What would you do if doctors said you had cancer and had just 1 year to live? For Randolph Westphal it proved to be the beginning of a new life. Westphal traveled the world not once, but 5 times on his bicycle. He did this after doctors diagnosed him with malignant melanoma in 1987.
“In one year I was not dead and I decided not to die” said Westphal. That’s when he got on a bicycle and he said his life truly began. He said the reason he decided to cycle around the world is because he wanted to prove to himself that he beat cancer.
26 years later he is still going strong on his bicycle. “I got a hundred and thirty two thousand miles behind me. That’s more than five times around the world. Mostly in North America, Europe and South America” said Westphal.
Westphal’s rides haven’t come at a cost. In Argentina he nearly died by the side of the road. “A car rolls over me, killed my first dog Shikan. The guy put me in a ditch next to my dead dog and leaves” said Westphal.
It took Westphal roughly 5 years to recover from a nearly severed left leg. Now he’s back on his bike with no plans of slowing down. He doesn’t have any corporate sponsors, but he does accept donations.
If you would like to donate you can contact him directly via email. His email address is randy@randolph-westphal.de
You can also visit his website by clicking here.