Slow Travel, Big Impact

Tahverlee [00:00:03]:
Welcome to the Bike Life podcast by Warmshowers foundation, where we will be sharing knowledge, experience, tools, and stories of touring cyclists and hosts from around the world. I'm Tahverlee, the woman behind the scenes at Warmshowers foundation, the leading platform for cyclists looking for hosts and to connect with a passionate international community. Find out more by visiting us at Warmshowers.org. Now, onto the show.

Jerry Kopack [00:00:40]:
Hello, and welcome to bike life. This is Jerry Kopack, and if you recognize my voice, I'm the new host taking over the reins from Tahverlee. But don't worry. Tahverlee's still here as our executive director, but she's focusing her time on making your experiences as travelers and hosts even better. So a little bit about me. I've been the finance guy for Warmshowers for almost 5 years. And when I'm not building spreadsheets, you'll find me hosting bike travelers in my home in Breckenridge, Colorado, or on my own journey somewhere else in the world. Today, I've traveled through 21 countries and counting, and I'm so looking forward to hearing your inspiring tales.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:17]:
Now today, I'm talking to Karolin Windhuber who rode from her home in Germany all the way to Turkey to raise money and awareness for World Bike Relief. Hey, Karolin. Welcome to the show.

Karolin Windhuber [00:01:28]:
Hi, Jerry. I'm very happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:32]:
First off, I apologize. I realized that my American accent probably didn't do the pronunciation of your name any justice. So for all of us, how do you pronounce your name in a proper German accent?

Karolin Windhuber [00:01:45]:
It's Karolin Windhuber. But you you did it well. It's it's alright. No one has to pronounce it in the German way. It's really German in the name.

Jerry Kopack [00:01:53]:
It wasn't even close. So Karlin. Okay. So tell us a little bit about World Bike Relief and your connection to them.

Karolin Windhuber [00:02:03]:
Yeah. So, it's, World Bicycle Relief is an NGO. It's actually American based, and they give bicycles to people in need. So that's mostly people who have no access to public transportation yet, who have no access to cars or any other means of transport. So they have to do all their daily life, things by food. So and we all know what that means. We've seen pictures of of people, I guess. It's hard to reach school.

Karolin Windhuber [00:02:35]:
It's hard to reach hospitals. It's even hard to hard to reach the neighboring, villages in case you need something. And, yeah, I think we we all can imagine how life is, how hard it is if even the next, possibility to get to grocery store is, like, a big journey. And, yeah, I wanted to help these people, being it in countries where infrastructure is bad or being it people after a disaster where everything is destroyed. Well, Bicycle Relief is helping these, and I think that's that's an amazing amazing case.

Jerry Kopack [00:03:13]:
Yeah. I agree. Some really, really important powerful work. Through some of my travels, I definitely have seen firsthand children walking miles and miles and hours to get to school or parents trying to get to the work or to you as you mentioned, to to get to the markets, and having access to transportation via Do you have a personal story?

Karolin Windhuber [00:03:45]:
No. It was all, like, let's say, randomly, and I found them by chance. I decided to go on a bicycle trip. I've done some others before, shorter ones, though. And I thought that I don't wanna, like, just benefit myself. I also want others to to benefit from this. And, yeah. So I did some research.

Karolin Windhuber [00:04:09]:
I actually did really just, like, Google, support projects with bicycles, whatever, And I found some some awesome initiatives. And, yeah, World Bicycle Relief was doing exactly what I wanted to support. So, the story is that I worked in a car in a German automotive, industry. And I was always thinking, hey. We're we're developing, like, really highly sophisticated technology while others, still, yeah, as I said, don't even have access to to basic mobility. And, yeah, I think bicycle is such a great is such a great, way of traveling. It's low tech. It's easy access.

Karolin Windhuber [00:04:55]:
Most people are able to to ride a bike when they learn it. So, yeah, this this is what I what I googled and what I found. And, yeah, I found out that it's actually a huge thing. So they are big. They have many supporters. They are active in many countries in this world, especially in developing countries. And they also have offices here in Germany and in Switzerland, close by where I'm located, mainly to do the fundraiser support. So it was really easy to set up this fundraising page, and also to get support by by people that are located here close by where I live.

Jerry Kopack [00:05:33]:
Wow. I love that. So you went from working in the automotive industry to, it seems like, a complete pivot to trying to help benefit the bicycle industry or people get bicycles in these very very rural developing regions of the world. So that is that is incredible. I'm so curious if you feel like sharing or feel comfortable sharing. How much money did you did you raise through your through your project?

Karolin Windhuber [00:06:00]:
Yeah. Of course. So during the trip, I raised around, let's say, 3 and a half €1,000, which I'm quite proud of. I mean, it's not it's not an amount that changed the world, you know, but, yeah, at least I mean, otherwise, I would have done the trip anyways without raising any money. And with this fundraising, initiative, I I raised 3 and a half 1000. And in the beginning of this year, I also held a, let's say, like, picture presentation about my trip, here in my in my local, home village. And people donated again. So then I could put even more on top.

Karolin Windhuber [00:06:41]:
And in the end, it's it's nearly €4,000 that that came together. Yeah. Wow. So and this means, yeah, more than 20, nearly 25 bicycles that could put could be put in place.

Jerry Kopack [00:06:55]:
That was my next question is how many bicycles does that translate to? Yeah. So 25 bicycles?

Karolin Windhuber [00:07:02]:
So they say that for 1 bicycle, they need around $150. I mean, it's not only the production of the bicycle. It's it's everything around. It's the organization. It's Yeah. It's also the mechanics that need to take care of the bicycles. It's the logistics behind. It's it's the whole chain.

Karolin Windhuber [00:07:21]:
And, yeah, it's roughly about 150 dollars raised can place 1 bicycle. Yeah. So with the amount with 3,000 dollars, you can already put 20 bicycles in the field.

Jerry Kopack [00:07:36]:
Now do you know are these are these new bicycles? Are they donated bicycles that

Karolin Windhuber [00:07:45]:
if if some people are interested in this. It's bicycles that It's bicycles that are especially developed for that case. So World Bicycle Relief works together with other NGOs, with other, companies and partners that are producing the bicycles. And it's, it's always the same bicycle that they put in in place. And it's a really robust bike. It's, like, really simple. So probably nothing compared to the bicycles you can get in in Germany in the in the shops right now. It's really simple, but it has everything they need.

Karolin Windhuber [00:08:24]:
It can carry loads. It's, it's easy to be fixed. And that's also a special thing about World Bicycle Relief because they also train the mechanics, like, in the rural areas. So if there is some problem with the bikes, people are able to repair them themselves, or at least they know where they can bring them to be repaired. So it's not that if the bicycle is, let's say, damaged, then they throw it away. But they have mechanics that can repair it. And yeah, also, the whole production chain, it's also all, yeah, done by volunteers or at least by by people who who work in this social oriented, field.

Jerry Kopack [00:09:12]:
I I love this. I am so fascinated by this because we we've all heard stories about NGO NGOs going in and putting food or other place or other items in place, but maybe they're not educating people on how to to grow crops. And so my question was gonna be I think your answer it is, are they just dropping off bicycles, or are they teaching people there how to how to maintain them so that, as you said, they don't just get thrown away if they break?

Karolin Windhuber [00:09:41]:
So Yeah. Exactly. So it's called the Buffalo Bike, if you wanna do some research. The Buffalo Bike, it's the it's a company. And they have people in all these countries, mostly rural areas, developing countries. And there is the people in place with the local language, local skills. And it's not just like Americans or Europeans who drop some bikes and then get off.

Jerry Kopack [00:10:08]:
That's I think that's so important in the the longevity of this of this program to teach people, not just to give them bikes, but also teach them how to maintain them so they, again, they don't just get thrown away if something happens. So that is that is an amazing project. I love that you that you you took this upon yourself to get involved. As far as

Karolin Windhuber [00:10:28]:
Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:10:28]:
Where do these bikes go? Do you do you get to say, hey. I'm raising $3,000 for a bike, and I have I've been through, say, Sub Saharan Africa, and I really want my bike to go there. Or does it just kind of go into a fund and they they get distributed based on needs?

Karolin Windhuber [00:10:44]:
Yes. It's more the second thing that you said. So, I can't say, hey. I know someone in Sri Lanka, and I wanna be I wanna put a bike there. This is not how it works. So Okay. I just raise the money, and they they decide what happens. But I get some newsletters, and I always get informed about, hey.

Karolin Windhuber [00:11:05]:
We put more bicycles here. We put some bikes there. So they they inform about their activities and what they're doing. So I can see they are giving bicycles to people, indeed. But, yeah, still, I think they do it depending on the needs and where they have their projects going at the moment. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:11:28]:
So do you have any any plans now that you know that we've seen someone on these bikes where they've gone? Do you have any plans to go do a bike tour through some of these regions to see some of these these bikes in action?

Karolin Windhuber [00:11:39]:
Actually, I would love to. So I was in contact with, with a woman that works in Germany for World Bicycle Relief. And, she said, I'm very welcome to visit also these mechanic shops if I want. I just need to to drop a message when I'm around somewhere. So I think as a donator, you're you're always welcome to to visit the sites and to to see where the bikes are. But, yeah, I have to admit, I have no other travel plans yet, so maybe in the future.

Jerry Kopack [00:12:13]:
That would be such a fun trip just to go and see

Karolin Windhuber [00:12:16]:
be awesome.

Jerry Kopack [00:12:17]:
Some of those bikes out there in in the world. Do you have an idea of of where some of the, the bikes are are mostly focused into going?

Karolin Windhuber [00:12:25]:
It's many African regions, but also Colombia, for example, and Latin America. And as I said, also when there is some, let's say nature disaster or some, earthquakes, also when there is a tsunami or something, then they they also help out. So this might also be regions in in southern, or Southeast Asia, for example. Yeah, Like this where people lost everything, and then they can't get from from where they are to where they wanna go.

Jerry Kopack [00:13:01]:
That is that's so cool because I I've actually heard of the Buffalo style bike, and I'm trying to remember if I saw any because I was in Nepal right after the earthquake, and I believe in 2014, and it definitely did some significant dam damage to not just Kathmandu, but also some of the the surrounding villages. Yeah. And I definitely saw people on bikes. I saw the impacts of the bikes that they have and the allowing of their mobility to get to these different places. So it's it's incredible, just the power of a simple bicycle. And I know that these are very simple bicycles, not like the bicycles that we would see in the shops in, say, Germany or the US.

Karolin Windhuber [00:13:41]:
Yeah. So I'm not an expert about what World Bicycle Relief did in the past, but I'm pretty sure that this is one of these projects they really wanna support. And, yeah. So Nepal would be a great example, and it's likely that that you've seen one of these bikes. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:13:56]:
Yeah. Wow. Okay. This helps just bring it full circle what I've seen and now talking to you about these these stories. And so I'm I'm sure you get this question a lot. So I'm gonna ask, how many miles was it from Germany to Turkey, and how long did it take you?

Karolin Windhuber [00:14:14]:
Yeah. So my whole trip was about 3,000 kilometers. You need to help me to calculate how many miles that are. I don't know. Hey.

Jerry Kopack [00:14:23]:
Call it call it 2,000 miles.

Karolin Windhuber [00:14:26]:
Yeah. My piece. Exactly. And it took me 3 months, but I have to admit, I did a lot of stops on the way. So because I went to, some countries in Eastern Europe where I've not been yet, So I took the chance to travel slowly with the bicycle, and visit, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, and also the capitals of of these beautiful countries to spend some time there and do some rest days from cycling, and enjoy these countries, that were that were new for me. So, I think, if you wanna do it faster, it's it's easy to to do the whole trip in maybe half of the time, but that was not my goal. My goal was to to enjoy it and to see a lot on the way, to travel slowly, to talk to many people, to, yeah, text law, as I said. That's the big advantage of traveling by bicycle.

Karolin Windhuber [00:15:24]:
You can just, stop wherever you want to. And I really enjoyed it.

Jerry Kopack [00:15:29]:
Yeah. Exactly. We we've all heard about these different bicycle packing races. Like, there's one, the the Silk Road mountain race in in, Kyrgyzstan. There's also what's called the Great Divide race that goes from Canada through United States down to the border of Mexico, something like 2,700 miles, and the winners the winners who are racing do it in 16, 18, 20 days. And back to your point, you can go faster from Germany to Turkey, but why not travel slow? And so I'm curious. How were you how were you promoting your cause along the way? Did you have, like, a a banner with a QR code on your pannier or something, or were you stopping at different places and giving talks?

Karolin Windhuber [00:16:17]:
No. It wasn't that professional, I have to admit. So I, had a WhatsApp group for family and friends, and I knew that there were some people who who were really, like, in favor of supporting bicycle projects. So I knew that, some of my friends and family members will will support it. Actually, I also did a post on LinkedIn, which was just an idea I had some I had someone on the way. And it was crazy how many people reacted on that. And even people I didn't know before, donated and and said that I've seen my that they've seen my LinkedIn post. So that was interesting.

Karolin Windhuber [00:16:55]:
And, of course, when I met people on the way, I also talked to them. And yeah. I mean, you know it. If you travel by bike, you meet a lot of people travelling by bike. So most of them also, like the like the fundraising campaign, and also gave a bit. Yeah. And then, as I said, also, after my my trip, I did this presentation, which also helped and, yeah, was, was nice to see. I think it was around 40 people, which I knew who donated, and then even more, which I which I didn't know before.

Karolin Windhuber [00:17:35]:
So just people who saw it, and they said, oh, I wanna support it. That was really nice.

Jerry Kopack [00:17:40]:
I love that. And I think it's easier for people to see a really good cause and get behind it. And so, obviously, what you did and what you, I'm assuming, are continuing to do is a really, really important cause in the world. Are you are you still involved with this, with this project? Are you still trying to raise awareness and and funds?

Karolin Windhuber [00:18:00]:
Yeah. I am. So this is also why I'm here, by the way.

Jerry Kopack [00:18:03]:
Hey. Alright.

Karolin Windhuber [00:18:05]:
I really wanna spread the word and, yeah, wanna wanna motivate people to either, of course, donate for World Bicycle Relief. But if it's not this NGO, then there are many, many other many, many other nice projects out there, that that are happy to to get donations. So if you're going on a on a bicycle trip soon or any other journey, why not combining it with a fundraising campaign and make sure that others benefit, as well? Because most of the people who are traveling are already, let's say, bit like, not the poorest people or at least, people who can afford travelling. So, yeah, we can also try to support those in need.

Jerry Kopack [00:18:56]:
Yeah. Good. I love that.

Tahverlee [00:19:00]:
Today's episode is brought to you by bikeflights.com, the leading bicycle shipping service and bike box supplier for cyclists. You'll enjoy low costs, excellent service, and on time delivery with every shipment. And you get preferred handling for your high value bikes, wheels, and gear. As a brand built around a love for the outdoors, they are committed to reducing environmental impact and every bike flight shipment is carbon neutral. Join the nearly 1,000,000 cyclists who have used bike flights to ship their bikes, wheels, and gear with confidence since 2,009. And see how easy it is to book, manage, and track all of your shipments. Visitbikeflights.comforward/warmshowers today for more information and to book your shipment. Now, back to the show.

Jerry Kopack [00:19:46]:
So, I'm looking at a map, and there's a lot of ways to get from Germany to Turkey. Is there any particular reason you chose the route that you did?

Karolin Windhuber [00:19:55]:
Yeah. Actually, I did because, you know, other people are really well, exercised when they start on a trip, but I wasn't. So I took a road that was without any, meters of altitude in the beginning. I was really afraid of that. So I cycled along the Danube River. It's one of the longest rivers in Europe, and it takes you all the way from Germany to the east. So I could follow this river for 3 weeks or even more. I think, like, a month, I followed the river.

Karolin Windhuber [00:20:31]:
So, yeah, I cycled all the way along the river. It was a nice route, nice cycling path, no meters of altitude, and nice camping spots. This is why I chose that one. And then in Turkey, I felt, yeah, a lot more used to to cycling every day. And there, I really wanted to see the countryside. I wanted to see the the rural areas. I wanted to, like, get out of the big cities. So I cycled all the way from the center of Turkey to the southern coast, and I also chose to cycle a mountain pass that was in between, because to that time, then I was on my way for more than 2 months already, and I really felt, let's say, strong enough, to do this, which which I wasn't capable in the beginning, for sure.

Jerry Kopack [00:21:20]:
Because some some of those countries that you travel through, there's definitely mountainous regions, for sure.

Karolin Windhuber [00:21:26]:
Yes. Yes. And I also have to admit, in Bulgaria, I didn't cycle the whole country. I also took a train in between, exactly because of what you said. There's a mountain. I was yeah. There were there's a huge mountain range, and I didn't feel ready for that yet to that time. And I wanted to enjoy more time in the big city in Bulgaria and Sofia, the capital.

Jerry Kopack [00:21:50]:
Uh-huh.

Karolin Windhuber [00:21:50]:
So, yeah, I skipped a bit of the of the cycling time there to have more time in Turkey as well.

Jerry Kopack [00:21:57]:
Did you get through any part of Albania or Kosovo or North Macedonia?

Karolin Windhuber [00:22:03]:
No. I didn't went that south.

Jerry Kopack [00:22:05]:
Okay.

Karolin Windhuber [00:22:06]:
So it was Serbia, Bulgaria, and then directly into Turkey Okay. Which was quite the direct route, I think. So most people who try to have the speed ride carts Sure. Cycling trip, they also take the same route as I did. It's basically all the way to the east.

Jerry Kopack [00:22:26]:
Oh, so there's kind of, like, almost an established route that goes there?

Karolin Windhuber [00:22:30]:
Yes. Yes. Interesting. It's one of the long distance cycling paths that goes through Europe. Okay. We have the cycling grid, the Euro Willow grid, and this is one of the routes, the Euro Willow 6. That's the the Nub River cycling pass. And in most of the I was

Jerry Kopack [00:22:56]:
I was just gonna ask. So were you camping, Warmshowers, hotels, or kind of a combination of everything?

Karolin Windhuber [00:23:04]:
Yeah. The combination of everything. So I had some amazing warm shower hosts. As I said, for example, in Sofia, in the capital of Bulgaria, I stayed with a with a a guy, and I decided to stay even longer because it was it was so nice, with him. So, yeah, I had great Warmshowers experiences, but I also had my tent with me. I was quite out autark. So even in the Turkish countryside, I was able to to sleep, to cook, wherever I want. And I had a lot of lot of bad weather.

Karolin Windhuber [00:23:39]:
We had a lot of thunderstorms on the way. So in some cases, I also took a hotel, when there was no warm shower host around. And, camping was just not possible because of, yeah, thunderstorms and crazy weather conditions.

Jerry Kopack [00:24:00]:
It's, it's it's not fun to to pack up in the morning, a wet tent and wet gear and start cycling. I I've been there. And so Yeah. There's there's no shame in not camping in a thunderstorm.

Karolin Windhuber [00:24:12]:
Yeah. Exactly.

Jerry Kopack [00:24:13]:
Was there a I should have asked this earlier. Did so did you do this whole trip solo?

Karolin Windhuber [00:24:20]:
No. So my first plan was to do it solo.

Jerry Kopack [00:24:23]:
Yeah.

Karolin Windhuber [00:24:24]:
But in the end, a good friend joined. Mhmm. So I started on my own. But in Budapest, in the capital of Hungaria, my best friend joined. So he came with his bicycle in the train from Germany to to Budapest. And then from then on, we cycled together because he also quit his job. We were both in the same situation, having nearly unlimited time. And, we never talked about how far we go together and at which point in time we're gonna separate or everyone does their own trip.

Karolin Windhuber [00:25:01]:
But in the end, we ended up doing the whole trip together and then even drove back together. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:25:07]:
Okay. So next question then. How did you get home from Turkey?

Karolin Windhuber [00:25:13]:
That was also a nice adventure because we knew that we, didn't wanna fly, just, yeah, to avoid flying, for environmental reasons, but also because we find that it's just more exciting, more adventurous if you if you go the the long way. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:25:35]:
I love it.

Karolin Windhuber [00:25:35]:
Yeah. So so, in Turkey, we were we were looking for buses, which is also nice with the bicycles because you don't have to ship them in an airplane. You don't have to pack them. You don't have to, like, disassemble them. So it was really easy. We found buses that go directly from Istanbul to Southern Germany to Munich, and without changing the bus. So I think it was also a nice thing to find out. We didn't know before.

Karolin Windhuber [00:26:04]:
You can also do it the other way around. So I'm thinking of at some point, maybe I I'll do a trip Munich, Istanbul directly for a long weekend. No. Just kidding. But the possibility would be there. Yeah. That was nice. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:26:21]:
So I have this question. When you said direct, it's it's the same driver the whole time. Like, how is it just one person just drinking lots of coffee, trying to stay awake? Or how does that work?

Karolin Windhuber [00:26:33]:
No. It was a team. Okay. So I think there were 2 drivers and 1 organization guy, let's call it. So it was a Turkish bus company, which made it even more adventurous because we couldn't really communicate with them. And all the other passengers were also Turkish people who work in Germany and then regularly take these buses that take them directly home and back and forth. You know? So there was a team, that was taking care about the gas and the driving. We always felt safe.

Karolin Windhuber [00:27:06]:
It was just a bit adventurous to do a lot of stops, of course, and we had a lot of borders on the way, which I have to admit, with the Turkish bus wasn't that easy as well because European borders are quite strict when it comes to to Turkish people or people from even further from the east. So it was really interesting to get this perspective as well, how difficult travelling can be if you are not a, EU citizen. Because for us, it was really easy, of course. And with the bicycles, it was no issue at all. On the way to Turkey, a stop at the border took us, like, one minute. We shot the the passport, and then they said, oh, nice journey. Haven't seen a bicycle here. Good luck.

Karolin Windhuber [00:27:52]:
So and on the way back, it was really insightful to see how, yeah, privileged you are with a European citizen passport. Yeah. So took us it took us a while to cross borders. At some borders, we stopped for several hours.

Jerry Kopack [00:28:10]:
Several hours?

Karolin Windhuber [00:28:11]:
Yeah. Like, they searched the whole bus, the luggage. We had to put our bicycles out. They looked into every bag. And you know how many bags you have on a bicycle, like, 2 in front, 2 in the back, even the small ones in the frame. And, yeah, they checked it all. Was quite a pain, but, yeah, in the end, nothing happened. And, yeah, as I said, even yeah.

Karolin Windhuber [00:28:34]:
Now a nice story to tell and really insightful how these border crossings work. And, yeah, and also nice to get through all the countries again on the way back and not, like, sit into the airplane, and 2 hours later, you're at home. But, yeah, enjoy the ride back and look out of the window and see lands landscape and everything passing by, just as I've seen it in the way to Turkey.

Jerry Kopack [00:28:59]:
Was it a was it a sleeper bus?

Karolin Windhuber [00:29:01]:
No. No.

Jerry Kopack [00:29:03]:
Did you, were you were you the only 2 bicyclists on the bus?

Karolin Windhuber [00:29:07]:
There was a French guy. Okay. He changed in Munich to a bus to France. Okay. It was really nice. He was also on a on a even longer trip than than we were. Okay. So it was really nice to chat with him.

Karolin Windhuber [00:29:19]:
And I think he was also happy that we were there. Otherwise, he would have been the only the only, yeah, guy from Central Europe with a bicycle.

Jerry Kopack [00:29:28]:
Got it. Right. Yeah. I've, I've been to Turkey, and it's it's amazing. They they call it the place where east meets west. Right? So there are parts of it that are definitely feeling kind of European, and there are parts parts of it that definitely feel very Asian. So it's a it's a very unique country. So did you get to spend much time in, in Turkey?

Karolin Windhuber [00:29:46]:
Yeah. So the 3 months I took for the trip, it was actually 2 months to get to Turkey and then a whole month inside Turkey because that was my actual goal. I wanted to see the inside of of Turkey. I went to Turkey before on a business trip with my former job for the for the German automotive company that I told about. But, you know, with the business trip, we went to a fancy hotel, and then we went to a restaurant, and we took a taxi. And I had the feeling, okay, I'm in Turkey, but I don't really see the country. You know? I've not seen much, and, I felt that the authentic experience is still missing. So this is where the idea came that I wanna go there by bicycle and see also not only big industrial cities, but also the really, really rural areas, just as you said.

Karolin Windhuber [00:30:39]:
And it felt like another continent. It it really felt like far, far away into Asia and nothing compared to Europe that I know as Europe anymore. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:30:54]:
Yeah. So you you had the very unique experience. You've flown for trips, you've taken buses now for trips, and you've ridden your bicycle for trips. And think of the different experiences that you've had because of the bicycle. So you could get on a plane in Munich and fly to Istanbul, and you'll still go and see Turkey, but look at all the stories that you're able to see along the way just by your bicycle, even more so than just taking a bus from the east to the west?

Karolin Windhuber [00:31:25]:
Yeah. This this is what I really love about about cycling. And I've done some other bigger travels before. I always try to do it as slow as possible. So with the same friend that I was talking about with the bicycle trip now, we already had the plan to hitchhike to India. Oh. We we didn't make it. Okay.

Karolin Windhuber [00:31:46]:
It was in 2018, but we hitchhiked to, to Georgia. And we just love it to get in contact with so many different people and to be somewhere having no clue where you are. And with the bicycle, it was even more intense experience, I'd I'd say. Because you are independent of others. You are independent of big roads. But still, you can meet people. You can go slowly through the small villages. You can stop by people's gardens.

Karolin Windhuber [00:32:20]:
And and that was that was amazing in Turkey. Also, the hospitality, you might know it. We were invited so many times for breakfast, for lunch, even even for nights to sleep at people's home. So Yeah. I think this would not have happened if we were there in a car or with a bus or with a tourist group or any other means of transport.

Jerry Kopack [00:32:43]:
I I agree completely. That has been my experiences as well. So has this

Karolin Windhuber [00:32:58]:
I think, like, my whole life is structured in spending some time in the same place, and then do a longer trip, and then come back into a place where I have friends and family. So the last 10 years, I spent a lot of time traveling, always doing, like, have a year there, coming back to Germany, have a year somewhere else, coming back to Germany. So I'm pretty sure, like, I just started a new job, but I'm pretty sure I I don't wanna say too much now, but I, I I think within the next 5 years, I will I will go on a bigger trip again. I have no no precise idea yet what. I just know myself, that after some years in the same place, I always like to completely get out of it and do some crazy adventure.

Jerry Kopack [00:33:56]:
I love that. I love that. So I want to ask if there's for anyone out there who is listening, who's curious about your story, what you're up to, World Bicycle Relief, is there any way for people to connect with you, to connect with the organization, to help support your cause, cause, or just find out what you're doing in the world?

Karolin Windhuber [00:34:17]:
Yeah. Of course. So there's still my fundraising page. I think we can maybe link it somewhere. Yeah.

Jerry Kopack [00:34:23]:
We'll have it in our liner notes.

Karolin Windhuber [00:34:25]:
Perfect. So you can still donate for my fundraising, which, of course, would be would be awesome. But you can also just donate for World Bicycle Relief on your own, like, independently of my fundraising campaign. They also have fundraising opportunities on their website. Just Google for World Bicycle Relief. And, there is many, many options to support. And, yeah, you can follow me, for example, on LinkedIn with my name. I'm the only one there with this name.

Karolin Windhuber [00:34:59]:
And I also have an Instagram page. We can also link it. It's just that I only post there while I'm traveling. So at the moment, it's it's rather inactive. You can see the pictures of my trip to Turkey there.

Jerry Kopack [00:35:15]:
Wonderful. Okay. And we will have all of those links in our show notes for people to check out. So That

Karolin Windhuber [00:35:22]:
would be awesome.

Jerry Kopack [00:35:23]:
Everyone will be able to find you and your cause. Perfect. Karolin I am so excited we got a chance to talk today. This has been a ton of fun. I have learned a lot, and thank you so much for taking the time to be here and chat with me today.

Karolin Windhuber [00:35:37]:
Yeah. Thanks so much. Oh, yeah. And I wanna use the chance to make some advertisement also to become a warm show host, because now that I'm back in Germany after my trip to Turkey, I started being a host, and I had some really, really nice encounters. For example, with that, old Swedish lady who cycled to the climate conference in Egypt all the way from Sweden. And she stopped by my house, and we had the chance to spend 3 days together, which was an awesome experience. And, yeah, I can just recommend it to everyone who can't travel at the moment. Invite travellers to your home.

Karolin Windhuber [00:36:20]:
It really lights up your your daily life and brings, nice stories to your home.

Jerry Kopack [00:36:26]:
Wow. I love that. I'm a I'm a host, long time host as well, and thank you so much for hosting. And you're right. These experiences it's amazing. So thank you for doing that as well. Yeah. Of course.

Jerry Kopack [00:36:45]:
It's amazing. So thank you for doing that as well.

Karolin Windhuber [00:36:48]:
Yeah. Of course.

Jerry Kopack [00:36:50]:
Alright. So thank you for everyone for listening to my conversation with Karolin Windhuber. If you enjoy our show, give us a like, a share on your social channels, or just tell your friends. These stories hopefully will inspire you to set up on your own bicycle adventure or host, and maybe make the world feel a little bit smaller, 1 pedal stroke at a time. My name is Jerry Kopack, and until next time, keep riding.

Tahverlee [00:37:16]:
Thank you for joining us, and we hope you enjoyed the show as much as we enjoyed making it. Wherever you are listening, please leave us a rating and a review as it helps us reach more cyclists and hosts around the world. Visit us at Warmshowers.org to become a part of our community, or on Instagram at Warmshowers_org. If you would like to be a guest on the show or submit a question, please make sure to email us at podcast@warmshowers.org.