Ironman

• Jonas Deichmann’s new project: New York – LA by bike and back on foot
• “A low point rather something nice, because now it’s going up again.”
• SportsIllustrated cycled through the Alps for three days with Deichmann at the Volkswagen R Gravel Experience

Jonas Deichmann has cycled all over Eurasia, from the North Cape to Cape Town, and along the Panamericana. His last project was a triathlon around the world. Deichmann swam the Adriatic Sea for 40 days straight, cycled from Croatia through the Siberian winter and became a media star with his daily marathons through Mexico. SportsIllustrated rode through the Alps with Deichmann at the Volkswagen R Gravel Experience.

“I never look at the weather report, I just hope the weather is good.” One of the first sentences that Jonas Deichmann says the evening before the first gravel stage describes him only too well. What Jonas Deichmann preaches in lectures are lessons that any other self-proclaimed life coach can give you. The limit is the head to stay positive or work towards a big goal in small steps (Jonas calls them candy bars).

There’s just one huge difference. Jonas Deichmann is authentic. No, not just authentic, you can see how he lives it from head to toe.

As part of the Volkswagen R Gravel Experience, I got to know Jonas Deichmann better over 3 days. On the last evening after his swimming session (because 5 hours on the bike is not enough sport) we met on the terrace of the hotel for an interview.

Jonas Deichmann: “The moment when I thought about giving up didn’t exist. Never.”

SportsIllustrated: Hi Jonas. You’ve been through a lot. You cycled from the North Cape to Cape Town, the Panamericana from Alaska to Argentina, crossed Eurasia by bike and did a triathlon around the world only 2 years ago. The question many people ask themselves is: why are you doing this?

Jonas: So at the end are the experiences. It’s nice to have a record, because you also need goals in life. But in the end it’s the special experiences. In one day on such a trip, I experience more than in a month when I’m not – and that’s exactly why I’m doing it.

SportsIllustrated: You can probably write thousands of books about your experiences. But do you have something like a favorite experience?

Jonas: Yes. But of course I also have special experiences every day – even on the really hard days. Then maybe it’s just a beautiful sunset. My favorite moment though was at the around the world triathlon in Mexico with that Forrest Gump story. Something new and crazy happened every day. That’s still the big highlight for me.

SportsIllustrated: And what was the hardest thing about triathlon?

Jonas: Definitely the swimming. I swam in salt water, if you do that every day, your whole body becomes inflamed. And it doesn’t heal even if you go back into the salt water the next day. In addition, the salt water and currents leave you much more exposed to nature than when you ride a bike or walk. In the water you are just more exposed to the elements. The swimming – that was brutally hard.

SportsIllustrated: But you’re also looking for those moments, outside of the comfort zone?

Jonas: Out of question. Of course, if I always stay in my comfort zone, then I have a comfortable, but very, very boring life. You just need new incentives. If you always stay in your comfort zone, then you don’t have those special stimuli that help you advance and develop.

SportsIllustrated: Your next project is coming up. You want to cycle from New York to Los Angeles from the end of June and start walking back the day after. One ultramarathon a day. What moved you to this project? What excites you about cycling and walking across America?

Jonas: I wanted to run around the world through America in a triathlon, but that wasn’t possible at the time because of Corona and other problems. So in America there is still some unfinished business for me. Plus, Forrest Gump was my favorite movie and I’ve always wanted to walk across the US. The feeling of walking through Monument Valley, along Route 66 or through Arizona is simply the feeling of freedom.

Jonas Deichmann: “All in all, I probably get about 30 to 40 hours of sport a week.”

SportsIllustrated: What’s your training like for that?

Jonas: I don’t have a training plan. I have to be physically fit, but most of all I have to have fun and be motivated. Of course I do a lot of endurance sports, especially cycling and running. Overall, I probably get about 30 to 40 hours of sport a week.

SportsIllustrated: You never know what’s really going to happen on projects. You have a rough route, but no real plan where you sleep. What do you hope for from the USA?

Jonas: When something is so extremely organized, with an accompanying team, luggage transport and hotel, you also experience something. Of course there are beautiful places, nature and so on, but it will never be this extraordinary story. So many unexpected things can happen on such a journey. But especially when you have to improvise, that’s when it gets interesting. I have no idea what’s going to happen in the US, but I know it’s going to be exciting again.

SportsIllustrated: What are you looking forward to the most?

Jonas: It’s been a year and a half since I came back from the triathlon. And I’m really looking forward to finally having a big project again after all the lectures. Just for a change. Of course, I’m also looking forward to the bike course, especially the western part, and then of course running through the desert on the run course. That’s going to be awesome.

SportsIllustrated: Nonetheless, of course, it can be dangerous. Do you have respect for your journey?

Jonas: You always have respect for it, that’s right. But no fear. And finally, I’ve been doing this for a couple of years. I’ve also been to over 100 countries, some of which are very exotic. This also gives me the experience to assess dangers. That’s incredibly important. Running a complete novice across the desert with little water is disastrous and potentially fatal. But I know what I’m doing and can assess dangers and situations well. Then I think that’s totally fine.

Jonas Deichmann: “In a way, it’s about having the courage to change”

SportsIllustrated: You’ve been getting a lot of attention since your triathlon. You give a lot of lectures about the journey and your mindset. Isn’t that total agony for you? Knowing you, would you like to travel all the time?

Jonas: There are people who have been traveling around the world for 20 years. I would get bored of that. Traveling will always be a part of my life, but the combination I have now is just incredibly exciting. Giving the lectures or writing my book is also fun. Especially when people write to me afterwards that they have now started running or cycling or something else entirely. That’s great for me too. Ultimately, it’s about questioning your life, checking whether that’s really what I want to do or whether I want to do something else. And then have the courage to change. I’m only successful in what I do because I’ve found my passion.

Jonas Deichmann: “A low point rather something nice, because now it’s going up again.”

SportsIllustrated: You haven’t canceled a tour yet. Why? Wasn’t there a moment when you wished you had stopped?

Jonas: The moment when I thought about giving up didn’t exist. Never. I think beforehand, why am I doing the project? Do I want this with all my heart? And if the answer is yes, then you will find a solution. Then we keep going. Seen in this way, a low point is more of a nice thing, because now things are going up again. I firmly believe in that. It has a lot to do with having a positive attitude and not getting discouraged about what is to come.

SportsIllustrated: Are you living your dream?

Jonas: In any case. When I quit my job in 2017 to become a professional adventurer, I was doing software sales, you don’t earn badly there, I firmly assumed that I would earn significantly less in the long term. But I thought that was fine, because I pursued my passion and turned my hobby into a job. A lot of happy things have come together now, but it was never my basic motivation to make a lot of money from it. My basic motivation was to be an adventurer and to go out into the wide world, to have great experiences, to get out of my comfort zone, to push myself and, above all, to combine the adventure aspect with the competitive sport aspect.

SportsIllustrated: Let’s jump in time. What will Jonas Deichmann be doing in 20 years?

Jonas: Good question. Of course I’m concerned about that too. I have the advantage that I’m not a classic competitive athlete who then simply breaks down at some point in my 40s. I am an adventurer first and foremost. I’m 36 now, which means I might still be able to cycle around the world when I’m 56, otherwise I just sail. But I can very well imagine taking on a normal job again. It’s exciting not knowing what to expect. In any case, I still have a very long bucket list to row with an expedition to the South Pole or across the Atlantic. There’s a little more to come.

SportsIllustrated: Thank you for the interview and have fun and success in the USA

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