...neverthenless!
20.000 km by bike
Why
“… neverthenless!” ?
Panamericana 2022
My name is Darius Braun and I will start my adventure on July 18, 2022, cycling over 20,000 kilometers along the Panamericana.
Riding the Panamericana by bicycle – a distance of well over 20,000 kilometers from North to South America – is a risky but appealing project for intrepid and adventurous people.
For me, this project is much more than just an adventure. Apart from the fact that I want to make it at all, I want to get the message out to the world that it is worth believing in yourself, no matter how hopeless a situation may seem. And by that I don’t mean the hardships of the cycling adventure that await me, but the suffering that lies behind me and that I have already overcome.
And why?
After a brain tumor operation at the age of 15, I was completely paralyzed on my left side, could no longer walk, and had speech and concentration problems. I was lucky to be able to start a new life at all. Even my family at that time would have considered it completely illusory that I could ever dare and realize such a journey again. At that time, there was no prospect whatsoever of being able to even remotely match my earlier successes as a competitive athlete.
In the course of my recovery, I worked hard on myself and today I feel very well prepared to set out on the great adventure. With my leitmotif “And yet”, as a former brain tumor patient, I want to show and prove that it is important not to give up on yourself and that anything can be possible.
With this extraordinary cycling adventure I want to realize my biggest life dream, which I have had since childhood. My goal is to gain experience for myself personally and share it with the world. With this, I want to inspire and encourage people in difficult life situations, who may have a similar fate as me, to believe in themselves and to realize their dreams.
My goal:
With my bike tour, I want to bring the topic of brain tumors into the focus of the public in order to create more awareness for this terrible disease. At the same time, I would like to use my project to encourage people to donate to the German Brain Tumor Aid. This will enable those affected to get the resources they need to fight the disease.
Blog
The true face of the Andes
From “Pucallpa” my journey led me further south. The day before departure, I checked my bike again and realized that some parts were missing. My
The depths of the Amazon
From “El Coca” we went over the “Rio Napo”, one of the countless tributaries of the Amazon, about 200 km to “Nuevo Rocafuerte”, a small
To the center of the world
Shortly after the border town “Ipiales” I crossed the border to Ecuador. The border crossing went smoothly and after a few minutes I was now
MY PROJECT
The Tour
The estimated route should lead over 20,000 km through North and South America. I want to start deliberately from Calgary to ride the western part of the Trans Canadian Trail. Here begins the wild romantic Canada, as one knows it from adventure travel reports or from nature photographs. In addition, it was always a wish of mine to ride the Panamericana, which is why I will then follow this route to South America.
Since sports and sustainability play an elementary role for me in life, I came up with the idea to travel the route by bicycle, which allows me to cover relatively long distances in an environmentally friendly way. At the same time, it gives me enough time to enjoy landscapes, get in touch with people and participate in their lives. With the help of my travel blog I can report about my experiences and adventures on the route, create more awareness for brain tumor diseases and their consequences and inspire people.
Duration and distance
Since I want to give my adventure a time frame, it seemed fitting to set 14 months for this endeavor. Due to the varying nature of the entire route and many impassabilities, such as poorly constructed roads or enormous altitude differences of over 4000 meters, I consider an average distance of 60-70 km per day, viewed over the entire route, to be realistic.
Based on this, this distance can be completed in about 4 hours at an average speed of 15 km/h. Thus I need for the approx. 22,000 km about 350 days. This leaves a buffer of at least 70 days for unscheduled repairs, sightseeing and regeneration.
Travel time
Due to the geographic conditions and the prevailing wind directions from the northwest, it is recommended to do the tour from north to south. Since the Rocky Mountains have to be crossed right at the beginning of the route between Calgary and Vancouver and the best travel period for this is between July and the end of September, I will start my trip on July 18, 2022.
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ADDED VALUE FOR YOUR COMPANY
Since my adventure is also about overcoming self-imposed limits and showing other people to face any challenge despite limitations, I want to be motivating and inspiring for other people.
With the help of a travel blog on my homepage, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube I want to share all impressions and moments. Among other things, I can also show the important role of your company through social networks, link you on my homepage and pictures and thus draw attention to your company. Among other things, I could present your logo through advertising space on clothing or the bike bags. In addition, I would offer you after the adventure a travel lecture in your company, internally as well as for the public to hold.
Thus, you can present a direct example to the population which social projects are supported by your help. For these reasons I am sure that it could be of interest for you to support me in my project.