Status: 11.08.2023, 20:00 p.m.
By: Manuel Eser
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The reward: At the finish line, the Freising relatives not only gave the people of Münster a warm welcome, but also hung medals around their necks. The picture shows (from left): Christian Busswoller, Hermann Busswoller, Theo Homölle, Christine Homölle, Bärbel Steiner, Natalie Steiner and Michael Steiner. © private
A couple from Münsterland cycled over a thousand kilometres to Freising to visit their old uncle.
Freising – "Cycling over 1000 kilometers? In 14 days? Both of us? Nope!" If someone had told Christine Homölle (59) in the past that she would run such a cycling marathon together with her husband Theo (60), she simply would not have taken it for granted. "We're really reluctant to do sports," she says. "Most of the time we go by car."
And yet: The couple has been thinking about the idea of cycling from Münsterland to Freising for some time. But the two still found a reason to postpone the project. In the end, however, it has become more and more firmly anchored in the minds of the two. Until the couple swore to each other at the beginning of this year: "So, now let's really do it!"
The background for the hussar ride is a tribute to Herrmann: This is Christine's uncle. Hermann Busswoller has lived in Freising for 65 years. In 1958, after completing his apprenticeship in a jute spinning mill, he moved from North Rhine-Westphalia to Bavaria. "He had nothing more than a suitcase and a bicycle," says Christine. "That was his only possession." He came to Freising to land a job there. He finally found what he was looking for at Elektronische Werke Driescher in Moosburg. And so the 87-year-old became an incentive for Christine and Theo. "We wanted him to be able to experience how we get from his old home to his later home – also by bike."
"You think you're sitting on stones"
The couple gave themselves three weeks to achieve their goal. "If we hadn't made it by then, we would have gotten on the train," says Theo. In the end, he didn't have to take special leave.
In 14 days, from 17 to 30 July, the couple completed their Tour de Freising: 1016 kilometres. The longest daily stage: 90 kilometres. The procedure: always the same. Jump on the saddle at 9 o'clock in the morning, pedal with assistance in ECO mode, breathe in, exhale, look ahead or on the bike map, look for accommodation in the afternoon and fall into bed in the evening.
The two have 15 to 16 kilos of luggage on their backs. Sounds like a lot, but it's just the bare minimum. Repair kit, cycling clothes, rain jacket – whatever you need. "In the evening we washed everything through and put it back on the next day." Weighing only a few grams, but a massive help: the Bikeline – a guide for cycle tourists that not only offers detailed maps, but also lists a number of restaurant and hotel contacts along the way.
Christine and Theo are mostly on paved roads, rarely on hoppy paths. The butt still hurts, especially in the first few days. "It makes you think you're sitting on stones," Christine says and laughs. Saddle instead of sofa - in the end, even the buttocks get used to it.
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Distraction from the exertions is provided by the many different impressions that the couple gathers on the tour. The two encounter very different scenarios: in the Ruhr area a lot of industry, traffic, bad road conditions, desolate scenery. But there are also special buildings: the RTL stronghold in Cologne and the ZDF tower in Mainz, the Düsseldorf state parliament and the historic bridge of Remagen, the ThyssenKrupp plants in Essen and the Neckar-Westheim nuclear power plant. Beautiful nature is also waiting for them: the great German rivers Rhine and Danube, for example.
The two also overcome obstacles of all kinds: sometimes a lock, sometimes an almost insurmountable incline, again and again steps. Most of the time, the two of them stoically overcome all challenges. They say. You immediately believe the calm Theo, but the spirited Christine also admits: "There were moments when I just wanted to throw the bike down and get on the train."
"The simplicity has always been the most beautiful"
The two complement each other congenially. "Most of the time I drove up and my husband followed," she says. Once, however, Theo was also lost to her. "At Donauwörth, I turn around and realize that he's no longer there," she reports. As it turns out, Theo was chasing another cyclist. Of course, a pure oversight. "She was dressed just like my wife," he says. But to be on the safe side, Christine made it clear once again: "No other women, Theo!"
The great thing about the tour for Theo is: "I got away from everything. When you ride a bike, you only think simple thoughts. Where do we go from here? How do I manage the next few kilometers? What's the weather doing?" The most exciting question for Christine: "Where do we end up in the evening?"
The most expensive accommodation they took cost 109 euros. This is still a long way from luxury hotel prices, and yet it was already too much fuss for the two of them. "The simplicity has always been the most beautiful thing for us," says Theo. At one point, they are offered a room with a view of the Rhine. The two thankfully decline this with the remark: "We had it all day." The TV screens, some of which are huge, also remain black. "We didn't need that at all. After all, we were so full of impressions that we gathered during the day." And most of the time, tired. Sometimes even too tired to change clothes and go out to eat.
"Unfortunately, no one answered the phone"
Only once did the two of them almost despair in their search for a place to stay. "It was on day 13," says Christine. "We moved from place to place without finding a hotel." To make matters worse, it rains buckets by the bucket on this day – lightning and thunder included. "Three times we had to shelter because of thunderstorms," Theo reports. At a bus stop, under a bridge and once in a farmer's barn.
Many emergency roofs, but no accommodation, and so the two already feel reminded of Mary and Joseph. "In the end, we even called a local BRK retirement home to get a bed there," Christine reveals. "But unfortunately, no one answered the phone." In Wolnzach, they finally find what they are looking for. The Haimerlhof takes them in, the landlady provides the two with a 1.40-meter bed. "That's enough," says Christine.
Arriving: After 14 days of cycling and more than 1000 kilometers, Christine and Theo Homölle arrive at the Grüner Hof in Lerchenfeld. ©
The two are usually lucky with the weather. At the start, the big heat wave has already subsided. For the first week and a half, the two accompany them between 23 and 25 degrees. And there is a tailwind on top of that. In the end, however, they travel faster than at the beginning, regardless of the air flow, Theo reports.
"We were very excited"
Drive gives the two of them every signal that indicates that they are – finally – getting closer to their destination: the vineyards, the hop gardens, the first cars with Freising license plates. "That's when I thought to myself: Great, now we'll be there soon," says Christine. "That feeling of driving towards the finish line – those were actually the best moments every day."
At the end, when the couple in Freising is standing around in Vötting, somewhat disoriented, engrossed in the cycling map, unexpected help arrives. A cyclist, around 50 years old, asks the two if he can help. When the people of Münster tell them that they are looking for the Green Farm in Lerchenfeld, he accompanies them without further ado and guides them to their destination. Christine's conclusion: "You just need people like that."
The Freising relatives give the cyclists a warm welcome and even hang self-made medals around their necks. Uncle Hermann, for whom Christine and Theo made the journey, is one thing above all: glad that his "prayers" were answered – and that nothing happened to the relatives on the way to Freising. And Herrmann's daughter, Barbara Steiner, says: "We were very excited."
Theo looks back on his journey with humility. "We've been lucky: no breakdowns, no punctures, no falls, no broken battery." It took him a while to realize what he and Christine had achieved. His insight – simple and beautiful: "You can do much more than you think you can do."