520 kilometres and 17,215 metres of elevation gain in 7 days
In July, steps will receive sporting support from Ronny Staps and Markus Kaiser. The team tells you in an interview what the two are planning and how they will carry steps into the Alps.
Please introduce yourselves in a meaningful way: who are you and what connects you?
Ronny: My name is Ronny Staps, I am 39 years old and work as a product designer at a medical technology design agency in Hamburg. I am now a father of 2 sons aged 4 and 6.
Markus: My name is Markus Kaiser, I am also 39 years old, married and the father of 4 children (13, 11, 7 and 3 years old). I ended up in Franconia. More precisely, in Forchheim, near Erlangen/Nuremberg. I work there as an engineer, also in medical technology.
Ronny: We both come from Münchenbernsdorf, a small town in eastern Thuringia. We went to school there together, trained in football and basketball or simply played computer games. Later, we lived together in our first student flatshare in Jena.
Since when have you been mountain biking and how did it come about?
Ronny: For a long time, the mountain bike was my usual means of transport as a teenager, to get to friends, training sessions or meeting places in town. In 2007, when we were still students in Jena and Weimar, we had the idea of crossing the Alps by bike along the old Roman trade routes and cycling to Lake Garda (on the Via Claudia Augusta). On our first crossing of the Alps, we chose a somewhat easier route. On the tours that followed, the number of metres of elevation gain kept increasing, with significantly more off-road sections!
Markus: For me, our 2007 tour was the spark that got me into mountain biking. It was still an adventure back then. Without a smartphone and GPS. It quickly developed into something more later on. By now, I have developed a general love of cycling and endurance sports.
from left: Ronny and Markus on a training ride in April. A little muddier than expected but happy and full of anticipation for the Alps in summer!
In the summer, you will take part in one of Europe's toughest MTB races – the Maxxis BIKE Transalp. Why did you decide to do it?
Ronny: Riding the BIKE Transalp had been a dream of ours ever since we took part in our first mountain bike marathon in Thuringia. At the time, this stage race was still a bit too big for us. Both in terms of figures such as kilometres and metres of elevation gain, but also financially. We were still studying at the time. At weekends, we travelled together to regional MTB races and simply enjoyed riding over roots and soaking up the sporting atmosphere. We always started as individuals over different distances. We never won – apart from a towel for finishing 7th overall in the Thüringer Energie Bike-Cup 2009 🙂
Markus: Since we stood together at the start of a mountain bike marathon again in 2022 (the EBM – Erzgebirgs Bike Marathon) and finished the 24h race at the Nürburgring as a team in 2023, we decided to take part in the BIKE Transalp for the first time in 2024, together as a team of two. If not now, when!
You have a great idea – you want to take us along on the stages and start together as a steps team, wearing matching, self-designed steps jerseys. Is there a way to support you in your sporting challenge?
Ronny: First and foremost, we want to give steps visibility within the cycling bubble. We want to draw attention to this great project and the great work carried out by the staff and volunteers on the ground, as we know first-hand what is being done there for the children and young people.
Markus: We will share our experiences, as well as some of our preparations for the race, on social media: Linkedin – Facebook – Instagram
We are delighted that you are bringing steps to the Alps. How did you hear about the steps for children foundation?
Ronny: In 2015, my wife Barbara wanted to support a charitable social organisation as a volunteer. That is how she discovered steps for children and subsequently worked in Gobabis for 6 months, teaching alongside the local staff and also helping with the daily lunchtime routine. Although I was unable to be there in person, apart from a few overnight stays at the steps guesthouse at the beginning of her time there, I was able to experience at close hand in the following months how directly and immediately steps for children makes an impact and gives children and young people prospects through education, social community and at least one reliable, warm meal a day. That made a lasting impression on me!
Is there anything that has particularly convinced you about steps for children?
Ronny: Personally, I have the impression that your work in Namibia is always carried out together with the local people and that participation in the implementation is completely normal. I think it is great that you trust the motivation of the local staff to implement the projects! I believe that this is one of the things that helps ensure that the support provided through your foundation reaches people directly on the ground!
Markus: When you find out about steps, you immediately notice the personal enthusiasm of each individual involved. The transparency regarding which projects you support and how donations are used is also exemplary. The sheer number of projects you support is impressive as well.
When you read about steps, you immediately notice the personal enthusiasm of every single person involved. The transparency about which projects you support and how donations are used is exemplary.
Markus Kaiser
They designed the jerseys themselves! That is how the two of them will get started and ride for a good cause, to tell even more people about our activities in Namibia. And who knows, maybe we will see the two of them at the start of the Desert Dash in Namibia next time?
We have various steps – that is, social and income-generating measures that you can get involved in: Do you have a project close to your heart?
Ronny: Definitely the steps preschool in combination with the Guardian Angel Program. This enables the children to transition to local primary schools and thus gives them a perspective as well. steps staff members and volunteers accompany the children “step-by-step” on their educational journey and also support them with seemingly mundane administrative steps. Without steps, some children from the settlements might not take “the path to school”! After all, you have to start your school career before you can successfully complete it.
What do you wish for the steps children in Namibia?
Ronny: School is a long journey for every child before they complete it and what they have learned can open new doors one day. We hope that all schoolchildren will stick with it and become School Finishers, even when there are difficult phases!
Without steps, some children from the settlements might not take “the path to school”! You have to start your school career before you can successfully complete it.
Ronny Staps
Is there something you are grateful for?
Ronny: We are grateful to have our children and to be supported by our families as we prepare for the race! And of course, we are delighted that we can fulfill a dream with the BIKE Transalp this year. We hope that we will be healthy and fit when we start.
Markus: And the icing on the cake is that we will take you along for the race and be allowed to start as the “steps for children” team!
Dear Ronny, dear Markus, we wish you lots of fun and success in the sporting challenge and sincerely thank you for giving our work in Namibia visibility at this event in the Alps and for standing up for steps with heart and conviction yourselves!
