"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
- Mark Twain

Page 1 2      Lilli La Cycliste    Lilli The (Ex-)Runner

My two big passions in life have always been the same. And I have been able to combine them both quite well so far. You can do one through the other: Travel & Sports.

I am not sure where my craving for travel, for exploring the world, for meeting new cultures, immersing in new cultures as well as seeing and experiencing various landscapes and climates comes from. Maybe it's curiosity & learning that intrigues me. Maybe it's longing for change & the new. Maybe it's thirst for independence & freedom. Maybe it's personal challenge & testing. .... I don't know what my personal motivation is to constantly break out and free to see as much as I possibly can see, want to see and handle to see. I just know one thing: It's in my genes.

Not only do you find Germans absolutely everywhere you go, in whichever most remote corner of global nowhere. You never get rid of the Germans. They are like the Pest. ;-) And then there is my family gene. Every member of my family just loves to travel. My mom has always instilled open-mindedness to the world to both my sister and I. We have been raised with learning about other countries. My first big travel day, my first flight in an airplane, happened when I was 6 years old. Tunisia 1985 was the start of my travel addiction.

Early Travel Years

In my early years, while in elementary/hhigh school in Germany, my family went abroad twice a year. Once to the beach somewhere South and warm (hmmmmm...:D)and once to Austria to go skiing. Later on, we decided to skip the skiing for risk of injury (by that time I had been quite deep in the competitive running scene on the national level & beyond).

Upon entry into the German national junior T&F team (1993), I started to travel abroad more and more through international races and training camps (such as Finland, Poland, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Slovenia, Belgium, and England). During my junior years I was fascinated by what many of my older running countrymen went out to do: they accepted an athletic scholarship at a university in the United States of America. That was what I wanted to do as well "wenn ich auch groß bin" ("when I am big as well"=out of high school). In August 1998 I put down my tent from European soil and pitched it in Boston/USA. And a different level of travelling/getting to know other cultures began...

Life Abroad - USA, France (x2), Great Britain + ???

Having lived abroad for 7 years (1998 - 2005), I can give you the qualified analysis that having foreign residency is the best you can do with your life. I interrupted my in-depth cultural/life skills learning phases in favor of my adventure as a professional cyclist in the Germany (and currently German Army).

I ended up spending many more years in the United States than planned originally. I not only finished my bachelor's degree (BSBA) there but also successfully pursued a master's degree (MBA). My last semester as a graduate student (spring 2004) brought me to the ESC Toulouse in Frane as an exchange student. From Toulouse I moved to London/GBR to do an internship and gain intial ordinary work experience. After another internship (in Germany) I returned to the South of France (Limoux/Aude/Pyrenées) in December 2004 to live there for half a year and prepare for my first season as a cyclist.

There is no doubt in my mind that I am going to take off again after my cycling days are over and pick back up my life as a foreign resident... with no intention of ever returning! Inside my native country, I simply feel like I am standing still. You can only learn a very limited amount through a new occupation. However, by living in a "new" country, you learn soooo much more. I hate narrow horizons. Here in Germany I can see the horizon way too close. Where I want to move next? Latin America is number one on my list of preference... but so far I have found only one country where I could imagine myself settling down permanently: New Zealand. Next Page




"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."
- Jawaharal Nehru