A bike tour for the fight against leukemia!
What is behind the motivation to
"Ride for ALL"?
The fate of my wife Alicia, who unfortunately developed 2019 Acute lymphatic leukemia (ALL) and lost her battle against blood cancer, motivates me to do this. I was allowed to accompany Alicia on her difficult journey and learn so much from her in the process. So I want to share her story and tell you about this serious illness ...
Leukemia knows no national borders - the means to cure this, unfortunately, do. Medical advances are making leukemia more and more curable, but unfortunately these treatments are not available to all sufferers in the world. It was therefore a special concern and dearest wish for Alicia to be active for leukemia patients in South America, her home continent, after her recovery. Also the DKMS is active in Chile ...
5.500 km across South America –
from Alicia's homeland of Ecuador to Santiago de Chile
After the 2022 tour took me through Europe to Lisbon, I would like to cycle from Ecuador to Chile in the second version and “full” the 10.000 km in total. Special challenge: almost 90.000 meters in altitude through the Andes. Click here for a detailed description of the sections...
Acute lymphatic leukemia (ALL) was the doctor's diagnosis in April 2019 when my wife Alicia fell ill. An aggressive form of blood cancer that Alicia had to fight and a fight that she sadly lost in the end. All over the world, numerous people develop blood cancer every minute - in Germany alone every 12 minutes. Often only a stem cell donation will help them. Alicia very much wished that as many people as possible could be given the hope of a second life.
Already on the Tour 2022 between April and June 2022 I set off with my dog Bruno and arrived in Lisbon after 4.518 kilometers and 36.600 meters of altitude - divided into 59 stages. Before we stopped on the last stage at Cabo da Roca – the westernmost point in Europe. There we were closer than ever to the goal of our trip - the people in South America who are suffering from blood cancer and have to fight for their lives. And unfortunately with much worse conditions than here in Germany.
Bruno and I enjoyed the tour so much and were so happy about the incredible donation of around €68.000 that we decided there had to be a sequel. This time on the continent for which we would like to advocate so much in Alicia's name. The Idea: From Alicia's hometown of Ambato, Ecuador, where she grew up, where her parents' house is and where she is buried, until DKMS headquarters in Santiago de Chile.
During Alicia's battle against leukemia, we often talked about our dream of traveling through South America along the Pan-American Highway. Now I would like to make this wish come true with Bruno. We hope that the route will attract more attention in South America and encourage registration and donations. Starting in Ecuador, through Peru and Bolivia finally to Chile -the tour will take us for 5.500 km on an Adventure for a good cause. We look forward to countless, enriching encounters, breathtaking landscapes and to the fact that after almost 90.000 meters of altitude gain through the Andes, the pain in my legs will give way to joy and a feeling of happiness to be able to contribute to the fight against leukemia. Because that's what it's all about: Giving new hope to people in South America! You can help too…
Recipient: DKMS
IBAN: DE59 6407 0085 0179 0005 08
BIC: DEUTDESS640
Deutsche Bank Reutlingen
Keyword: Ride 4 ALL
Please make all donations with the provided keyword "Ride 4 ALL" so that donations can be assigned to the campaign. Alternatively, you can also follow this Link and donate via Betterplace.org!
***English below*** Yesterday was Alicia's birthday🎂🎉 - like every year, a day when I think a lot about Alicia🕯️. Fittingly, her family from #Ecuador 🇪🇨 visited the week before, which I was very happy about. The connection to her family and her homeland means a lot to me. For Alicia's birthday, I would like to announce that I will be setting off on a second Ride-for-ALL tour at the end of August🚲. This time I will travel over 5.500km from her home Ambato in Ecuador to Chile🇨🇱 to @dkms_cl. Of course, I would like to support the #DKMS again in their fight against #leukemia and therefore ask for your support again - be it through #donations, registering as a #stem cell donor, sharing and spreading my journey or even motivating words and encouraging wishes way💪. Further information about the route, donation options and donation goal will follow shortly. ________ Yesterday was Alicia's birthday - like every year, a day on which I think a lot about Alicia. Appropriately, her family from Ecuador came to visit the week before, which I was very happy about. The connection to her family and her home country means a lot to me. To mark Alicia's birthday, I would like to announce that I will be setting off on a second Ride-for-ALL tour at the end of August. This time I will be traveling over 5,500 km from her home in Ambato, Ecuador, to DKMS in Chile. Of course I want to support the DKMS in their fight against leukemia again and therefore ask for your support - be it through donations, registering as a stem cell donor, sharing and spreading the word about my journey or motivating words and encouraging wishes along the way . Further information on the route, donation options and donation target will follow shortly. #dkmschile #good cause #donation campaign #fightagainstbloodcancer #dkms #ride4all #donate #dkmsdeutschland #fuckcancer #radtour #biketour #leukemia #bloodcancer
Today, November 27th, marks the fourth anniversary of Alicia's death. I am very glad that I was able to spend this day there with her family, bring flowers 💐 to Alicia's grave and light a candle 🕯️. I'm very happy that I still have such a close relationship with her family, it makes me feel very close to Alicia. It helps to overcome grief together and to look forward together in everything. Thanks to this short visit to Ecuador, I was also able to attend the wedding 👰♀️💍 of Alicia's best friend. I was overwhelmed that she even wanted me to be the godfather of her wedding on behalf of Alicia💒. The fact that she also sees me as a friend through my close friendship with Alicia fills me with incredible joy. It was a wonderful celebration 🥂🎉 where Alicia was somehow present. I wish you only the best for your future. Overall, as always, Ecuador🇪🇨 welcomed me with open arms and provided some beautiful moments. I am very grateful for that. Today, November 27, marked the fourth anniversary of Alicia's death. I am very happy that I was able to spend this day on site with her family and bring flowers to Alicia's grave. I am very pleased that I still have such a close relationship with her family, which makes me feel very close to Alicia. It helps to cope with the grief together and to look forward together. This short visit to Ecuador also allowed me to attend the wedding of Alicia's best friend. I was overwhelmed that she even wanted me to be the godparent of her wedding on Alicia's behalf. The fact that she also sees me as a friend through her close friendship with Alicia fills me with incredible joy. It was a wonderful ceremony where Alicia was somehow present. I wish you all the best for your future. All in all, Ecuador welcomed me with open arms as always and had some wonderful moments in store for me. I am very grateful for that.
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*english below* In the last few weeks I have been working diligently on the route. Start in #Ecuador🇪🇨 and finish in #Chile 🇨🇱 were set. From Alicia's parents' house we head south. Past Chimborazo - highest volcano 🌋 in Ecuador and closest point to the sun ☀️ worldwide - the Andes accompany me further to #Peru. In Peru we will explore the beginnings of the Amazon 🌳, visit the world-famous Mayan ruins #machupicchu, and reach the border crossing into #bolivia at Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. There we reach Chile via the plateau and the salt lake 🧂 from Uyuni. The Atacama Desert welcomes us there 🏜️ and at the end of the long route is the destination: the #dkms in Santiago de Chile. A total of around 5.500km and over 90.000 meters of altitude await us on the bike. On the first tour it was 4.500km and over 35.000 meters of altitude. The Andes will be a huge challenge with the climbs and especially the altitude up to 5.000 meters above sea level. That's why I planned about 5 months for the route so that we should arrive in Chile just in time for the New Year. At least that's the plan 😉 ___ I've been working on the route over the last few weeks. The start in Ecuador 🇪🇨 and finish in Chile 🇨🇱 have been clear. We set off heading south from Alicia's parents' house. Past Chimborazo - the highest mountain and volcano🌋 - on to Peru, the Andes will accompany me all the way. In Peru, we will touch the Amazon area 🌳with its huge waterfalls, visit the world-famous Mayan ruins of Machu Picchu and reach the border crossing to Bolivia at Lake Titicaca. There we cross the plateau and the salt lake 🧂of Uyuni to reach Chile. The Atacama Desert welcomes us there 🏜️ and at the end of the long route is our destination: the DKMS in Santiago de Chile. A total of around 5,500 km and over 90,000 meters of altitude await us on the bike. The Andes will be a huge challenge with the climbs and, above all, the altitude of up to 5,000 meters above sea level. That's why I've planned around 5 months for the route, so that we should arrive in Chile in time for new years eve. At least that's the plan!