What do you do when you are a 71-year-old retired grandmother concerned about climate change, and you want to make a difference? You hop on your pink bike and ride 2500 km from your hometown to the COP26 Summit in Scotland!

Meet Dorothee Hildebrandt. She is so passionate about stopping climate change that she spent six weeks cycling alone from her home in Katrineholm, Sweeden, to the COP26 Summit (UN Climate Change Conference) in Glasgow, Scotland. Her trip started on September 1st, 2021, and culminated when she pedaled into Glasgow for the start of the summit in November.

Biking for the Future recounts what motivated Dorothee to take this ride, the many Warmshowers hosts she stayed with, and the incredible people she met along the way.

Why pedal all this way alone at her age? Simply put, Dorothee hopes to make a difference. She wants the world's political leaders to understand that we must act now to stop climate change. She says, "I know it is a dream, but sometimes dreams come true, and if I do not try, I can never change anything."

Dorothee's reflections:

• She is grateful to all her Warmshowers hosts. Without them, the trip would not have been possible.
• She hopes that she can be a good example for others.
• She wishes for better infrastructure for cyclists around the world. (It would be good for the environment as well.)
• She thinks this trip was once in a lifetime! But the COP27 is coming up in Egypt, and maybe . . .
• She wants you to know, "It is never too late!"

Learn more about Dorothee and follow her adventures on her blog, Biking for Future, on Instagram at @DorotheeHildebrandt, and on Facebook.

Join our community at Warmshowers.org, follow us on Instagram @Warmshowers_org and visit us on Facebook. Contact Tahverlee directly at [email protected].

Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

Happy riding and hosting!