Albert Albaket. Stuker stayed at her home throughout his time in Barcelona, and the two developed a close friendship. Stoker often disappeared without telling anyone, farewells were unbearable for him. The same thing happened to Albert, one day the vagabond left without telling anyone.

About 30 years later, a magazine in Barcelona published news of Stuker. The news titled "Cyclist of the endless trip" said that he will come to Barcelona once again on his way home. A very emotional meeting of two friends was at the service. They were never separated after that.

n the 1980s, Heinz Stucker embarked on an ambitious quest—to visit every country in the world. After nearly two decades of traveling, he found himself in Seychelles, a small country in the Indian Ocean, in 1996. But Stucker was a perfectionist and not content with just that. He realized that he had spent very little time in several countries and desired a deeper understanding of their cultures and people's lifestyles. Without retracing any path he had taken before, he set out to explore everything he hadn't seen in his 34 years of wandering. He was a man on a mission to witness it all.

From the ancient Alexandria of Alexander to Darius' Babylon, from Menes' Memphis to Khufu's Giza, from Herodotus' Athens to Leonidas' Sparta, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Napoleon's Elba, from Leonardo da Vinci's Tuscany to William Wallace's Edinburgh, and from Eric Bright's Scandinavia to Billy the Kid's Texas, Stucker roamed across Alexander Supertramp's Alaska, Christopher Columbus' Hispaniola, Edward Thatcher's Nassau, Montezuma's Tenctitlan, Che Guevara's (or Lionel Messi's?) Rosario, the dreamy Santa Cruz de Lazare, the towering Quito, the notorious Atacama, Medellin's Patagonia, the Amazon of the Jivaro Indians, the gleaming Johannesburg, the striped cat realm of Getty, the Masai Mara with its black hunters, the world's garden, Tanzania, the wilds of Namibia and Ethiopia, the desert of Mauritania, the aquatic Venice, the northern dreamland of Reykjavík, Oslo, Helsinki, the fairytale Pyrenees valley of Switzerland, the pink women of Georgia, the Mongolia of Genghis Khan, Siberia's Pamir Mountains, the Himalayas of Tajikistan and Tibet, the exotic India, the Pacific Polynesia, Australasia, Melanesia, Indonesia... He journeyed from one end of the world to the other.

Then, one sweet afternoon in 2010, at the age of 70, he returned to his beloved homeland, exactly 48 years after leaving Hovelhof for the second time. The son of the house had become an old man, yet he returned to his very house!

Heinz Stucker earned recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most traveled cyclist in history. A short documentary was created about his colorful life, and Stucker penned numerous books. Among them, one title stands out: "Home is elsewhere…"

As the day winds down and the commotion subsides, sky-high dreamers like Heinz Stucker resonate with the phrase, "Home is elsewhere." Heinz Stucker, still alive in this world at over 80 years of age, is aware that unknowingly, he has ignited a frenzy in the hearts of many young souls who, like him, ache to hear the life-enlivening melody carried on the world's winds. However, he knows that even the most audacious wanderer who refrains from returning home for half a century cannot quite replicate his adventures. Who possesses such courage?

Heinz Stucker reminds me of a cherished, very cherished poem of Bengal, Mr Kazi Nazrul Islam. I believe many will appreciate reading it, so I've included Nazrul's immortal verses:

n chambers unsealed, I won't confine my gaze,

But traverse the globe, in adventurous blaze.

Witnessing humanity's intricate dance,

In this swirling era, I'll take my chance.

From land to land, their pathways unfold,

What sparks their spirits, what stories untold.

Countless heroes as sacrifices they gave,

Their dreams and desires, the lives they save.

Yearning for solace, escaping death's sting,

Divers of courage, like pearls from Indus spring.

With daring, they soar to the heavens above,

On wings of valor, in pursuit of love.

Who'll ride the celestial steed to high space,

To Chandralok's realm, a distant embrace?

I'll listen for whispers, though signs may be shy,

Launching from Mars, towards stars I'll fly.

Descending and climbing, the heavens I'll chart,

Grasping the world in my palm, a work of art.

Observing its beauty, embracing its grace,

In the palm of my hand, this vast, wondrous place.

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