1/2 "One unexpected aspect of his journey was being “showered in kindness and hospitality and love and friendship” from strangers. People would stop their cars and hand him a cold bottle of water. In southern Australia, one couple gave him the keys to their house."

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/feb/12/i-lived-the-life-ive-always-dreamed-of-the-man-who-cycled-around-the-world-for-four-years

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"As well as kindness, he found humour wherever he went: “I had people making jokes about the trip in Iran as much as I had in Peru. I learned – and maybe this can’t be said often enough – that we’re not so different as we think we are, regardless of where in the world you live or what your religion might be or your culture. I think people try to live life with a little grace and a little dignity and care for families and friends and neighbours.”

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/feb/12/i-lived-the-life-ive-always-dreamed-of-the-man-who-cycled-around-the-world-for-four-years

#AndreasGraf

"He was shocked by the extent of plastic waste and water pollution in Asia and South America. “You get a really amazing understanding of how our pollution circles work,” he says. “A lot of European waste ends up being sold to Asia, and there are no facilities there to take care of the amount of trash, so sooner or later it all ends up in the rivers and in the oceans, and then of course over the next 20 years it’s just all coming back.”

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/feb/12/i-lived-the-life-ive-always-dreamed-of-the-man-who-cycled-around-the-world-for-four-years

#AndreasGraf

1/2 "He always tried to camp in isolated spots. Didn’t he worry about wild animals? “In the past, I’ve camped next to elephants and rhinos and giraffes. [He spent seven months hitchhiking through Africa after university.] They don’t care about you. The worst animal I’ve met is called human.”

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/feb/12/i-lived-the-life-ive-always-dreamed-of-the-man-who-cycled-around-the-world-for-four-years

#AndreasGraf

“We build our identities around jobs and roles we have in the family. You’re slowly stripping yourself of your identity, and at some point you’re like, who actually is Andreas?” After three months of cycling, he says, he was “in a bit more of a peaceful state”.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/feb/12/i-lived-the-life-ive-always-dreamed-of-the-man-who-cycled-around-the-world-for-four-years

#AndreasGraf