Over Easter weekend, Florianne and I planned to go on a three day bicycle tour. It was going to be Florianne’s first tour on her new bike, having put ~250 km on it since its arrival in early February. Understandably, she was a bit apprehensive about the trip but proper planning and a bit of […]
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Cycling through the Karakum desert in Turkmenistan on a five day transit visa
The sound of the wind blowing in my ears drowns out all other audible impulses. Looking around, I’m surrounded by an arid landscape populated by low shrubs and the occasional dust devil blown up by the wind. My throat is screaming at me to drink, but the hot water in my bottles has failed to […]
Supporting the World Bicycle Relief charity
I’ve long contemplated how my bike ride east can give back to society in a way that is meaningful to me. I considered (Flemish) charities on mental health, but felt I am not properly equipped to promote the message of said charities. While mental health is an important cause and I suggest that you have […]
Reflections on seven weeks of cycling through France, Spain and Portugal – Part 2: Portugal
From Santiago de Compostela to Caminha, Portugal After spending two nights in Santiago de Compostela, I continued south through Galicia. I had made a route that follows paved roads while avoiding busy main roads. As I passed through many smaller villages in Galicia, the route often had me climbing away from the valley floor and […]
Reflections on seven weeks of cycling through France, Spain and Portugal – Part 1
While I am waiting for my Belgian passport to arrive in Torremolinos, so I can continue on to Morocco, I thought I’d share some reflections from the last seven weeks of life on and off the bicycle. First some numbers: I covered just over 4 000kms in 50 days (45 days on the bicycle) and […]
Two week bicycle tour through Belgium, Netherlands and Germany – week 2
For my 2017 summer holidays I considered several options for my first solo multi-week trip by bicycle. On the short list were Iceland (scratched due to only two weeks of time), the popular JOGLE route across Great Britain (also scratched due to time constraints) and cycling North to the most bicycle-friendly city of the world […]
Two week bicycle tour through Belgium, Netherlands and Germany – week 1
For my 2017 summer holidays I considered several options for my first solo multi-week trip by bicycle. On the short list were Iceland (scratched due to only two weeks of time), the popular JOGLE route across Great Britain (also scratched due to time constraints) and cycling North to the most bicycle-friendly city of the world […]