About me:

The most people, who know me, almost never talk about me with my "official" name MICHAEL OEFELE, but with my nickname "OEFI".

Since my bicycle tour to Nepal, which I started at the 2nd of August 2002 (see the extra link) I`m called "Mike on Bike". My destination to travel through foreign countries with my bicycle began at the age of 16 years, than I cycled alone to the lake "Balaton" in Hungary and back. Since that time I decided to make my further holiday tours lonely - just with my bicycle. In this way I explored 25 Countries of Europe and Asia like: France (Atlantic coast), Italy (Toscana), the Benelux states, Polen (Masures), the Balcans (i.e. Ex-Jugoslavia), Turkey (Aegaeis, turk. Riviera), Iran (Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf), Pakistan, India and Nepal. At all these tours I stood the night either in my sleeping bag or at the habitating families, which had been always friendly to me. Maybe this direct contact with foreign languages, habits and people is the reason for my decision for this slow and many times uncomfortable way of travelling. Even if the weather (landslide, earthquake, flood), the offices (visa problems), technical problems with the bike (most time I`d been lucky) or criminals (especially one case in Iran) made the life difficult for me or almost finished it, I didn`t give up and made it in some way!

This fighting-mentality started at the 04.01.1976, the day of my birth, in order of not dieing after my birth. With my mother having been 46 (!) years old there had been some complications: After a lack of oxygen for ten hours the Doctors in the hospital of Hoechstaedt at the Danude river didn`t give me any chance to survive. But I`d made it. But the price for my life was the missing reaction of my left arm and leg for the first year. So I see my clear mind and healthy body (click the "athletic photos") as a present of god and try to make the best with it! Because of this I made my general qualification for university entrance in 1995. After my civil service in 1996 I started my studies of sports and economics at the university of Bayreuth which I finished in 2002 with my first exam. After that I started my 13 months lasting bicycle tour to Nepal (click "Nepal by bike"), my longest bike tour up to now. From this I could catch the spirit for my complete time as a trainee teacher at the Gymnasiums in Erlangen and Munich.

After my second Exam in Feb. 2006 I decided to make one more break - for not less than three years. In this time I want to see the nicest places of the world and to get many adventures on my bike, which I call since ten years as my "BOCK"!

I want to say thank You very much for my great support by my nephew Daniel Oefele and my friends Lars Schaefer and Robert Martin, that upgrade my homepage with the newest photos and e-mails, so that everybody can follow me on my tour which I`ll start at the end of April !

Michael Öfele (Mike on Bike)