Cycling around the world in 24 years

• German baker is determined to complete journey despite the danger

In a world where many strive for outstanding achievements, there are still only a few who have cycled around the world.

Petro Lubben, however, lives on his bicycle and has been cycling around the world for 24 years. Since leaving his home town in Germany, Lubben has cycled across 38 countries.

In his shorts and sleeveless shirt, wearing a black headband and black goggles, Petro has the defiant look of a crazy pop star, not a polished cyclist.

He has featured in newspapers in every country he has visited and, although he has crossed seas and oceans, he has flown only once in an aeroplane.

“Normally, I don’t accept any lift on a train or a truck,” he said. “I want to do it on my own; that is why I do it on a bicycle.”

Bizarre breakfast

And where does he derive the energy to pedal his 80kg bicycle every day? He drinks a glass of his own urine every morning for breakfast.

“You’ve got to be disciplined; you’ve got to drink it every day,” he said.

He has cycled past armed cattle herders in Turkana, received local nicknames, and sat and eaten with strangers.

In 1990, while cycling across Namibia, he learnt that his parents had died and been buried. He talks about the fateful telephone conversation in a low-key tone, refusing to volunteer details, then changes the subject.

When he set off on March 15, 1986, then in his late 20s, Lubben envisaged cycling around the world in eight years. But this was not to be.

“They think that I am mad,” he said, standing next to his bicycle, christened El Loco Sabado III (Crazy Saturday III). With all his gear strapped on, the bicycle weighs 80 kilogrammes.

Petro cycled into Kenya on December 1, 2009, and soon he will be heading off to Ethiopia. Without regular sponsors, he survives along the way.

Last year, while cycling on his way to Kenya, he entered a cyber cafe in Arusha and searched for outfits dealing in cycling safaris in Kenya.

He found Magical Africa Safaris Ltd.