Standa Valdman

I took up cycling only after I had to quit football. I come from the Šumava area, where I still live. The mountains there offer a range of beautiful and interesting places, easy and difficult tracks, and little hills with gorgeous views. I was always drawn by difficult long-range bike rides, so in 2012, I decided to sign-up for the extreme 1000 Miles race. An idea hatched to organize something similar back in Šumava, which culminated 2 years later into the Toulání Šumavou (or Wandering Through Šumava) event. In 2020, we held our 7th year of the event. I’m pleased that Toulání Šumavou gets newcomers, as well as people who keep coming back to participate again. There are growing ranks of enthusiasts, who want to try something new, unusual, more difficult, to know and reach their limits, to get to know themselves and the beauty of new places. That gives me the impulse and drive for pathfinding for the next year’s event, because, as I often say, “Life is beautiful, we’re here only once.”