The passion for cycling knows no profession, has no age limits, has no nationality, and as cycling lovers say the bicycle is much more than a vehicle and becomes a way, besides others, to know the vast world and its people in the field out of the offices and other work places.   

“Maybe it has something to do with the way any naturally curious economist thinks - I am always asking shopkeeper and hoteliers:  how’s business?  How do people earn their livelihood?  What’s doing well?  What’s not doing well?” was the answer to the question put by Albanian Daily News to CEO of Euro - Phoenix and former World Banker Les Nemethy.

Nemethy reveals that it was a health problem which has developed his interest in cycling starting as an ‘exercise program’ for increasing health span and lifespan, but a piece of information disclosed by him shows that the itinerary of his bike tours across Europe has got longer year after year. 

In this interview Nemethy shares his cycling experience during the pandemic, his different perspective on environmental issues, even his impressions on people’s reactions to the war in Ukraine, the rise in energy prices, and the need to conserve energy:

Albanian Daily News: How and why did you start cycling?

Euro - Phoenix's CEO and ex-World Banker Les Nemethy: About seven years ago I had some cardiac issues. A renowned cardiologist told me never to take my pulse above 135. To me that was unacceptable - almost a death sentence. I began looking for a cardiologist that I could work with to rehabilitate my heart.  It took a year to find one: I eventually found a cardiologist/trainer specialized in this area. We started off very gently, gradually building up. Today, after years of training, there are days when I spend 5 or more hours per day on my longer bike trips with my pulse over 135!  

My birthday resolution on my 60th birthday was to do everything possible to live healthily to 100. Cycling is only part of an exercise program for increasing health span and lifespan. There are also non-exercise components of this program. 

Perhaps you have heard the saying about health: “Use it or lose it.”

-What were some of your longer and more interesting cycling trips?

-My first trips were along the Danube near Budapest. Then progressively longer trips around Lake Balaton (220 km circumference). First in three days, then two days, then one. In 2018, I biked from Passau Germany almost down to Vienna along the Danube, and in 2019 from Basel to the Atlantic, along the Loire. In 2020, I cycled from Budapest to Bonn, and from the Austro-Hungarian border down to Naples, via the Austrian and Italian Alps. Each of these last two trips were about 1800 km, averaging about 100 km per day. In 2021 I walked a good part of the Camino in Spain, and this year biked Vienna to Passau again. I am now planning a longer tour in Baltics (Gdansk-Copenhagen-Stockholm) in September.

- How is tourism by cycling different than other forms of tourism?

 - You can take in a lot more scenery in a shorter time on a bicycle than by foot. And you have much more immediate contact with your surroundings than through the windshield of a vehicle. Nothing like feeling the wind in your face, the smells and sounds without any filter. I love it. 

While I typically bike alone, my wife usually accompanies me by car. While I’m pedaling she’s visiting castles and museums; we meet up for dinner and the night. It’s always interesting when we compare notes in the evening. While the bike routes meander along rivers, through forests and green belts, often passing by historical churches and other buildings, my wife usually navigated through a parallel reality of autobahns, industrial suburbs and concrete. We often had very different experiences! In Europe, at least, I am hard-pressed to find a better way of sightseeing than cycling.      

-How might a former World Banker view cycling in a manner different from most tourists?  

-Maybe it has something to do with the way any naturally curious economist thinks--I am always asking shopkeeper and hoteliers:  how’s business? How do people earn their livelihood? What’s doing well?  What’s not doing well?  

I remember, for example, biking along the shore of the Rhine. It only gradually dawned on me what an incredibly important transport corridor it was. There were always an impressive number of barges along the river (and that’s where I first heard about low water affecting the amount of tonnage). It took me some time to catch on about the incredible number of very long freight trains also making their way up and down the valley - day and night. The Germans are very good at “hiding” this activity, with forests, noise control, etc. But the sheer volume of logistic activity was impressive!

  -You also cycled a lot during the pandemic.  How was cycling different during the pandemic, and then again after the recovery from the pandemic?

-Cycling during the pandemic was a very special experience.

First, there were absolutely no crowds! When I biked through St. Peter’s Square in Rome, it was so empty, you could fire a cannonball through it! Biking through Florence, and not having it crawling with tourists was such a treat! As I approached Naples, I remember seeing a Dutch tour bus, and thinking, why is this odd? Because it was the first foreign tour bus that I had seen on the entire trip.  

During the pandemic, there was never a need to make reservations. Prices were ever-so-reasonable, and hoteliers and restaurateurs were ever-so-appreciative to have you as their guest. By the summer of 2022, all this had vanished - prices were inflated, and if you’d want good accommodation, you’d better reserve in advance!   

-Does cycling provide a different perspective on environmental issues?

-It strikes you in a different way when you feel global warming on your own skin. I was biking across France during the summer of 1999 during a heat wave when temperatures were regularly surpassing 40 celsius. I drew a line and decided to stop cycling where temperature exceeded 34 celsius. Unfortunately, that meant sitting out quite a few afternoons, making up lost time with 5 am departures, in cool weather. 

When you are on a bike, you become naturally sensitized to your environment - from urban sprawl and poorly managed, smelly solid waste dumps to panoramic mountain tops. 

-On your cycle trips this year, did you develop any impressions on people’s reactions to the war in Ukraine, the rise in energy prices, and the need to conserve energy?        

-This year I saw quite a few Ukrainian flags flying on homes in the Austrian countryside. And everyone in Central Europe is talking about energy costs. Just last week I was riding through the Hungarian countryside and was struck by the number of rural homeowners piling firewood in their yards. That didn’t exist a year ago. The priority seems to have switched from low carbon to cost cutting

-Do people still look at the European Union as a success story?  

-My favorite bike routes are the Eurovelo bike routes - fifteen bike routes that are each several thousand kilometers long, crossing multiple countries, from one end of the continent to another. Eurovelo itself is a minor triumph of pan-Europeanism, a demonstration of what can happen when Europeans work together.

It is also remarkable to see the number of young people biking across the continent, getting to know neighboring countries.

Perhaps when you are travelling within the Eurovelo network you meet a biased sample of people - but people were generally supportive of the EU.      

-Any concluding thoughts or comments?

-This interview has been in a very different vein from the subjects of economics and finance that I normally address. But if you have read this far, perhaps it has served its purpose in providing a little inspiration. If an overweight unfit purpose can become a biker in his sixties, chances are you can do it as well.  

If I might add two pieces of advice in conclusion. First:  find yourself an excellent coach. Second, build your stamina incrementally. In all my training programs I never had a sore muscle or sore behind. Do not try to conquer the world in a day.