Czech cyclist Lukáš Jakovec is now on day 177 of his extraordinary solo bike journey around Europe, having covered an impressive 15,290 kilometres along the coastline — by the longest route possible.
Lukáš is no ordinary cyclist. A multi-talented Czech professional — chef, tennis coach, tournament referee and professional bowler — he embarked on the “Wheels of Hope” campaign on October 11, 2025, European Donation Day, in partnership with the Alliance for Pulmonary Hypertension. The journey, which was planned to last nine months, has taken him across Europe following the coastline through Italy, Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, southern France, Spain, Portugal and northern Spain. He is now continuing along the northern coast of France.
The conditions have been demanding: Lukáš sleeps outdoors 95% of the time and relies mostly on cold showers, making a warm meal or a hot shower from a kind stranger one of the greatest luxuries of his journey.
But this is far more than a personal adventure. Along the way, Lukáš has met hundreds of people — in cafés, on roadsides, in campsites and town squares — distributing flyers, sharing his story and speaking about organ donation and transplant. Every conversation is an opportunity to reach someone who might never otherwise have engaged with the topic, and every flyer distributed is a potential life saved.
Lukáš’s connection to the cause runs deep — in his early 20s he faced a life-threatening heart condition and was told he might need a heart transplant. Fortunately his condition was successfully treated, but the experience gave him profound empathy for those waiting for a life-saving organ. Through Wheels of Hope he uses the universal languages of sport and food to create connections across cultures and raise awareness about organ donation and transplantation — a cause of particular importance to the pulmonary hypertension community, for whom lung transplantation can be a life-saving option.
You can follow Lukáš’s journey on Instagram at @wild.lukaaas
Check out the post where he describes his trip up to now with some great photos and reels at this link