Monticello welcomes overseas visitor

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

“It was my lifelong dream to do a trip in the Americas by bicycle,” said Sascha Kurhajec. The 45-year-old cyclist from Germany says that while he has been biking ever since being 'infected' by the touring cycling 'bug' over 15 years ago, he has toured over Europe (including a two-year cycle around Europe), but had never made a trip to the United States.
He was interested in taking a tour over the American continent, but had yet to do so – until November of 2019.
On Friday, Nov. 15, Kurhajec began his first journey through America after his plane landed in Miami, Fla.
“It took me a long time to come to the United States,” Kurhajec explains. “I guess, as a German, you always have some kind of stereotype for Americans from movies or people you've met, or people you know who have met Americans.”
Kurhajec remarks that he was surprised initially by the size of American vehicles, noting that it can “be a bit scary” as a cyclist to be approached on the roadside by a massive SUV or truck.
Despite his initial hesitation regarding American stereotypes, Kurhajec says that “so far, people have been very respectful.”
“I've been really blown away by the friendliness of the people,” added Kurhajec. “People have come up and talked to me just because they saw the bicycle; they've been really, really friendly and welcoming.”
After beginning his trek in Miami in mid-November, Kurhajec began his journey through Florida and in early December, entered the Tallahassee area.
“I had planned to stay for two days in Tallahassee,” he explains. “I had some time left over, and did some short riding. I ended up here, by chance.”
He hadn't planned to stop, much less stay, in Monticello, but he ended up visiting the Monticello-Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, and meeting the chamber's executive director, Katrina Richardson.
While Kurhajec packs a tent in order to sleep anywhere without having to find lodgings in a hotel during his trip, he says that the cold snap which North Florida was experiencing at the time was a little cooler than he preferred when camping outdoors. It was Richardson, therefore, who referred him to some Monticello locals who regularly host visiting cyclers in their home.
“It's been an amazing experience. I did not expect to be so welcomed into your nice little town,” states Kurhajec.
For his first trip through the United States, Kurhajec plans to continue keeping along the states which border the Gulf of Mexico, and plans to travel into Texas, where he will meet some friends who live in the southeastern portion of the state.
From there, he hopes to turn south and travel into Mexico, with the goal to see as much of Latin America as he can before needing to return home.
“As a European, I only have a 90-day visa,” Kurhajec explains, so the distance in which he will travel during his trip will be determined by how many days he has left on his visa. Despite the time constraints, Kurhajec says he isn't rushing things.
“I'm in love with this way of traveling,” he says. “I really want to just be able to enjoy the journey.”
Even when he isn't traveling foreign continents or cycling across Europe, Kurhajec still finds himself peddling through Berlin as a professional cyclist.
For five years, Kurhajec says he has worked as a pedi-cab driver in Berlin, Germany, for part of the year – leaving him open to travel and experience the world throughout the rest of the year.
“From March through the fall, I cycle tourists around Berlin, explain the sights and highlights. I take them to special places and introduce them to local food,” he says.
It might not be traveling the world and seeing new sites, but even cycling tourists around the city where he makes his home is an important part of his life.
“Bicycling seems to be my life-long passion,” he laughs. “As a kid, once I discovered bicycling, I also discovered so much freedom,”
Cycling, for Kurhajec is more than a hobby or a profession, it’s a chance at a lifestyle of freedom – be that the freedom to explore the United States or to tour Europe for two years.