About five miles out of town, twenty cyclists formed a guard of honour to escort him the rest of the way. Karl had travelled over 50,000 miles, a journey that took 2 years, 3 months, and 24 days. He had cycled 16,000 miles, walked 2,000, and sailed more than 34,000.

During his travels around the world, Karl wore out 15 pairs of shoes, 5 sets of tires, and 3 bicycle chains.