Meet Claude Marthaler – a self-described Cyclonaute. For Claude, traveling by bike is a way of life. He has spent the past 16 years biking around the world and has authored 11 books and bike travelogues.

From 1994 to 2001, Claude spent an incredible seven years on a solo bike tour traveling through 60 countries and biking over 122,000 kms. He loves the mountains and hiking and has spent a lot of time crisscrossing the Himalayas by bike, concentrating on Tibet, the very center of his inner geography.

Claude says he needs to move to be able to write, so that's why he is always on his bike. He believes it is a privilege to travel by bicycle, without walls and in closer contact with nature. Bike travel is very slow and has great purpose and intent.

Claude lives by the motto of "pouring kindness" on others and giving back more than you have received along the way.

Five things Claude wants you to know:

• People's kindness, helpfulness, and hospitality in poor countries are heartwarming.
• Many things are possible to realize, many more than one believes.
• Being open to the world in terms of time and attitude allows things to happen naturally.
• The Internet has reshaped our ways of bike traveling and looking at the world, not always for the better.
• Traveling and taking time on the road makes us creative and introduces us to interesting people. Time spent on a bicycle belongs entirely to us; we can be in the here and now, remaining empty and dreaming.

You can learn more about Claude and follow his adventures on his website at Claude Marthaler- Cyclonaute.

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Theme Music by Les Konley | Produced by Les Konley

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