British Officer to Do Charity Bike Ride Across Germany

‘As an officer, supporting my comrades is a matter of great importance to me’, says Major Daniel Calthorpe. The student of the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College has planned a special event: he wants to cycle 1,300 kilometres (approx. 800 miles) across Germany to raise funds for the Bundeswehr Welfare Association’s campaign ‘Aktion Sorgenkinder in Bundeswehrfamilien des Bundeswehr-Sozialwerks (BwSWBundeswehr-Sozialwerk)’. With this campaign, the Association provides individual financial support and care to Bundeswehr families in need. For example, it organises holiday camps for disabled children of members of the Bundeswehr while offering the parents free holidays in Association-owned guesthouses.

True to the 2019 NGASOC’s motto ‘facta non verba’ – which translates as ‘deeds not words’ –, Major Daniel Calthorpe from the United Kingdom will take to the saddle to do a charity bike ride across Germany from 14 to 24 May 2021. Starting point of his tour will be the Naval Academy Mürwik in Flensburg, from where he will pedal to Berlin.

He will not have much time to rest, though, as his cycle challenge will then take him to the Army Officer School in Dresden, the Bundeswehr Medical Academy in Munich and finally to the Air Force Officer School in Fürstenfeldbruck. In total, he aims to cover a distance of 1,300 kilometres (approx. 800 miles) in eleven days.

Major Calthorpe says he chose the route on purpose: ‘Taking part in a joint course at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College, I felt that I wanted to include the officer schools of the different services in the fundraising event.’

Charity bike ride poster (PNG, 3.3 MB)

Fitness and Mental Resilience

Major Calthorpe’s ambitious plan is to be riding on two wheels for ten to eleven hours a day. ‘On average, I’m hoping to ride at a speed of 30 km/h, that's about 20 mph. I will not be followed by people in a car serving me food. Instead, I’ll organise everything by myself.’ At night, Major Calthorpe will sleep in barracks along the route.

Over the past few weeks, he has prepared himself for his cycle challenge. Unfortunately, however, he did not have the time to take his bike out for long rides: ‘I’ll have to rely on my fitness and mental resilience’, Major Calthorpe says.

Well, it seems that will not be a problem: in 2019, while serving as an exchange desk officer in the German Army Headquarters in Strausberg, Major Calthorpe completed almost 1,100 km (approx. 680 mi) cycling from the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to Buckingham Palace in London. This event, too, he had organised to raise funds for the Bundeswehr Welfare Association’s campaign ‘Aktion Sorgenkinder’.

Farewell Gesture

‘The focus of the campaign is on children of Bundeswehr personnel who have suffered a blow of fate. Thanks to the donations, they will be able to take part in designated holiday camps’, the officer says. During his first charity bike ride, Major Calthorpe raised 1,500 euros. This time, he would like to collect the same amount of money.

Unable to meet with many other service members due to the COVID-19Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic, he will have charity tins put up at Bundeswehr facilities, e.g. in mess halls. Moreover, staff of the Bundeswehr Welfare Association will draw people’s attention to the cycling event.

‘I hope that I’ll be able to help raise a lot of funds for the campaign. Doing this charity bike ride is also a way of thanking my German comrades. After having lived in Germany for the past four years, I will return to my home country in June.’

by Sophie Düsing Translation: Federal Office of Languages, SMD 15  email