The man who pedaled against leukemia

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When I retired, I held a family council with my wife and children. We agreed that we would sell the house and the cars, which was all we had, and that from then on I would dedicate myself to what I like, which is traveling, and to helping others a little bit. My children know they won't inherit anything, but they are happy," says Juan a few months before embarking on his next solidarity challenge: "the 4,000 of ASCOL", or, what is the same, cycling the 4,000 kilometers that separate his Salamanca from distant Moscow to give visibility to leukemia. One kilometer for every euro he has already managed to raise for this association.

"I will start on June 1st. I travel alone and with very little luggage: a change of clothes and a toiletry bag. On my jersey, I have written the names of 35 patients: Roberto, Thomas, Germán… I also name the daily 120 km stages after them," explains Juan, emotional. "I will stop to take a photo at the Eiffel Tower in Paris and at the remains of the Berlin Wall, which I will send them along with some texts. And they will send me a daily video. When you know the patients, you can only give everything for them."

And he certainly gives everything. At 63 years old, Juan trains every day at 7 am, constantly mobilizes people and resources, and always ends up paying out of his own pocket. Furthermore, he doesn't do tourism in the places he visits because he only thinks about reaching his goal, and assures that he doesn't spend "a single penny. I sleep at people's houses, with the police, firefighters, 112. Despite having been in more than 20 countries, I have no idea of languages, but I manage to ask for a glass of water. People see me alone and looking like an old man, and in the end, I have dinner, breakfast, and sleep there. I always write down their names and details, to return one day with my wife to thank them or to name them in a book where I recount the experience," he says. "But I have to dedicate more time to those people who help me, like the two elderly people from Kosovo, utterly poor, who gave me 6 fried eggs for dinner. I couldn't stop hugging them."

From his experience, he claims to have learned to ask for support: "Before, I didn't know how to do it well and people would tell me 'yes, sure, buddy, yes'. But now I take photos with Vicente del Bosque; Mújica, the former Uruguayan president, helps me a lot (half of the money comes from there); the mayor or the rector of the University of Salamanca receive me… And I say to myself: 'damn!'. And I ask for the money face to face, I take it in cash and then I deposit it with my card on migranodearena.org because, otherwise, for many people it's a hassle. And I also know that if you ask for one euro it's much easier for them to give it to you than if you ask for 2 or 3, which they never find in their pocket…". Behind his results there is a great deal of effort and dedication.

Although not everything is about money. "Now I'm super excited about recruiting bone marrow donors. In this case, money is totally secondary; what is needed are bone marrow donations. I hand out scarves and magnets with a phone number so people can find out what it consists of. Because people think they prick you in the spine and that you have to be put to sleep and hospitalized, when in reality it's as easy as donating blood. Note that Spaniards are the ones who donate the most in everything except bone marrow. That's why right now we get our supply from Germany. Anyway, between the fear that donation gives us, that those over 40 can no longer donate, and that it doesn't always go well… the actual donations end up being few. But I think that if I manage to reach 200 people and 10 of them come to fruition… Well, saving 10 lives is awesome, with all due respect."

In addition to his runs, Juan Sellers volunteers in hospitals, "only on Fridays and Saturdays," and gives talks wherever he is asked, sharing his experiences. "But I'm no hero, eh? The ideal circumstances have arisen for me to carry this out: I have my health, a wife who allows me everything, and I don't need money because I have a small rental house and with my pension we get by with plenty. In my next challenge (for which you can already donate) I will go to London to raise 3,000 euros against Parkinson's. I live on vacation and help people along the way. I am a happy man."

Text: Ana Portolés Photography: Bárbara Lanzat

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