When we ride away from the camping spot I feel that my tire is soft. This immediately explains why I found cycling so incredibly hard yesterday. I was probably already riding with a ‘sloper’. So we start with patching. A little later we leave for the Pastoruri glacier. It doesn’t […]
The white mountains and the green Lees verder..
La Paz, 3625 meters above sea level and with a population of almost one million, marks our last stop in Bolivia. We are guests of a couple of cycling enthusiasts who spoil us with some delicious traditional lunches. In turn, I make an arretjescake for them. Arretjescake is always a
A false start in beautiful Peru Lees verder..
After two weeks of cleaning, sanding, painting and filling in exchange for food and shelter, we leave our WorkAway. We are really looking forward to getting on our bikes again. We start with the 20km to Sucre. A climb, but nothing compared to the climb that still awaits us in
BIG adventures on the worlds BIGGEST salt flat Lees verder..
We only leave the impressive Agua Negra pass behind us at the end of a long day at the Rodeo. An elongated village that extends for several kilometers next to the main road. We are exhausted and longing for a shower, food and rest. There are five campsites on the
DROUGHT, RAIN, HOT, JUNGLE, WIND… NORTH-ARGENTINA! Lees verder..
After a few lazy days in Vicuña, waiting for better weather forecasts at the pass, we get on our bikes. We have 4291 meters of elevation ahead of us in the coming days in an environment without supply options. Yet we have miraculously failed to make an inventory of how
PASO DE AGUA NEGRA Lees verder..
We arrive in Coyhaique a few days before Christmas. The same Warm Showers host family where we stayed 1.5 months ago invited us to stay with them again. In fact, if they leave on holiday three days later, we can stay in the house as long as we want. We
one more time… (the austral) Lees verder..
At 5:30 the alarm clock rings. Our tent is next to the little bus station in Cerro Castillo (130 inhabitants). We have only 50 kilometers on the schedule, 207 elevation gain. We get up this early especially in hopes of riding these kilometers before the wind picks up. After all,
the southernmost point Lees verder..
With bags loaded with groceries from Argentina, we cycle to the Chilean border. There the customs officer asks for the “papers” of our bikes. Papers? It’s a bicycle! Eventually he draws up a little document himself. Color: gray, brand: Santos, wheel size: 26″, year of construction: uuhm, 2015? Once our
Carretera austral part 1 Lees verder..
After several days of rest at Rio Pico, while the rain poured down with torrents and the snow fell from the sky with large flakes, Paul and I decided to get back on. The rest days provided time for evaluation of the recent tough cycling days, self-reflection, reflections and deliberation.
Those who have been following my blogs for some time know that I always made my previous trips alone. It was my ‘first nature’, independence. All the choices up to me to make, every second. All the bears on the road up to me to chase away or conquer. Undisturbed,
Travelling Together Lees verder..
Over 900km of asphalt, sand and gravel has passed under my wheels since I wrote the previous blog. That was in Chos Malal, where on the evening before departure Paul and I decided to leave Ruta 40 and explore the “ruta provincial. These roads are generally unpaved and their condition
An unexpected visit(or) Lees verder..
The Ruta 40, that is the road we were looking forward to. The road that will lead us south along the foothills (and sometimes over the ankles) of the Andes. The road we could follow from Mendoza. At 5224km, it is one of the longest roads in the world. It
Ruta 40, the beginning… Lees verder..
Inside it drips on the ground from the wet clothes, outside it drips from the sky. That’s not as bad as it sounds. Inside, laundry is hanging to dry over curtain rails and open closet doors, outside it is raining for the first time since we left Buenos Aires, right
on our way to the andes Lees verder..
It’s been well over a year since my beautiful, cold, challenging, heavy, sunny, rough, wonderful bikepacking tour in Spain and Portugal. I got back half January after two months of ‘riding rough’, but somehow I didn’t hear about that boat laying quarantined off the Chinese coast till the end of
My previous blog ended with my encounter with the intriguing José. The retired director who chose to live simply and study Peruvian natural medicine. Before I left he drew me a map to find a hot spring near Alhama de Granada. I entered over the ‘camino de los angeles‘
Rock, mud and pigs Lees verder..
That bikepacking is quite different from biketouring is a fact I’d gotten a taste of during the summer. My motivation for this switch was mainly because of the possibilities bikepacking offers to go deeper into (pristine) nature, to visit places where us humans haven’t intervened too much yet and find
Bleak and windy Andalusia Lees verder..
Seated in a comfortable lawn chair, I catch the last yellow rays of sunlight at the end of a hot day. It’s been 35 celsius today, no wonder sweat dripped down my body as I was racing around town this afternoon delivering meds. My broken sacrum has fully healed and
Less kilos, more mud Lees verder..
‘Mwaaahooohaaaaaaaaa…’ Yawns… Stretches out… Is it here? Has spring arrived? Green surrounds me, sunshine warms my face and a few drops of rain land on my tanned bare knees. I squinch my eyes looking at my screen. Yes, spring! I may not have been hibernating, but I just looked at
MESSLIFE, LOVE AND MUNCHING MILES Lees verder..
I’m writing you from a warm apartment in Tilburg (Holland). I’m ‘lucky’ cause I found a comfortable place to stay for almost 6 months. But if you’d told me one year ago that I’d be here today (forced by my body) I would’ve cried my eyes out. Today it’s exactly
A year in the life of… Lees verder..
PLUM VILLAGE A buddhist retreat had been on my wish- and to do list for quite a while. And here I was, at a two week retreat in Plum Village (founded by and home of Thich Nhat Hanh), some 90km east of Bordeaux in France. I wasn’t a ‘strict’ retreat
Three weeks ago I got on my bicycle in the morning heading north. I was gonna ride across the French Pyrenees to the Atlantic and then head towards Morocco through Spain and Portugal. But that night I ended up back in my ‘old’ bed in the house of the Heraclitus
ZEN – purpose – and the art of bike touring Lees verder..
Saturday night, two weeks ago, I got up at 2 a.m. in Utrecht and at 2:30 sharp I got the text ‘I’m here’. My friend and fellow (bicycle) traveller Human had offered to give me a ride to the airport for my early flight to Spain. To our surprise and
La vida en España Lees verder..
Between (re)organising all the travel and cycling gear I’ve collected over the years in my mothers attic, packing my panniers and picking up the last bits here and there I just manage to sit down for a blog. After 6,5 months in the Netherlands and the many supportive messages I
Getting back in the saddle Lees verder..
THE STATE OF ME It’s been three months since I told you ‘how I burned out riding a bicycle‘. And it’s been over five months now since I broke down, and I finally feel like the end is almost in sight. Since a few weeks I’ve been sleeping a little
The world premiere of PEDAL was in Canada , October 2017, the Dutch premiere was last night in Heerlen. So now it’s time to put PEDAL online so everybody can watch it! The succes of this short film, that originated from a encounter between filmmaker Scott Hardesty and me at
As I’ve told you in my previous blog, my arrival back in the Netherlands (due to a broken collarbone) didn’t go very smoothly. Two days after I arrived I broke down and spend three weeks in a haze. When in the third week the curtain of fog lifted again I
HOW TO BURN-OUT RIDING A BICYCLE Lees verder..
(this post was writen on december 18, 2017) When I received an email four weeks ago with the subject ‘Dubai Travelers Festival‘ and starting with ‘Under the patronage of His highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum – Crown Prince of Dubai.’ I wasn’t sure what to think.
Dubai Travelers Festival – A world apart Lees verder..
After three ‘turbulent’ flights I arrived in Calgary in (two) pieces. Stan, who follows my blog, picked me up from the airport. This Polish man opened his home to me and before I put down my head we had a (typical Polish) lovely light meal of bread and butter, different
PEDAL and the Banff Mountain Film Festival Lees verder..
It feels like I’m cycling in Central Asia. The landscape is wide and wavy with brown and green tones and a lake here and there. I’m in Connemara. From Killarney I headed north. The first days it was raining continuously. It’s still damp, but apart from some drizzle it’s ‘dry’.
To become a real cyclist Lees verder..
I arrive in Ireland by ferry in the late afternoon. My only plan for the day is to get away from Rosslare city and harbor and find a place to pitch my tent. In England people told me the wild camping would get easier getting to Wales and even more
Céad Míle Fáilte Lees verder..
It has only been two weeks since I got on my new bicycle in Tilburg to head south. First into Belgium, then France, England and Wales. Now I’ve arrived to Fishguard, my last stop before getting on the ferry to Ireland. Only two weeks and I’ve seen and experienced so
As if I never left Lees verder..
2 months in the Netherlands after 13 months living as a nomad. What’s that like? First of all, it’s great to talk my native language again. No matter how fluent my English is, it’s still different to express myself in the language I grew up speaking. Ever since day two
I came, saw.. and took off again.. Lees verder..
It’s been four weeks now since I landed in the Netherlands. Yesterday I did my first presentation about the ride from Alaska to Costa Rica. Now it’s time to also write about how, looking back at it, I’ve experienced this trip. But I also want to explain some practical stuff
Looking back now…. Lees verder..
On the sofa, in the living room of my mum’s house in Tilburg, with the Tour the France on TV in the background, it’s hard to imagine that two weeks ago I was riding my bike in Honduras. But I was. I rode into Honduras after crossing through beautiful El
Filming in Costa Rica and why I flew home Lees verder..
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras. Countries that would let many father- and mother heart shake with anxiety at the thought of their child traveling through ’em. Countries that are famous for their high murder rate, their drugs trafficking and gangs. The hearts of my parents shook too when I told them
The infamous Northern Triangle and a visit of a TV crew Lees verder..
BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP.. My phone wakes me up. Since I arrived in the south I get up before sunrise every morning. I pack my stuff, have breakfast and try to be on my bicycle as soon as it gets light. I write ‘try’, because it seems to get light earlier every morning
On rocky roads and how to warm a nomadic heart Lees verder..
In my last blog I wrote about my ‘speed-course: tourist’. In the recent weeks I’ve been able to enjoy the normal daily life in Mexico and with the Mexicans. After a day in Mexico city in which I visited ‘Saptel‘, a helpline for people in psychological need, and strolled around
If you turn your holiday into your daily life, it’s no longer a holiday. Twelve years ago I got on my bicycle for my first cycling trip. My motivation: independency, to see the world, curiosity, challenge and to grow as a human being. At that time I wasn’t as aware
SPEED COURSE: TOURIST Lees verder..
It’s hot! It’s hot! It feels as if a belt is strapped around my head. Another few gulps of water. My stomach feels like a ball that’s pumped up to hard. I’m nauseous but I don’t have to throw up, neither go to the toilet. Blegh! This is no fun!
‘Before I tell you my story, I want to take you with me on one particular part of my travels. What’s the hottest temperature you’ve ever been in? 90 degrees, 100? Can you remember how hot that felt? The feeling of being baked. The sweat dripping into your eyes. Clothes
A brief visit to the north Lees verder..
I bounce around on my bike on a dirt road with washboard relief, up and down, left and right. My panniers clatter an unclear rhythm. My bike isn’t made for this! And neither am I… That isn’t true, my bicycle actually is made for this! But it suddenly doesn’t feel
Not a sign in sight to point me the way to the border. I decide to ask a pedestrian; ‘How do I get to Mexico?’. He shows me the way and within minutes I pass by a short traffic jam waiting for their turn with customs, still, not a sign
ME ENCANTA LOS MARIACHIS Lees verder..
*PANG KLANG YEEHAAAAA* in other words: I’M BACK! Recharged, rested, motivated, happy! Wild awake! Two weeks of non-stop camping, vast empty landscapes of steppe and desert, away from ‘civilization’, sun on my face and a book instead of my laptop; that turned out to be the recipe to regain my
COMING HOME IN THE DESERT Lees verder..
With sunglasses on my nose, a tanktop on and a clear blue sky above me I’m looking out over the white mountains of the Sierra Nevada. Behind those mountains lies Yosemite National Park. All roads crossing the park are closed due to snow. ‘Sierra Nevada‘ is Spanish for ‘snow covered
Code Red in the Sierra Nevada Lees verder..
2016 In 2016 I took a turn. An unsigned turn without a street name, an unpaved road not to be found on any map or GPS. Without certainty about where it would lead, what the surface would be like, if it could be a dead end road, have side trails
2017 DESTINATION UNKNOWN Lees verder..
I have to admit that over the last few months ‘crossing the United States‘ started to seem more like a necessity then a pleasure to me. The forecast of traveling through a country where ‘consuming’ seems to be the foundation of the Maslow pyramid didn’t seem very enticing to me.
‘You haven’t been gone that long yet..‘ my brother said to me on the phone this morning, as we casually discussed when I might be in the Netherlands again. Amazing how perception of time can differ. Thinking back of leaving my studio in Tilburg, now 7 months ago, and the
6 months on the road Lees verder..
It’s 4 p.m. when I arrive at the (closed) campground in Yahk. Yahk, as I was told, is a village of about 40 people scattered over three gasstations, two closed hotels, two closed privately owned campgrounds and a few houses. As I’m pitching my tent the rain sets in, it’d
SHOCKED AND INSPIRED AND CROSSING THE BORDER Lees verder..
9 days, that’s how long it took before I felt good enough to get back on the bike. 9 days in which I felt a little bit better every day, but in which my head would still go a bit hazy and blurry in the evenings. At the end of
Back on the bike.. into the snow! Lees verder..
My latest blog I wrote on October 9th. The next day I was going to start at the Icefiedls Parkway. Nonetheless I didn’t get to post it until October 13th, still in Jasper. This blog is about what happened during the days in between. Saturday night October 9th I’ve just
…and then it all collapsed Lees verder..
A trip is like a dish, a combination of ingredients. Sometimes it’s like a three course menu; a memorable starter (where and how I wake up), a sublime main course (the bikeride itself) and a delicious dessert (the arrival and the evening). Other times the full day is like a
The taste of canada Lees verder..
This whole trip started with wanting to see and experience Alaska. Strongly inspired by ‘Into the Wild’, where Chris McCandless refers to the wilderness, the ‘real’ Alaska, as ‘Alaska Alaska’. I came, saw and experienced! I went without a real plan and ended up spending over 2 months there. I
My ALASKA Alaska in video Lees verder..
Right at the moment when I open my laptop to get started on my new blogpost the emergency alarm rings. My heartbeat trips for a moment while my brain immediately starts working and determining my position. What’s the procedure? Where can I go? Half a minute at most tell the
Getting used to wilderness Lees verder..
..or ‘SAYING GOODBYE TO ALASKA’ About 50 meters before the border was a nice viewing point. I just noticed a sign saying the border closes at 9pm instead of 6pm as remembered to have read somewhere. So I would be fine stopping here even at 5:50pm and look back on
It’s a fine line… Lees verder..
It’s me! As I got out of the shower and looked in the mirror I saw it, like I do every time after a hard, extreme, showerless, multiday ride; Hera! I’m surprised to see I haven’t changed at all and at the same time I look like a new person.
An unexpected northbound turn Lees verder..
Getting ready to write my blog, sitting at my laptop at the Denali National Park entrance, all I can think is; ‘there is so much to tell.’ The more impressions you gain and the more new things you experience the longer the timeperiod seems that went by. I remember reading
Getting to know Alaska Lees verder..
A-LAS-KA! ALASKAAAAAAAA!!! Finally I’m here! Finally. I’m in that one place that was on the top of my wish list for so long. After fighting headwinds for two days like crazy, I made only 35km today to get to the only place with wifi along this highway. I thought I’d
The Last Frontier Lees verder..
Last april 6th, exactly 1 year after I rode my bicycle intro Germany at the start of my Europe-Asia trip, I received an email from Mustard, a Czech digital content agency. Škoda (car brand and sponsor of many bicycle events) would like to make a promo with me for their
*NEWS* WE LOVE CYCLING PROMO! Lees verder..
Hafnarfjörður! ‘Aah! Hafnarfjörður!!’ Exactly, that place where I got on my bicycle 4 weeks ago, butterflies tickling my stumac. That’s where I arrived two days ago to complete my one month in Iceland by writing a blogpost and organizing my stuff for the flight to Alaska. I cycled a lot,
Peaceful, spacious and rugged Lees verder..
It’s been 16 days now since I started my ‘big trip’. At this moment there’s 988km on the speedometer of my bicycle. That’s not a world shocking amount, it’s not nothing either. In Hafnarfjordur I decided to head towards the west fjords (geologically the oldest part of Iceland), uncrowded and
The Iceland Experience Lees verder..
Hafnarfjörður! What? Hafnarfjörður … that’s Icelandic for “harbor fjord” and Iceland’s third largest city with 27,000 inhabitants! From behind my laptop I have a view over this metropolis, and behind it I see the looming black gray mountains of the interior, still covered with snow. But first we go back
From leaving to having left Lees verder..
