Cyclist seeking to raise awareness of brain tumors loses gear in transit

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Darius Braun was about to embark on a 14-month cycling journey across North and South America to raise awareness for brain tumor research when his bike and trail gear were lost somewhere on the way from Frankfurt, Germany to Calgary.

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Braun arrived at Calgary International Airport a week ago after traveling from Frankfurt to Vancouver on a Condor flight and from Vancouver to Calgary with WestJet. He checked his bike and trail gear at Frankfurt Airport and hasn’t seen the box since.

The bike and gear could still be stuck at Frankfurt airport or lost in Vancouver or Calgary because he said he hadn’t received a clear response from either company overhead whenever called upon.

“I want to send the message to the world not to give up, no matter how hopeless a situation may seem,” Braun told Postmedia on Monday of his cycling trip.

“I want to inspire and encourage people in difficult life situations, who may have suffered a similar fate, to believe in themselves and pursue their dreams.”

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When Braun was 15, he survived surgery to remove a tumor from his brain, but the operation left him paralyzed on the left side of his body. He could no longer walk and had speech and concentration problems.

Now, at 31, after years of recovery and rehabilitation, Braun has overcome his left-sided paralysis and will cycle more than 20,000 kilometers over the next few months from Calgary to Ushuaia, Argentina. Along his journey, he wants to raise awareness and funds for brain tumor research and rehabilitation, and inspire other patients to never give up.

Braun, who works as a teacher in Germany, wanted to start his cycling journey in 2020 but was unable to due to the pandemic. Instead, he set out to cycle 3,000 kilometers in Germany and shared his story locally – in hopes he could return to his dream of cycling across North and South America .

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During his trip through Germany, he said he received many inspiring messages.

“They were motivated by my story and they feel so good reading my story and have hope that they won’t give up,” Braun said.

“That’s the most important point for me, speaking to the public – it’s not to show how cool I am to be in the newspaper – but the most important point is to help others with my story.”

Braun said he expected weather or grizzly bears to be some of the biggest obstacles on his bike trip, not airlines and lost luggage.

The funds raised on his website throughout his trip are donated to the German Brain Tumor Association, and he encourages Calgarians to donate to the Brain Tumor Foundation of Canada if his story inspires them to do so.

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Without his bike and gear, however, Braun will be spending more time in Calgary than expected. He hopes that one or other of the airlines will tell him soon that they found his box, but in the meantime he is looking for ways to replace the equipment.

He said he was looking to Calgarians for help finding his missing bike and gear or looking for replacement gear.

He is working with the company that sponsored his bike to see if he can get a replacement in Canada. And if people send him donations to replace some of the other missing equipment, he said he would donate it to the Brain Tumor Foundation of Canada in case his original equipment arrives before he leaves town for start his journey.

“If Condor or WestJet calls me and says they found my bags but they need a week to send them to me, then I have to wait another week. But also if I have to organize all my new business, I will have to stay here another week or two,” he said.

Braun said he hopes to be able to hit the road as soon as possible to begin his journey.

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Twitter: @BabychStephanie