At the end of September, Kiel-based water sports enthusiast and environmental activist Michael Walther will embark on an extraordinary mission: to become the first European to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo and unsupported on a stand-up paddleboard (SUP). While he’ll be alone on the water, he won’t be alone on land – logistics provider Gebrüder Weiss is supporting the journey as the project’s official logistics partner.

The logistics specialists at Gebrüder Weiss’s Hamburg branch are managing the complex transportation needs for this custom-built SUP board. The board will first travel overland from Kiel to Lagos in Portugal, where Walther’s Atlantic crossing will begin. From there, he will paddle past the Canary and Cape Verde Islands before reaching his final destination in French Guiana. Once he lands in the port of Cayenne, Gebrüder Weiss will ship the board back to Kiel via sea freight using a certified climate-neutral process, made possible through verified insetting within the logistics chain.

“Michael Walther is drawing attention to marine conservation through an unconventional form of mobility – and we are proud to support this mission as his logistics partner,” says Robert Stahlschmidt, Country Manager Air & Sea Germany at Gebrüder Weiss.

Collecting Scientific Data for the Alfred Wegener Institute
Walther expects the crossing to take around three months. He deliberately chose not to use a support vessel or receive any external assistance. During the journey, he’ll deploy a hydrophone to record the sounds of marine life. These audio recordings will be shared with the Alfred Wegener Institute, one of Germany’s leading marine research institutions, to support ongoing climate impact studies on ocean ecosystems.

This isn’t Walther’s first bold move for climate action. Since 2008, he has undertaken high-profile expeditions to raise awareness of climate and environmental issues. Past projects include paddling across Germany by river and traveling through Iceland to document glacial melt.

GWcycles: A Shared Commitment to Clean Oceans
Gebrüder Weiss is also actively engaged in another initiative to protect the world’s oceans. Through the global cycling campaign GWcycles – Cycling for the Seas, the company is inviting participants around the world to log their bike mileage in support of ocean health. For every 100,000 kilometers cycled, Gebrüder Weiss funds the removal of one metric ton of ocean plastic. Since the campaign’s launch in April 2025, six tons of marine debris have already been collected. Walther is a dedicated supporter of the initiative, helping amplify public awareness around the shared mission to protect our seas.

More information about Gebrüder Weiss’s sustainability efforts can be found at https://www.gw-world.com/future-of-mobility and on the company’s social media channels. Since 2021, Gebrüder Weiss has been actively supporting innovation projects in sustainable transportation, collaborating with universities, research institutions, and startups. 

It’s time to get those pedals whirring again! On April 1, the fourth season of GWcycles, the international cycling campaign led by Gebrüder Weiss, will get underway. Cycling for the Seas is the rallying call for cycling enthusiasts worldwide to hit the saddle together – and keep pounding the roads until October 31. Front and center of the campaign is the joy of putting miles in your legs and air in your lungs. The company’s goal is to connect people across nations and raise awareness of sustainable mobility. Last year, participants around the world covered over 810,000 kilometers – the equivalent of cycling to the moon and back.

New in 2025: cycle longer, celebrate success faster

This year’s edition of the campaign is running a month longer than usual – until October 31. Plus, the distances in the individual competition are now shorter, which will bring the attractive prizes on offer more quickly into view. Kilometer totals are tracked using the new version of the Radbonus app, which is now available for free from app stores. A key highlight of the new season is that for every 100,000 kilometers cycled collectively, new cooperation partner CleanHub will remove a ton of plastic waste from rivers and coastal regions of South-East Asia. The organization is actively committed to reducing plastic pollution in particularly vulnerable regions.

GWcycles welcomes riders of all kinds – from recreational cruisers to long-distance professionals. In addition to the positive feeling of doing something useful, there are also enticing prizes to be won. The 300 most active participants by the end of the campaign will be entered into a raffle to win a high-quality gravel bike, and the rider topping the rankings will get their hands on an exclusive Gebrüder Weiss winner's jersey.

Register now and start pedaling! 👉 www.gw-world.com/gwcycles

Gebrüder Weiss’ international community of bike enthusiasts has raised the bar with this year’s GWcycles cycling campaign: More than 600 participants came together to cycle over 768,800 kilometers – the distance it would take to the moon and back.

Between March and September, the logistics company ran its third and latest cycling campaign, aptly titled “Cycling to the moon and back,” calling on cyclists around the world to dowload the Radbonus app and cover as many kilometers as possible on two wheels. “It’s clear that bicycle mobility is growing in popularity,” remarks Frank Haas, Head of Communications at Gebrüder Weiss, “and rightly so: Cycling gives people a chance to enjoy being active and boosts both personal health and climate protection. I’m particularly pleased that we were once again able to encourage so many people to do their best to support a good cause. Thank you to everyone who got involved!”

Another benefit is that each kilometer cycled helps to protect the climate. The 2024 cycling campaign has enabled Gebrüder Weiss to plant 7,000 new trees in the corporate forest in Nicaragua. A total of 19,000 trees have been planted since the campaign was launched in 2022. Once fully grown, these trees will absorb around 285 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year.

For more information about “Cycling around the World”, go to: https://info.gw-world.com/gwcycles.

This year, Gebrüder Weiss again calls upon cyclists to participate in the company’s international cycling campaign “GWcycles”. From March 25, cycling enthusiasts all over the world will be pedaling for all they are worth. The goal of the sports competition in 2024 is ambitious: cycling to the moon and back. International participants have until September 30 to cover the distance of 768,800 kilometers.

As in previous years, GWcycles combines this sports challenge with environmental protection: the international transport company will plant another 7,000 trees in Nicaragua for the kilometers covered by the participants. In the two previous rounds, a total of 13,000 trees have been planted in Togo and Nicaragua. By planting these corporate forests, Gebrüder Weiss makes an important and active contribution to a climate-friendly future.

“At Gebrüder Weiss, we believe in sustainable mobility, and as a global logistics company, we are enthusiastic about moving things together,” Frank Haas, Head of Corporate Brand Strategy & Communications at Gebrüder Weiss, describes the essential motivation and targets of GWcycles. “So far, our cycling community has accomplished spectacular results each year; they enjoy exercising and actively contributing to environmental protection. We are looking forward to this year’s competition.”

Following the previous year’s campaign, which ended with a surprising success – more than 15 times around the world – we’re challenging the participants of the 2024 competition to cycle to the moon and back. The main prize that Gebrüder Weiss offers is a gravel bike that will be raffled amongst the top 300 participants as well as more exciting prizes that are waiting for seven different challenges. Anyone can participate in the competition. The number of kilometers completed will be recorded and calculated in a cycling app. Click here to go to the relevant app: www.gw-world.com/de/cycling-around-the-world. Simply download, register, and get started!

Frank Haas, Head of Communications at Gebrüder Weiss, is thrilled by the positive response: “This year’s large number of participants from all over the world has clearly exceeded our expectations. We thank all entrants for their outstanding commitment.” For Gebrüder Weiss, this competition is not only a sports challenge, it also stands for sustainable mobility and active climate protection. This is further underlined by the company’s reforestation project in Nicaragua: for the kilometers covered, Gebrüder Weiss has planted a total of 7,000 trees. “Many participants were additionally motivated by the idea of helping to increase the size of our corporate forest. Meanwhile, a cycling community has evolved, demonstrating that we can achieve a lot together,” adds Mr. Haas.

The participants used a cycling app to record the distances they covered. The close finish between Janusz Mucha from Poland and Markus Knabl from Austria remained thrilling until the very end, when they shared first place in this year’s competition, each of them covering more than 17,000 kilometers.

Primaklima, a non-profit organization active for 30 years, is the company’s cooperation partner for the reforestation project. With the trees planted in the company’s forest, Gebrüder Weiss helps reduce the burden on our atmosphere by some 154 tons of CO2 each year.

For more information on the “Cycling around the World” competition, please go to: https://info.gw-world.com/cyclingaroundtheworld

“The spirit of billiards – focus, precision and strategy, combined with fairness and team spirit – reflects the values that also guide us at Gebrüder Weiss. These are qualities that are required to be successful both on the green cloth and in the world of logistics,” as Günter Schmarl, Branch Manager Tyrol at Gebrüder Weiss, explains the parallels between this sport and the corporate philosophy.

Moreover, the Gebrüder Weiss team includes a true billiards champion: Elmar Constantini, who is not only a staff member of the company’s location in Hall i.T., but will also compete in the championships as a two-time national champion (both titles acquired in 1994) and as Austrian Champion in the senior division (2015).

“It is a special honor that my employer supports the championships. The visible commitment of Gebrüder Weiss to the event, from the advertising on the perimeter boards through to the TV broadcast, will surely inspire not only me, but also many other competitors,” says Mr. Constantini, who knows that he can count on being cheered on by his colleagues from the Tyrolean Gebrüder Weiss locations.

A total of 160 participants will step into the ring at the 42nd Austrian National Pool Championships to compete for 22 coveted medals in a thrilling contest. During these exciting days, the Gebrüder Weiss brand name will not only be prominently displayed on perimeter boards, the interview wall and every table, but will also embody the passion and precision that distinguishes the company in the logistics industry during the sports event.

The logistics company has recently acquired the Bayreuth-based forwarding company Wedlich, thus assuming the important role of logistics partner for Upper Franconian companies. “So, it was clear for us to get involved with the soccer club as well. We have a lot in common with this traditional club called ‘Oldschdod’ by the locals: team play, speed, precision and, above all, the joy of moving. We look forward to supporting all teams and wish them a successful season,” said Dettenthaler when signing the contract in Bayreuth. In addition to the men’s first soccer team, the logistics company will also support the youth and women’s teams of SpVgg Bayreuth.

“The history of the soccer club spans more than a hundred years, like that of our new sponsor, Gebrüder Weiss. Top performance thanks to passionate commitment and the skillful interaction of professionals – that is a good match, whether on the soccer field or on the transport routes,” added Jörg Schmalfuß at the contract signing event.

Soon, the orange GW logo will appear not only on the soccer jerseys, but also on the fences and the grandstand of the Hans-Walter-Wild stadium. Gebrüder Weiss has nine locations in southern Germany and, in addition to professional soccer, also sponsors cycling, running and volleyball teams.

Gebrüder Weiss is once again organizing: “”. The logistics company is calling on cycling enthusiasts from all over the world to pedal hard from April 1. This year, they want to top the surprising success of 2022: instead of six circumnavigations of the world, they want to complete seven, corresponding to 280,525 kilometers. Participating cyclists have until the end of September to finish. The number of kilometers completed will be recorded and calculated in a cycling app.

The idea behind this year’s sporting competition is also environmental protection: for every 40 kilometers cycled, Gebrüder Weiss will pay for a tree to be planted in Nicaragua. This Central American country is severely affected by climate change, and the trees planted there are intended to protect against flooding. The cooperation partner is PRIMAKLIMA, a non-profit association which has been involved in reforestation projects for more than 30 years.

“We are excited to see how ambitious the participants will be this time. The bar is high, but we believe in our cycling community, which we hope will continue to grow. This campaign is aimed at anyone who enjoys exercising and wants to make a contribution to environmentally friendly mobility. Every kilometer counts, and together we can make a big difference – after all, that's what we like to do most as a logistics company,” says Frank Haas, Head of Corporate Brand Strategy & Communications at Gebrüder Weiss. A Gravelbike will be raffled off among the top 250 cyclists. Prizes will also be awarded for completing individual sections ranging from 60 to 6,000 kilometers.

The first edition of the Gebrüder Weiss cycling campaign ended in September 2022 with a total distance covered of 249,392 kilometers. At that time, the international field of participants had surpassed the original goal of “only” one circumnavigation of the globe (40,075 kilometers) many times over and, with this mileage, contributed to the replanting of 5,000 trees in Togo, Africa.

You can read all information on the 2023 cycling campaign here:

The “Cycling around the World” campaign organized by international transport and logistics company Gebrüder Weiss ended as a resounding success. For six months, cyclists around the world hopped on their bikes and used a cycling app to record and add up the distances covered. The original goal was to circle the globe once, i.e., to cover a distance of around 40,075 kilometers. The result: participating cyclists substantially exceeded expectations by completing a total distance of 247,000 kilometers, more than six times the length of the equator.

“We would like to thank each cyclist for supporting our campaign. Our aim was to set an example of sustainable mobility. “Cycling around the World” will see a comeback next spring,” says Frank Haas, Head of Corporate Brand Strategy & Communications at Gebrüder Weiss.

The immense success of the campaign is also beneficial for the reforestation project supported by Gebrüder Weiss in cooperation with sustainability partner natureOffice in West Africa. The logistics company financed planting one tree for every 40 kilometers cycled. Thanks to the cyclists’ efforts, the corporate forest in Sokpokopé, Togo, now comprises 5,000 trees and has reached its maximum capacity. The company also donated 20 bicycles to local school children, enabling them to reach a secondary school in Kpalimé every day which would otherwise have been difficult due to the lack of transportation infrastructure.

On April 1, the logistics company Gebrüder Weiss launched a bike campaign entitled “Cycling around the World,” open to cyclists around the world. Cyclists use an app to record and count the kilometers covered through the end of September. The original aim was to cycle a total distance of 40,075 kilometers throughout the campaign – the same as the length of the equator.

The campaign goal was reached just 45 days after it began. The Earth was circled for a second time in mid-June, so Gebrüder Weiss set a new goal: to circle the Earth for a third time covering a total of 120,225 kilometers. A reforestation project in Togo, West Africa, is also benefiting from the sporting ambition of the cyclists: for every 40 kilometers cycled, Gebrüder Weiss, in cooperation with the campaign partner natureOffice, finances the planting of a tree. Two thousand trees will be planted now, and after covering enough kilometers to go around the world three times, the corporate forest will grow by 3,000 trees.

 “We are delighted by the great response to the bike campaign. We certainly believed that the participants would manage to circle the globe together. Still, we never thought they would manage it so quickly,” says Frank Haas, Head of Corporate Brand Strategy & Communications at Gebrüder Weiss. “As a logistics company, we are very supportive of people who set themselves sporting targets and get things moving of their own volition. The campaign also dovetails well with our sustainability strategy of promoting environmentally-friendly mobility. Gebrüder Weiss has also been very close to cycling for many years, being a logistics partner in numerous cycling events,” says Frank Haas, explaining the idea behind the campaign.

Cyclists from inside and outside the company are invited to participate in “Cycling around the World” through the end of September. Participants can choose from six challenges of different lengths, covering distances between 60 and 6,000 kilometers. Gebrüder Weiss is offering prizes for each challenges. 
See here for more information about the campaign: