Day 50: Done!

One last time on my trip: getting up in the hotel, taking a bath, getting my first things ready. The whole thing starts at 6 a.m. and breakfast is served at half past six. In view of yesterday's cut, Hanno urgently asked to start at 7:30 a.m. We should no longer have to arrive in Unterföhring at 11:30 a.m. We are still a good 40 km away from that. Once again I'm the first one, the breakfast room is just being opened. Shortly afterwards Hanno, Anke and Anna arrive. Another familiar face in the Allianz Cycling Tour t-shirt I can, with some disbelief, attribute to Dirk. I know that Dirk is one of the "professionals", but what is he doing here? Simple answer: Accompany me to Unterföhring. Craziness. One last time, muesli with orange juice, scrambled eggs with bacon, rolls (here: rolls) with jam and Nutella. Then pack one last time.
I'm halfway to the bike. A stranger in the new Allianz cycling jersey stands with the others and is introduced to me as Chris, another “professional”. Madness again. I already knew that Micha would be there. I warmly welcome all three and then we get started. The route is flat, we are running quickly in great conditions: fresh but not cold, dry, clear. My wife is waiting in Dachau; Yesterday I announced that we wouldn't show up until after 9, now I have to warn you that we're faster. I'm "allowed" to drive ahead, from Ampersee I'm in familiar Dachau territory. My wife is already at the agreed meeting point and is accompanying me again today. Short break with initial thoughts: what to do if we are too early? In Oberschleißheim I see another person in Allianz dress that I can't identify at first. Then I recognize Mareike, who gave me my first tips on sponsorship and encouraged me in my plan; she had already announced that she would cycle along for a bit. Now we are already nine - even if I repeat myself: crazy. We're going too fast, we need a longer coffee break in Freimann, right at the subway station. I got out there many times and walked the few meters to Edmund-Rumpler-Straße when IT was housed there before the move to Unterföhring. Now it's not far and I'm putting on my Tour of Hope jersey.

We turn onto campus on time, we are allowed to push the bikes to the transition between House 1 and House 2, mine is needed at the stand. The “reception committee” comes out, music plays, applause breaks out. I think I'm beaming from ear to ear, feeling like a star and bowing. I can't say more than thank you, my manager comes forward and gives me a warm welcome. This breaks the spell, everyone wants to hug me and congratulate me. An amazing feeling that I will definitely think about for a long time.
My stand in House 1 is decorated with balloons and there are melons and small hazelnut slices on display. In addition to answering questions, I set up my donation helmet and enter the final numbers on my overview chart: officially I cycled 2,874 km in 50 days and visited all 11 AZiD locations. Officially because it does not take into account the “logistical trips” between accommodation and location; In this respect, I sometimes use the number 3,000 km.
There are still plenty of donations coming in and my HR staff is handing over a whole envelope. I have to tell a lot, do some "acquiring" in between and almost forget the time because I still have a stand in House 4 at 12.30 p.m. I'll hurry there then. Some works council members from the other company are there, especially the chairwoman; the human resources department is also represented. There's a lot to talk about here too, acquisition is almost neglected as I can recognize so many familiar faces. Donations are also being made here.
After a quick lunch, we count: the campus brought in a total of €835 in cash donations . As always, the PayPal donations are coming in an unknown amount, so I can already say: the final amount will probably be over €10,000. I stick with the word: crazy!
Many thanks to all Unterföhringen donors!
Before I start my last journey home, I definitely have to say thank you to the colleague who took over the organization for today. I know from my own experience that there is a lot of coordination effort in the background. Dear Steffi: You've done a great job again - thank you very much for that. Of course, this also applies to everyone who contributed to it. I will post pictures from today.
I cycle home happily and full of gratitude, it stays dry, I only have a detour and of course a headwind. After 50 days on the road, I'm looking forward to my wife, my home, my bed. The official result and something like a check presentation will take place after school starts in Bavaria, i.e. sometime after September 11th, 2023. I will report. Until then the blog will be on hold unless I think of something important...
I would like to end with a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make my campaign a complete success, for me personally and for the good cause of the Tour of Hope for children with cancer, sponsored by StiftungAllianz für Kinder!