A couple of days rest were enough to get us very eager to climb higher on the mountain! In basecamp, we met other climbers, though none were there to climb Denali. We dug up our food caches and tried to pack all our supplies for the next three weeks on the mountain. Julien had a new mattress flown in after his started to delaminate, while I finally managed to repair a small puncture in mine.
Julien digging the cache
Marc De Keyser from weather4expeditions.com started sending us daily weather updates simply because he believed in our project, thanks so much for that! After enjoying some good food and much needed recovery, we headed back up the mountain.
Strategy and First Rotations
Our plan was to take our heavy sleds as high as possible, making rotations to acclimatise and conserve energy. On the first day, conditions were ideal, the snow was firm, preventing our sleds from sinking. We made excellent progress and soon arrived at Camp 1. Thanks to our 10-day trek into the mountain instead of flying in, we felt strong and efficient as a team.
The next day, we moved up to Camp 2 with relative ease, buried some food, and continued toward Camp 3. Just before reaching it, we left the Kahiltna Glacier, a special moment as we had now traversed its full length. The final stretch to Camp 3 was tougher, with icy conditions requiring us to attach ski crampons. Leading a steeper and icy section, I suddenly lost grip due to the sled’s pull and fell. Fear surged through me at the thought of dragging Julien down, but I managed to roll over and arrest my fall. A bit shaken but relieved, we reached Camp 3 and carefully searched for a safe campsite, avoiding crevasses and avalanche prone terrain. After another hour of digging a platform and building protective walls, we settled in.
early morning after camp 1the whole glacier we crossed!Some frustrations heading up ski hilljust buried our cachealmost up to camp 3making camp 3protected (for now)
The following day, we retrieved the supplies we had buried at Camp 2 and returned to Camp 3, ready for the next stage.
Perfect Timing
Marc’s weather updates were crucial in planning our ascent. Making the right decisions was mentally difficult, especially with no one else on the mountain, no trails, no platforms, just us and the elements. We pushed for Camp 3 ahead of worsening weather, hoping to climb above the clouds and benefit from the sun and calmer conditions. Somehow, we managed to stay above the clouds most of the time, and our timing was spot on.
protected from some windrelaxing above the clouds
From Camp 3, we could see Motorcycle Hill. It didn’t look too technical at first glance, but it was icy. After navigating the hard ice and snow with heavy sleds, we reached the top within an hour. “This is why we love this,” Julien said as we saw the beautiful views.
Up motorcycle hill
Next came Squirrel Hill, a steep and icy traverse where our sleds constantly pulled us sideways. Each step needed to be taken carefully to avoid being pulled off balance. Falling here would be disastrous, but thankfully, there were no crevasses.
Windy Corner, known for its high winds, was our next challenge. The ice was blue and hard, making foot placement difficult while our sleds pulled us sideways. I was leading and felt immense pressure, any mistake could be fatal. At one point, I stepped onto what looked like firm snow, only to sink in waist-deep. A small crevasse fall, but still very scary. My heavy sled pulled me sideways, making it tricky to escape. Staying calm, I assessed my situation while Julien encouraged me. Eventually, I crawled out, and we carefully crossed Windy Corner. Relieved but aware that we’d have to face it again, we pressed on.
just getting out of the crevasseburied our cache past windy corner
We navigated a few more crevasse fields before reaching a gentle, sunny slope where we buried our supplies before heading all the way back down to Camp 3, exhausted but satisfied with our progress.
back down to camp 3exhaleusted
Pushing Higher
The next day, we left Camp 3 with really heavy packs, we left our sleds and skis in camp to avoid the sidepulling struggle. While physically harder, it made the ascent much easier. We passed Windy Corner with more confidence despite the cold wind and finally arrived at Camp 4. After another hour of digging and building walls, we felt great and closer to the summit. We spotted the next section of the route to camp 5, we’re almost there!
the view from camp 4probing for a good camp spot
After a good night’s rest, we retrieved our buried supplies and spent the afternoon making our walls stronger. It felt like being kids again, building a snow fortress, but this time against the fierce storms that could hit at any moment. The next day was a rest day, enjoying the views and taking naps as needed. The summit felt within reach.
that head wall looks icy!protected
But one major obstacle remained: the Headwall.
A Critical Decision
The Headwall is a steep section usually equipped with fixed lines, allowing climbers to ascend with relative ease using jumars. We had been warned about its icy conditions at the time and expected the fixed lines to be buried or frozen in. After an hour of climbing from Camp 4, we reached the Bergschrund at its base. We spotted ropes, but they were under extreme tension.
high above camp 4there’s our backpack!climbing up the head wallsomewhere on the head walljust below the head wall
Julien climbed up to assess them, and we had no choice but to cut one loose. I anchored myself and our gear before cutting into the rope, expecting a violent snap. The moment my knife touched it, the rope snapped with such force that it pulled out our anchor and sent one of our backpacks flying. We watched helplessly as it tumbled down the mountain, stopping just before a crevasse. We calmed down and went down for the pack, then returned to the Headwall.
Freeing the frozen lines required hours of chopping with our ice axes in -30°C temperatures at 4500m elevation. By sunset, we had only made it halfway up, completely exhausted. Back at Camp 4, we had a serious decision to make. We needed more technical gear to safely climb the Headwall. The forecast showed two perfect summit days ahead, but beyond that, some bad weather came in. Staying in Camp 4 for a week, risking our supplies would finish, was not an option.
views from C 4some huge crevasses below C4heading back downback to basecamp in worsening conditions
With heavy hearts, we made the difficult but necessary decision to descend. We contacted Brian, who, despite it being his birthday, drove for hours to buy and deliver fresh supplies to the company that would airdrop them to basecamp.
I felt defeated, but Julien reminded me: “If anyone can pull this off, it’s you.” His words helped me find my motivation. This was an epic adventure, if it was easy, I wouldn’t be here.
Many thanks to my sponsors who make this adventure possible!
After some much needed rest and recovery in Talkeetna, I could feel myself getting stronger. Thanks to the care and valuable information shared by Brian and Diane, I started to believe I could really pull this off. On April 2nd, Julien landed, and we immediately dove into preparations for five intense weeks in the Alaskan wilderness.
Climbing partner wanted!Brian and his father Jim have the greatest Alaskan storiesmore shopping!the beautiful views from Brian’s home
Nice to Meet You!
When Julien landed in Anchorage on April the 2nd, it was an exciting moment, we had never met before! After my original partner was injured in a climbing accident, I was in a rush to find someone new. Those weeks were stressful, filled with searching for the right person. Then, Julien crossed my path.
Our first meeting went smoothly, and it didn’t take long to see that Julien was a responsible and strong climber, exactly the kind of partner I needed for this expedition.
Doomsday Preppers
The following week was a whirlwind. Brian drove us to various stores, from huge supermarkets to outdoor shops, as we stocked up on food and gathered the last pieces of equipment. While it was hectic, it was also fun, our excitement for the journey was building every day.
one of the many shopping cartsprepping
We collected as much information as possible about the approach to basecamp and dropped off some of our supplies with Talkeetna Air Taxi, who would fly the items to basecamp for us.
First of the Season
We were the first climbers of the season to begin an expedition on Denali, and the rangers made it very clear: we were the only ones on the mountain, so a rescue would not be possible. The rangers were extremely helpful and excited about our trip. We felt very supported by them but we knew that safety was our top priority. If anything went wrong, we would be completely on our own.
training and training for crevasse rescue testing our equipment it’s official testing our setupour last meal (stoofvlees!)
While waiting for the perfect weather window, Julien and I practiced crevasse rescue techniques over and over. The terrain ahead was daunting: more than 100 kilometers on the Denali range’s largest glacier, with enormous crevasses waiting to test us.
Let’s Gooo!
On April the 8th, it was finally time to start. Brian drove us to the last point I had cycled to (Petersville Road), and we loaded up our gear. The snow conditions were still decent, and Brian joined us for the first couple of hours. Having him with us was incredible; Brian is a true Denali legend. I felt honored to have his support and guidance.
truckload full of gearPetersville Road where I cycled to2 legends (Brian and Luigi)
After we said goodbye, we were on our own. We knew the next few weeks would be spent in complete isolation, deep in the Alaskan wilderness. For the first two days, we followed a snowmobile trail to the Kahiltna River. From there, we turned right into the wilderness, heading straight for the glacier’s starting point (more accurate it’s the end point). The experience was surreal, breaking trail as the first team of the season, surrounded by breathtaking landscapes, and hearing the sound of water running beneath the frozen river.
Fork’s roadhouseright turn into the wild!Following snowmobile tracks to the river
Battling the Bushes
Before the trip, we had spoken to locals, including Erden Eruç, who completed this same feat 20 years ago. They warned us that navigating through the brush would be one of the toughest challenges. Manoeuvring sleds through dense vegetation wasn’t easy, but we mostly followed frozen river branches, which made things manageable. Occasionally, we had to climb to the banks, scout for a path, and continue.
enjoying those viewsughhhmaking the best out of it
Camping felt comfortable for me, temperatures around -10°C felt comfortable to me after months of winter cycling. For Julien, though, this was his first expedition. Despite being an experienced climber, it took him some time to adapt. Efficiency is critical in such journeys, and my past experience allowed me to handle tasks instinctively. This dynamic allowed us to grow as a team, preparing us for the challenges ahead. Soon Julien got the hang of it and every day things got a little bit easier for him.
Unlike most climbers who fly into basecamp, we were tackling the approach on foot. That gave us the time to refine our systems and grow stronger as a team, a process that usually happens later for those who skip this part of the journey.
Onto the Glacier Highway
After about a week, we reached the final moraine of the glacier. Getting there was a struggle, navigating uphill through bushes and dragging sleds that constantly flipped over tested our patience. But finally, we pitched our tent on the glacier, ready for the next phase.
battling up the morainecrossing the river on snow bridges, very exciting!almost on top
Navigating became easier from this point. The glacier provided a clear path to follow (just staying in the middle and go up), and we no longer had to worry about bears. However, the glacier brought its own challenges.
New Troubles
There was a lot of snow on the glacier. The deep snow was a double-edged sword, it provided safety on the crevasses due to bigger snow bridges but made pulling sleds exhausting. I was particularly worried about crossing large crevasse zones, which Erden had described as slow and difficult. Some of the zones were a bit stressful but thankfully the snow bridges were strong. We managed to navigate safely, the massive crevasses we passed were a beautiful sight and made us feel very small and vulnerable.
getting clean in campthe highway up the glacier
One day, heavy snowfall reduced visibility to nearly zero. We decided to rest, but had to dig out the tent regularly to avoid being buried. By the next morning, only the top of the tent was visible under the snow.
heavy workpancake time!good morning!
The fresh snow made progress even harder as our sleds sank deeply into it. Still, after 11 days, we made it to basecamp!
Ready to Climb
Reaching basecamp felt like a major victory. We didn’t fall in any crevasse, my major concern and felt great. Although we were tired, we had become a more efficient team. The plan was to rest for a 2 days, dig up our supplies, and prepare for the climb.
Made it to basecamp!new supplies thanks to Brian!Food!
After the journey through the Alaskan wilderness, we felt ready for the next stage. The excitement was building, this climb was starting to feel possible.
After a rest day in Smithers, I got back on the road, bracing myself for long stretches of solitude. Winter, which had been relatively mild at -22°C, suddenly got much colder in the weeks that followed. It felt wild and lonely, but I kept pushing toward my goal.
One Last Stop in Kitwanga
Staying with Deb and Lothar from Warmshowers in Smithers was a great break. It gave me the energy to face the upcoming cold snap. I knew from the forecast that it would only get colder as I moved north. For the first few days, I was still on bigger roads with the occasional chance to warm up. A gas station coffee became a small but welcome luxury.
Soon, I reached Kitwanga, my last real stop before things became more remote. I had a chat with my girlfriend and enjoyed a final coffee at a roadside restaurant. From there, I turned onto the scenic Stewart-Cassiar Highway, known for being remote, especially in winter.
The Solitude Begins
It didn’t take long before I was truly alone. Winter meant most places were closed, and I faced a 160 km stretch before I could find anywhere to stop. Back in Smithers, I stocked up on 10 days’ worth of food, as there wouldn’t be a proper grocery store for 1,200 km.
For the first few days, I made good progress, but the cold, isolation, and lack of fresh food started to wear me down. I often wondered, “How am I going to pull this off?” The journey felt impossibly long.
On the entire Stewart-Cassiar Highway, I only had two places to sleep inside. Each day, just a few cars passed, and most people only took pictures of me from their vehicles. The only communication I had was through text messages on my inReach device, which forced me to get creative to pass the time. Sometimes I talked to myself, but I’m not even sure what about. I focused on staying in the moment, breaking the journey into small chunks.
Entering the Yukon
After the long stretch of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway, I rejoined the Alaska Highway. I hoped for more supplies, but everything was still closed for the winter. The Yukon felt magical, though, and crossing into it was a reason to celebrate. But with that came the real cold—temperatures dropped to -40°C, making each day a battle.
The physical challenge was hard enough, but the mental strain was even worse. I was tired of being stuck in my own head, day after day. I started questioning why I was even doing this.
Reflecting on the Journey
I’ve been doing this project for 11 years now, and I’m feeling tired in a new way. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still motivated, but I’ve realized I need to find a better balance between expeditions and my life back in Belgium. I promised myself that future trips would be shorter, with more people joining me, and definitely not as isolated.
The stretch to Whitehorse was tough—extreme cold with headwinds made for long, miserable days. I cycled with heavy-duty mittens, but even stopping for a quick break would mean freezing immediately. Comfort only lasted for a few minutes at a time.
Small Moments of Joy
Sometimes, a little kindness made all the difference. One day, a car stopped to give me a donut, which made me happy for the rest of the day. It’s moments like that on trips like this that remind me not to take things for granted.
Near the end of the ride to Whitehorse, I got some bad news. My climbing partner had been injured in a fall. I was on the phone when I took my gloves off and ended up cycling with freezing hands. My ring finger went numb, and I worried I might lose feeling permanently, but thankfully it came back after some painful defrosting.
I had more than just physical stress. Now, I had to find a new climbing partner. Finding someone you trust takes months, if not years, but after reaching out to friends, I got lucky. Julien Roels applied to join me, and with the help of my sponsor, we managed to get him on board.
Rest and Refuel
After a few days of much-needed rest in Whitehorse, I stayed with Warmshowers hosts, Tony and Christel, which gave me the social contact I craved after days of isolation. Their hospitality gave me the energy I needed to finish the final leg to Alaska.
The ride to Haines Junction was one of the most beautiful parts of the trip. Surrounded by mountains, even the CBC stopped to interview me. Someone also gifted me banana bread, which was such a treat! I spent the night with a family in Haines Junction, which was another lovely break.
Pushing Through to Alaska
But soon, I was back to long, lonely stretches. It was cold, often snowy, and the roads seemed endless. The highlight was finally crossing into Alaska after nearly three years of travel. It felt like an accomplishment, but the excitement faded quickly, and I found myself counting down the miles each day.
One day, I was lucky enough to see a lynx cross the road—a rare and thrilling moment! But a few days later, I was hit with a stomach bug, making the final stretch to Anchorage even tougher. I barely had the energy to ride but didn’t want to stop because I was running out of food.
The Last Stretch
The last days of cycling were a real struggle. I was exhausted and just wanted it to be over. I made it to Petersville Road, the final stop before switching to skis for the trek to the glacier and mountain.
At the end of the road, Brian and Diane Okonek picked me up. They welcomed me into their home and helped me prepare for the next part of the expedition. I’m so grateful for their support—they’re true legends in the mountaineering world and a huge part of the success of this journey!
Thanks to my sponsors for making this journey possible!
After arriving in Seattle I felt I needed a break. As planned I went back to Belgium. This was meant for some quality time with my loved ones and preparing for the last stretch to Denali.
Prepping
It’s been a huge preparation for this part as I’ll be cycling for about 4000km through cold dark and remote areas. Then it’s on the skis for another 14 days before I can even start to think about climbing up. Luckily for the approach part and the climb I’m teaming up with Jeroen, a climbing friend from Belgium.
My physical preparation consisted mainly of endurance training (running and cycling), interval training, climbing and strength training. This all combined with enough rest and recovery so I’m not tired before setting off.
Another important block was to organise all the gear and go over the rope techniques we’ll need in Alaska. The gear list is immense and it gave me a lot of stress figuring out what to take, not only for climbing but on the bike as well! Luckily I’ve got some great sponsors helping me attain the best possible gear and I even got a new one! This year Petzl will provide me with all the necessary climbing gear.
The mental state
Being in Belgium gave me a mental boost and after all the preparation I feel ready to get this final stage done. It won’t be easy as I’ll have to cycle for 2 months alone in winter. I’m expecting temperatures down to -40°C, long dark rides and icy roads. As said before, I’m ready to go and full of new energy, the good time with friends, family and my girlfriend Valerie have helped me getting lot’s of motivation back! I feel like I’m getting more and more support by doing this so thank you all for reading and sending in those messages
The last start to the great north
By the end of January I started cycling again from Seattle. A big thanks to my friends David and Nathalie for helping me out in their hometown! With a loaded bike, full of winter gear and very excited I start for a couple of days riding in the rain. Not very pleasant but by using Erden Eruç (he did the same traject and climb 21 year ago) advice I got out of the city pretty safely.
The first couple of days go great and very soon I’m in Canada. Because of soutern wind systems, I’m getting rain, but tailwinds as well. Just before entering Canada there are some floodings and it’s not easy to find a place to camp. I’m wet and tired so I decide to cross the border at night and continue cycling to a motel to dry my stuff. It’s still a long and hard ride to come. The border crossing went fairly easy and I feel immediately welcome in Canada!
A whole new country
Cycling in Canada feels different, I get closer to the mountains but it still stays pretty warm (up to 10°C, yes it’s metric, or partially here!), but wet. The roads feel a bit more relaxed although many people are still driving huge cars compared to what I’m used of. I follow highway 1 to Hope, where I’ll be heading North. I can’t really wait to get more north as it should be drier over those mountain passes.
Pushing on
It got a lot drier over the hills, and colder. Which feels good in a way and I’m up to make good progress. I’m following highway 97 all the way to Prince George. There’s no real alternative and I’m expecting much harder conditions further up these roads so I’m pushing to get a good headstart. After a couple of days it gets colder and I need to adapt.
I start to wonder how will I ever pull this off??? It seems so far away and so very tough cycling, realising I’ll be out in sub zero temperatures for months! But like most things, I get used to it and the first time -5°C feels hard, but after -10°C it feels a lot nicer. Regularly I get to see beautiful views, which help to get me distracted. Because the long boring roads in winter make it lonely rides during the day. Distances between stops are growing and I feel like just one gas station in a day is a luxury.
Let it snow
While cycling I get to facetime a lot with my girlfriend which gives some extra distraction. For now I can still do that as the phone reception is okay in this area, so happy and grateful for this.
In Prince George I take a day off, I feel after 10 days of cycling it’s not a bad idea and I had some snow during the cycling. I got away with my gravel tires, but on some occasions it got pretty sketchy. I swapped for my winter (studded) tires and did some maintenance for the extreme cold. I make a change of route planning and I’m heading west before going north, just to have a safer and more scenic route.
Smithers is the last decent sized town I’m passing by, so another time to get a day off and prepare for the long stretches of nothing. During my cycle here I saw some beautiful places and it got colder, one night down to -22° which was a bit chilly. But strangely it’s warming up again. Good news for me that this is a very mild winter, bu not so good for the environment here…
As I’m in Smithers preparing and eating a lot I feel nervous for what’s coming up. Most people here think I’m crazy and have never seen a cyclist here this time of year. I know I’m in for some serious long stretches and taking food for more than a week on the bike at least. Next big stop will be in 1200km (whitehorse), see you on the other side!
Thanks to all my sponsors who make this adventure possible!
I’m currently writing (while being sick) this blog post in Yosemite valley, with limited internet access. I will try and upload the pictures of this blog entry later on. It’s a long story as I didn’t write this for a while…
After a couple of days rest and goodbye to Marie, it was time for me to hit the road on my own gain. The first couple of days where filled with mixed feelings, excited about what I was up for and missing Marie. Enjoying the fact of being alone and just being alone. Hard to describe, but I hope you get it.
Beautiful wild
The first couple of days I made very good progress, the result of cycling alone and nothing else to do. Something I expected, but despite that I really enjoyed the cycling. Oaxaca was a bit of a chaos to get out of, but wasn’t that bad after all. As I was cycling up North, I had a contact from TV Azteca where they asked me to make a report for the news near Mexico City. I made a detour to the big chaotic city for that, but first I had to go to Puebla for that. The ride there was beautiful, in between cacti fields and the canon alas verdes. It brought me to some beautiful places to wild camp, near rivers to wash and get water.
5 minutes of fame
After a days rest (and climbing) in Puebla, I left for a big challenge: entering Mexico City. It was going to be a tough day! With some big hills and a tv crew following me, I knew this was gonna be difficult. The same time traffic gets more and more busy and I was cycling on a major highway to Mexico City. When I met the crew almost at the top of the last hill, we had lunch together and set off for some filming. This means; riding back and forth several times to get the best shots, forgetting to eat and drink and do some interviews. Then it was time to go all the way down into the valley of Mexico City, a thrilling descent ending up in major traffic jams. We split up our route, making arrangements to meet in the evening at the main square of Mexico City. What came next was crazy! Cycling through one of the biggest cities in the world is never boring!
You just have to keep an eye on yourself and traffic the whole time, it’s not the first time in situations like this (Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Lagos,…), but it never gets boring… It made me realise why I try to avoid the biggest cities.
When I arrived at the main square we made a last interview and then I searched for a hotel in the area. I was extremely tired and needed some good rest. The next day I was just too tired to do anything
Getting high
I got contacted by Sergio, a Mexican climber, on Facebook. He invited me to stay at his place and go climb with his friends. So after an easy day in the centre of Mexico City I cycled all the way to his place. Surprisingly it was very easy to cycle and quite a lot of green around. Never expected this from such a big and crowded city but Komoot made a very nice route around. The next couple of days we went climbing there and realising I’m out of climbing shape. They took me out on some crack climbing, a very specific style, which we hardly have any of in Belgium so that was an eye opener!
These couple of days have been great, good climbing, good food, good drinks and lots of laughing. They really treated me as family and I was sad to leave after a couple of days. To avoid the big traffic I decided to take the off road path outside the valley. A beautiful climb up to 3200m, but pretty hard and for sure the descent. I wished I had brought my mountainbike on the steep trails there. Crazy to say, but I didn’t see a human being after 10am and leaving one of the biggest city in the world.
Detours
It would be too easy to get straight to the US from there, so I decided to make a couple of detours. First I went to Toluca, to pick up my waterfilter at a warmshowers host (thank you Memo, Jonathan and Elements for setting this up!). Where I continued to Queretaro, to be hosted by Alex, a Belgian cyclist I met in Senegal. He lives now in Mexico and definitely wanted to see him. He and Tania were the perfect hosts, I had a very good time there taking some days off. I even bought a hangboard in the climbing gym there as I really needed some training for my climbing strength.
The reason for that climbing training is that I was eager to make a bigger detour to El Potrero Chico (EPC), near Monterrey. A Mexican climbing paradise! First off was the road to Peña de Bernal where I did a bit of bouldering and sightseeing. From there I went straight into some mountains with beautiful views, hills and descents, only to be stung by a bee just above the eye in a downhill. The next day I couldn’t open it anymore…
The road got more and more desert and soon I found myself navigating lots of gravel roads in the middle of the desert. Beautiful views and great places to camp, but sometimes hard to find water. It made me realise to plan a bit more carefully some of the passages and take enough of that liquid gold.
One time I wanted to camp somewhere in the desert and found 2 buildings next to each other. An older woman and her daughter sitting in front of it. I ask if I could camp on their property, for safety. They tell me camping is not good there, there’s narco’s in the area and I’m not safe to camp. My Spanish is not good enough to understand it all and when I ask if I could camp inside their garden its again a no. What I didn’t understand is that the mother was talking to her daughter and suggesting I should take her house for the night. She would sleep at her daughters place and I can sleep in her bed, take shower and have dinner next doors. That’s what Mexico is like! Full of helping people, just because they want to help, nothing else.
Climb on
After 2 weeks of desert I cross over some other mountains and head down, suddenly everything is green, warm and moist! I’m nearing Monterrey and the roads get super busy. The big detour is because I really wanted to be climbing in EPC and I had made a Facebook post to look for partners. One of the people responding was Rancho El Sendero. They really loved what I was doing so hosted me in this great room with a bed, shower and AC! I met lots of great people there to be climbing with and Jan, from Belgium came over to start shooting for a trailer of a documentary. More about that later. We went to visit Escalando Fronteras, an NGO using climbing and education to help young people with a vulnerable background. A very great cause and great to visit them. If you’re interested, visit their website and consider leaving a donation!
After a couple of days of climbing and filming Jan and Javier (from Ohh My Gatas) followed me for 2 days of filming and camping together. In his old volkswagen beetle they followed me making great shots for an upcoming trailer. Many thanks to Javier for helping us out on this one!
Border walls
From EPC I went straight to the border of the US. A special moment, as I was a bit nervous about this one. It’s probably the most famous and controversial border in the world. After a few easy, but rainy (in the desert!) , days I arrived at the Texan border. I had all paperworks done in advance , but there where a couple of questions before I got in . Mainly the usual ones like why a bike and so one. But once they hear about what I’m doing most question become more out of interest than anything else.
After this crossing I found myself in the desert again, only the roads where getting bigger and I needed some time to adapt. Things got a bit more complicated to camp anywhere as most of the land is private owned, and will include signs like ‘no trespassing, trespassers will be prosecuted’. Sometimes even ‘trespassers will be shot, survivors will be shot again’. This didn’t give me a lot of confidence for camping, but after a while I found my ways. Camping in parks of little towns seemed very okay to do, even there’s toilets and drinking water. Then again on certain kind of land (BLM) I was able to camp easily anyways. It’s a bit of a challenge, as this country is maybe the closest to Europe in a way, yet so far away as well. I really missed seeing people on the streets and the long sections between towns made that I had to plan really well.
Heat
When I arrived in Texas I had about 3 more weeks of desert cycling ahead. This was going to be a real challenge as most of the long stretches had no water resupply and the prospect of headwinds. A couple of great interactions happened on the road, but mainly I found myself just cycling all day long. This is mainly due to the desert region as people want to get from a to b as fast as possible, and I don’t blame them. The heat was getting really hard with temperatures up to 40°C and no shade to find. Mostly I found myself cycling as much as possible as the riding wind gave me some kind of cooling. Whenever I stopped to eat, it became mostly unbearable.
I managed to find a couple of warmshowers hosts who treated me really well and made me forget sometimes of the hard times out in the desert. One day I found it hard to camp somewhere in a village as there were all signs it’s not allowed. Then I continued cycling and after about an hour I saw a huge storm developing. The dark clouds were rotating in front of me and I hoped I would miss it. Well this time it didn’t and suddenly I was caught in high winds and oncoming rain and hail. The hail got the size of golf balls and suddenly there was thunder and lightning, very close! I got pretty scared as there was no way I could hide somewhere. I got to the side of the road and squatted down to the lowest point possible. It was crazy and I wanted to get out of there, the hail was pretty hard. Until a car passes by in the opposite direction, I try to stop him and he does. It’s a border patrol car and allows me in, but first I have to throw the bike in the back of the pickup. I have to do it alone, as the hail is too hard for him to leave the car (which I totally understood). Even his windshield broke of it. 10 minutes later I’m back at the same spot I started before the storm and I wait at a gas station. I felt miserable and alone at that moment. I tried to find a place to camp, but nowhere… Then I decided to continue again after the storm and just at the end of town I saw people in their garden. I asked them if I could camp and they allowed, even I could take a shower and relax….
Wild west
In the Gila national forrest I found myself riding in the mountains and trees. A beautiful road taking me more remote and just for 2 days out of the desert. I loved it and found some great places to camp. But then one morning I start cycling and after 10 minutes I see a car that crashed into a tree. It looks that it’s there for a while but I decide to take a look. Suddenly I see a body at the drivers seat, face down. I’m slightly panicking and tap on the window but get no response. Then I open the door and smell that this body is there maybe 1 or 2 days. So I close the door and don’t know what to do. There’s no phone reception so I can’t call anyone and I decide to wait for a car to pass. There’s not that many and after a bit of waiting there’s the first one. I try to stop them but they don’t even slow down. I’m surprised as it’s clear there’s been a car crash and a cyclist in need of help. Then a second passes and doesn’t stop either. After the third, which slows down, opens his window and sets off again. I get really angry and don’t understand why people wouldn’t stop for other people in need. So I continue cycling for 30 minutes until I get phone signal and I call 911. They just say they’re coming, I don’t even have to stay there and cycle on, no-one wants to hear my story it seems. I understand people are scared, but does that have to mean we loose our humanity? It still upsets me writing this and I don’t agree with people riding on when someone is obviously in need.
Long stretches
After my pleasant time in Phoenix, where I stayed with Layne and his family, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Better known as Mormons but that’s not completely true. It’s always interesting to meet people from all backgrounds, cultures and religions so I had fun hanging out with them and I was interested and happy they showed me around their life. Then I head out to the desert again and the headwinds as always were messing with me. After a while you learn to deal with it. What I usually try to do is just lower my gears and keep on going. Trying not to get frustrated or fight the winds, just calmly go and I’ll make it. I feel that by doing that I have less frustrations and I arrive maybe a bit later at my goal, I will get there with more mental and physical energy.
The longest stretch I had to to without water was about 160km, but it didn’t work out to be a full day of cycling. So I just took enough water to get me through 2 days, which with this heat is not easy. I’m drinking about 7 liters a day and with making food I nearly have enough. Yet I make it through the last part before entering a more crowded area, Joshua Tree. The road there is quite busy though and people don’t seem to have a lot of patience in the desert. Whenever there’s a car behind me and upcoming traffic, they wouldn’t slow down but just get scary close to me. For these couple of seconds people are risking my life and it makes me furious from time to time.
Enough
When I reach Joshua Tree I decide to take a day off , but not to visit the park. There’s just another desert and it can be nice I guess, but after 5 weeks of desert, I had enough of it and needed rest. So I continued cycling to LA, my first goal of this journey. Getting into the valley was pretty hard, there was suddenly no road I was allowed to cycle on, but I did in the end. A 5 (or 6?) Lane highway with crazy headwinds for a few kilometers. It was crazy and I was happy to get off it. Then I drove about 2 days through La, which was surprisingly easy, Komoot gave me a very good route. When I saw I was near the walk of fame, I had to make this 5 minute detour just to see it. Nothing special, but happy I made the detour because I wouldn’t go there otherwise. I cycled to some friends in Thousand Oaks and made my planned stop there for 3 months. I cleaned the bikes, met up with Nele a good friend from my childhood, and got myself ready to get back to Belgium for summer there. I had planned to be in summer in Belgium to get back to Marie, attend some weddings and more. After more than 9 months begin away, I really felt I needed a break, I’ve just had enough of all the sailing and cycling for now.
Plans
After about 3 months in Europe, I’ll be back on the bike in the beginning of October to continue cycling north. I’ll make a detour to Yosemite for a couple of weeks of climbing there. The plan is to reach Seattle and head back to Europe again once more for December and Januari. I still have a life in Belgium. Then I’ll be going back to Seattle in februari 2024 where I will cycle in winter through Canada and Alaska. This will be hard as these are dark months over there and very cold. I’m expecting temperatures down to -40 (yes °C or F that’s the same) and icy roads. The reason being is that I will have to start skiing to Denali in the first week of April with Jeroen. Otherwise the snow can become too soft and difficult to ski. Then we plan to ski for 10 days to basecamp and climb Denali in April – May.
The ride to the Ruta de las Flores seemed to be a great choice for us. We both love cycling in the mountains and from then on we decided to do more of that. With Guatemala ahead of us it wasn’t so difficult to keep this promise. It’s a big country with almost everywhere (steep) hills and many people we meet warn us for that. For us, we enjoyed it really hard, even if it meant pushing harder and slower progress. With mountain passes over 3000m (10.000ft) we were in for a treat!
What borders?
Exiting El Salvador and entering Guatemala was again such and easy process. Only showing up at the Guatemalan immigration (El Salvador didn’t even give a stamp) and a few minutes later “Bienvenido a Guatemala!”. This is by far the easiest region to be crossing borders (speaking from my side with a Belgian passport). It makes me realise how lucky I am holding this passport and very aware of the inequality in the world for people wanting to do similar trips.
Sick of the hills?
Most people travelling the Americas go from North to South. Making us meet many travellers along the way as we’re heading the opposite direction. It’s the first time I really meet so many cyclists on the road and when we talk to them, most are pretty sick of the hills in Guatemala. They seem to look forward to the coastal roads of Central America with more facilities and flat roads. Marie and I talk about it and it makes us feel a bit nervous for what’s about to come. Still we head on the first climb in Guatemala. That day is beautiful and very bad at the same time. We found ourselves in a mix of bigger roads with lot’s of traffic (I hate it when going uphill) and some quieter roads with beautiful views.
After a while we decide to take a really quiet gravel road up to lake Amitatlan. Mainly because there we get closer to Guatemala City, which has crazy traffic in its surroundings. Luckily our warmshowers host gave us a different option to avoid most of it to Antigua. Still we couldn’t avoid all busy roads, but a beautiful climb with perfect new asphalt and almost no traffic takes us over a mountain pass to Antigua.
Fire!
In Antigua we decide, on the advice of Thomas (our host), to have more rest days than planned. It’s a beautiful city and we meet Darius, another cyclist who had a brain tumor in the past and was left-sided paralysed for a while. Now he’s cycling his way down from Canada to Argentina! Always great to meet inspirational stories on my route.
After 2 days of rest our legs start to itch again and we decide to climb the Acatanango Volcano by foot. It takes only 2 days to hike up to almost 4000m and down, but the main highlight is the view of the Volcano de Fuego (Fire volcano). Every 30 minutes or so it erupts some smoke, or so it seems during the daytime. But when it’s night we had the view of erupting lava from the top.
After the summit we headed down really easily. But then the next days our legs were burning! We are really well trained and everything went so easy, but the downhill made our legs really sore. We took another day off to walk around town and prepare to cycle further into the Guatemalan hills.
Creativity
First stop after Antigua was the NGO “Maya pedal”. They make human powered tools for people around the area out of old recycled bicycles. These include coffee grinders, water pumps and even washing machines! It’s another great project I’m visiting along the way and my next talk (after the one for Authentico) the funds will go to this project.
Cooling down
With many highlights in Guatemala we had to make some choices for our visits. The obvious choice was to head to Lake Atitlan, a magical place in the middle of the mountains. At 1.500m a very cool place with chilly nights and fresh water. The ride there wasn’t easy though and definitely not around it either. There’s no flat road and going around it means climbing up and back down to the next village, multiple times. I really enjoyed this whole region and was getting nervous for the way out of the lake area. I heard horror stories from car and bicycle brakes melting away, with roads op to 30%! With a fully loaded touring bike it’s not an easy task. Still I was up for the challenge and took it one step at a time.
It took me 3 hours to complete this gruelling climb, but enjoyed every bit of it. You’re almost always climbing over 10% at least and when you get to a point of 15% after hundreds of meters in the 20%, it feels like a recovery section. My Garmin (and komoot) indeed gave me parts up to 30%, but luckily just in the steepest corners. When cars where passing in the downhill direction, I smelled the burning brakes for sure!
We headed further to Huehuetenango and were getting up to 3000m with our first rain in weeks! Very quick we got cold and wet and Marie was having a hard time on the road in these days. I like this kinda “type b fun”, but it took me a while in my life before I could enjoy days like that.
Going down
The last days in Guatemala where mainly one big downhill. Sometimes with beautiful views through the valley, but the last part to the Mexican border where pretty tiring. Mainly because of the traffic and pollution. We didn’t really enjoy that part (edit: Marie enjoyed those days), although it was mainly downhill and we were looking forward to enter our last country together, Mexico.
A whole new place
Mexico was immediately different for us, everything is farther apart which meant more quiet roads. The vastness of this country brought us to some highlights like Cenotes ( natural hole in the ground filled with water), waterfalls, beautiful cities and rock! We even made a detour by going down for 1000m and all the way up again for the Cenote of Chucumaltik and the Cascades El Chiflon. They where definitely worth it! After a great sleep at the waterfalls we climbed up again to San Cristobal, a beautiful town in Chiapas where we took some time off and went rock climbing.
Sick
We had a good time in San Cristobal and our rest there was well spent. From there we had a very long downhill, beautiful but on a more busy road. Not too bad when going downhill because you have the right speed not to be bothered by traffic that much. At 2200m it’s quite cool in the hills and by the time we got down to Tuxtla we where both having a hard time with the heat. Temperatures where up to 38°C (in the shade) and just during the last 100m of climbing up to this city, Marie tells me she can’t go on. We stop and immediately she needs to lay down, then she vomits and suffers hard. We fix her a taxi who takes her and her bike up to a hotel where it’s obvious she will not cycle the next coming days.
Tuxtla is not the most beautiful city to be stuck, there’s only the Canyon which is definitely worth the visit but that’s about it. Luckily there are many hotels and we find some good and cheap accommodation where Marie can rest. It turns out she’s having food poisoning and in this heat it is so hard to have. While Marie is resting I’m trying to keep busy climbing in the local gym. I’m not only cycling, I still need to keep fit for climbing and other sports in this project. I prefer to keep fit instead of getting back to shape from scratch, with climbing gyms in medium (says the Belgian where the biggest city has 1.2 million inhabitants) sized towns, Mexico is great for that.
New energy for the final push
When Marie felt better we were mentally and physically ready to head to our final goal together: Oaxaca. We still had quite some time so we decided to take it easy with some detours to nice places like waterfalls and lakes.
The heat got back to us and from the beach we had a final climb up to Oaxaca at 1500m with many ups and downs. We really enjoyed this climb as it winded through different landscapes and amazing views. We cycled through many agave fields which is used to make mezcal or syrup. The cooler air gave us again more energy up to 2000m and we made a little detour to Hierve El Agua before our last stop together.
Pain in the end
As we got closer to Oaxaca our energy started to get lower again. Not physically but mentally. We knew the end of our journey together was about to end, which is always hard. It’s hard to say goodbye. From October ’22 I’m on this journey and we didn’t see each other for 3 months. Then we where cycling together for 2,5 months in a very intense way and suddenly, we’re all alone again. It’s a mix of feelings, happy we made it to Oaxaca, sad that Marie is leaving, thankful for all those moments, proud of Marie, scared to be alone now, excited to be alone as well, so many mixed feelings going on which is normal until I find a new balance in my life here again…
our last picture in front of our beloved Oxxo store
When Marie arrived by the end of January we didn’t see each other for 3 months. We took some time to relax while waiting for her bike to arrive and prepare for our journey together. We had the idea of cycling 2 months, from Costa Rica to Mexico. All very exciting as it’s our first bike trip together and Marie’s first big bike tour.
With the wind
After setting everything up and planning our next routes we left the village town, down to the ocean. That first day was mainly downhill, but for sure not an easy one. Most of it was off road and immediately an intense day for Marie. Luckily we found some great camp spots along the way and off to the ocean then. That first week was a bit tricky as we both needed to get to a new pace in life, but after a couple of days we found a good rhythm of being on the road. We kinda switched from mountains to coastal roads and back to the mountains. Whenever we had enough of the busyness of the beaches we left for calmer roads and spectacular views. The only downside was that Marie’s back started to hurt because of the really steep off roads. She’s riding my old bike I have cycled to Indonesia with. So not the perfect fit for her.
Along the way we camp and find some homestays to sleep at. A good combo especially as it’s always easy and safe to sleep anywhere in costa rica. People are nice and with so many tourism in the country it’s easy to find accommodation. Costa Rica is an amazing country with so many national parks to visit. It’s hard, because we would just want to visit so many places, but with a limit in time (and cycling to all these spots takes time and lots of effort) we can just see a part of this beautiful country.
It is that in the end we decide to get back lower to the main road and focus on doing some distance to Nicaragua. Mainly because we still have a long way to go and so many places to visit! This road was pretty long and boring, but the exciting part was the wind! We had regular gusts up to 90 km/h , first from the back, literally blowing us forward but when the road changed it was more dangerously from the side. We constantly had to be on guard not to be surprised by this. It made the boring straight road a bit more interesting and pretty soon we ended up at the border.
New country
When we arrive at the Nicaraguan border, we get a bit nervous. We don’t know what to expect as we hear that camera’s are forbidden to take. In the end the reputation didn’t live up the border went fairly easy. I must say that it’s the 2nd or 3rd time my bags get completely checked in 10 years time. Immediately the scenery changes, everything is a bit more flat in Nicaragua, except for the volcanoes passing by. First we stopped for some well deserved rest on Ometepe Island where we take some time to relax and do nothing. With new energy we continue our journey further in Nicaragua. It’s a bit more searching for nice routes for cycling and from time to time we hit the main roads. They’re very easy going to cycle, not too much traffic, but long and boring in this heat.
The reason for that route was to visit a village called Tamarindo. An education project founded by Philip Vertriest. It helps children in this area to get a technical education. Most people in this area work in the sea salt mining where they have very limited life expectations due to the health risks involved. This project helps to give these children better opportunities in life. They’re doing a great job, but sadly they’re always in search for extra resources. If you get the chance, please help to make a difference and visit their website and consider donating for this beautiful project: https://vzw-autentico.org/
Smoking hot
From Autentico we were hesitating where to go next and asked some people. The owner of Via Via hotel in Leon told us we should stop by and visit the city. It is a Belgian hotel group (not a real chain) for travellers in different places around the world. Very nice places and always have a social engagement in the area they’re operating, like the ngo Authentico. Very happy to have been there, so far Leon is our favourite city in Central America! There we decided to go up into the mountains again to cross to Honduras. We were already toasted from the heat and needed some cool air. But first where a couple of long straight roads ahead of us with slights headwinds. They gave us some difficult time and it was the only time so far to listen to music while cycling. By this time Marie’s back is already much better and we’re going strong in the hills. From time to time I have to remind her we have to hold back, because we have a long way to go.
Granada
Granada
leon
leon
This area in the hills is a main tobacco area and first we needed to pass Esteli. Known for it’s cigars and tobacco plantations it is a beautiful area. The city is pretty industrial so not really worth a visit, but it was a good place to spend a night before heading more up to the border with Honduras. Before crossing it we took a rest day and visited the Somoto Canyon. A beautiful and peaceful place where the cold water helped us to recover our legs.
Marie ready to jump
tobacco fields
water filtering
Flying by
It is already clear by now that borders in Central America are easy going. Very soon we are in Honduras. We didn’t plan to stay that long in here, mainly as a transit country to El Salvador. The reason being that nowadays safety wise El Salvador made a bit more sense to cycle in. Marie had some concerns in advance about Honduras and El Salvador, but she already left that idea because we get so much confirmation from locals so that we perfectly feel safe everywhere. From the border all the way in Honduras and El Salvador now we have such a great connection with people all around. Everywhere people wave at us and make us feel very welcome, always nice to have this feeling while cycling around.
friendly dogs too
After just 2 days of cycling we arrive at the border with El Salvador, another extremely easy crossing brings us into the country. We take a bit of a detour along a coastal road to be hosted by Jose, a warmshowers host. It is always nice to be meeting fellow cyclists in a country we’re passing by. We get a good insight how he and other Salvadorians feel about the new government and their approach to the gang problem. The government has made some drastic decisions to stop the gang violence, especially the Mara (MS-13) are most known and brutal in Central (and North) America. Currently there are more than 60.000 of them in El Salvador. They don’t have a lawyer or anything and human rights organisations are concerned. But many locals are happy about this approach because it really seems to help. We see people walking on the street at night without fear, which they really had up to a year ago.
I love pupusas
our great host Jose
Flat and touristic
We stay near the ocean for the next days, mainly to get some easy km’s and we still have enough hills to cover in Guatemala. First we pass by a main tourist hot spot (el Tunco) which we didn’t really like that much (hence no pictures). Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful place and if you’re a surfer, go there. But we missed the authenticity of El Salvador itself. Luckily in one of the following villages we get another feeling of this coastal area. Not so much further we decide to get back to the hills to take the Ruta de las Flores. So happy to have taken it, despite the extra effort of pedalling this is a beautiful route. It takes you up to more than 1000m along beautiful vibrant villages whit good food and beautiful views. At the moment we’re staying for some rest in Juayua and lot’s of food before we head out to Guatemala! I’m looking forward to that, it is full of mountains, but it has a reputation to be very hard for cyclists.
Second drama
During my rest here I got the news that my friend Cak Adhi from Indonesia has passed away. He gave me a place to stay for weeks when I was stuck in Surabaya waiting for my rowboat to arrive. He was a very helpful and special person and did a lot for the cycling community in Indonesia. He died during a bike accident on one of his bike tours he had just started. I’m really sad about the news, especially that it’s a second friend that passes away in such a short time.
And again a huge thanks to my sponsors who make this happen!
After two and a half months on boats and being connected to the ocean, I was relieved to find my beloved bicycle in Panama. Alf, the captain, dropped me off on shore and from there on I headed off for what I like to do most: being on land. This whole period I was a bit stressed, nervous and excited!
Logistics
Before setting off in Belgium I already had to make a plan to get my bike to Central America. It wasn’t easy, because I didn’t really know where exactly I was arriving. I found the boat with Alf and Susanne heading to Panama. From then on I had a goal and tried to find a good solution to get it there. First I tried to find a shipment option, but soon I found out that this would be a bit complicated. A couple of days later I remembered that my good friends, Janna and Gertjan would go for 6 months to Central America. I asked them if they would like to fly first to Panama and take my bike. They immediately agreed to help me and Gertjan even knew some people living in Panama. He called them right away and in 30 minutes we had a plan and booked flights and luggage. So beautiful how this all works out and people from all around the world are willing to help. Thank you Gertjan, Janna, Liesbeth, family and Marie (my girlfriend) to help arrange all this!
Back to Bike!
So finally on the 21st of January (2023) I set foot on land, in the small port of Carti. I said goodbye to Alf, Susanne, Neil and Nick, my sailing buddies. I had a good time with them on board, but I was extremely happy that this ocean journey was finally over. In the port itself I unboxed the bike and put everything back together. There I was, on my own, in this small port and ahead of me thousands of miles to cover. The first part was going to be difficult and I felt intimidated about the prospects of it. It was a strange feeling, for months I’ve adapted to some kind of protected environment. Always surrounded by a group of people I know and choose to be with. I felt vulnerable at the port, it was all on my own again and from then on it’s just me who had to do it. Despite all the experience I still encounter those emotions of excitement, stress, nervousness, and so much more and I’m so grateful that all of them are there!
Harsh reality
With a big (really big) smile, I’m heading out of the port on a dirt road to the jungle. The next 40 km was going to be hard, I read about steep and impassable roads. I thought being conservative in timing and 4 hours would be more than enough to cover this distance to the main road. I was so wrong! I would like to blame it on the steep roads, heat, bad surface, which all of those where present. But mainly because I didn’t do any decent cycling training in months! That first part was a serious attack on my body, I suffered a lot, but I enjoyed it at the same time. It all got me worried a bit, because the 29th my girlfriend was about to arrive in Costa Rica and I still had more than 900km to go….
New Balance
The attack on my body continued in the next days. I was still a bit land sick, which means your head is a bit wobbly from all the time on the boat. At the same time I needed to keep my balance on the bike because of the main road I was following. I wanted to get as fast as possible to Costa Rica so I decided to take the Pan-American highway. With months of seeing hardly any traffic it was quite impressive, especially Panama City and the Puente de las Americas where pretty impressive. Another adaptation was getting out of the watch rhythm that I had on the boat. We had watches at night and naps during the day disturbing a normal sleeping pattern. Now I cycled for 8 to 10 hours daily and tried to sleep in my tent somewhere I stranded. Still, I had an amazing experience throughout Panama and the views where amazing.
Steep learning curve
Despite my lack of training I managed to get over an average of 100km a day and I was pretty happy with the progress. Even the border crossing with Costa Rica was the easiest I have ever done in my life. The change was quite visible, from a beautiful Panama, I entered an even more beautiful wildlife of Costa Rica. Off course I was only following the main highway but the change was pretty visible. The progress was still going great, not too many uphill, but I knew what was about to come. When Marie and I planned our ride together we decided that we will try to avoid the capital of Costa Rica, at least to cycle. So we found a place south of it, in the mountains. Needless to say, I regretted it when I was cycling there. The last 2 days before meeting up with her I had to cycle uphill. Already exhausted from the previous days this was not an easy task.
Luckily I found some motivation in the fact we didn’t see each other for 3 months. So there I went, from sea level, turn right…. Immediately it goes up, very steep! The whole day I’m cycling more than 10% of gradient the whole time. The first day I’m going up to 1000m. The next day I have to go up to 3300m, luckily on not such a steep road but still exhausting in my condition by then! With all determination I reach the top that day and by night I reach a place to camp and prepare for the arrival of Marie.
Happy and sad
Finally, the 29th of January Marie arrives and we’re really happy to see each other. We will be riding Central America together for 2 months, possibly up to Mexico. But just 2 days later, I get the terrible news that a friend of mine (Eline) passed away. It really hit me up and I don’t really have words for it. Such a beautiful person, leaving us too soon in life….
Many thanks to my sponsors who help me fulfil my dream!
After my days off the boat in Gran Canaria we finally departed on the 20th of November for the ocean crossing to saint Lucia. A crossing that was supposed to be straightforward didn’t live up to the expectations, one part of that is adventure for sure and I love that, another part left me quite frustrated. I’m happy there were some very nice people on board for my mental health. About that, I’ll get more into it in a next post.
happy climbing kiddo
The big start!
I was looking forward to the start of this crossing, not because of the sailing but mainly to get this done. A mistake I have made, because it made progress a bit more slow in my experience. When we started I was excited and the first night we had some high winds coming up. With the first mate I’m doing some manoeuvres on deck. For about 30 minutes we get swept by incoming waves and we make up a good fight to get all the rope and sail work done. I’m completely drenched, but pretty happy about the excitement, although he had to shout wat I need to do while doing it and not explaining beforehand. I speak French, but these sailing terms make it more complicated to me.
Fair winds
The next days we get fair winds in a good direction and we’re making very good progress. I’m finding a bit more the rhythm of the watches. We have a schedule for 3 hours on, and 6 hours off. But it is hard for me to be on a boat like that mentally. I’m having some fun with nice people on board, but it gets very boring. I’m used of doing lot of physical activity in a day, and that gets reduced to 1 or 2 hours of exercise work. There are 3 English (native) and 8 French speaking people on board and it seems that I’ve taken the role as a translator. The commands by the captain and first mate are given in French. It makes it a bit tiring because neither of both are my native language which means I regularly translate these in my head in 3 different languages. It’s especially difficult when not given the time to do that and people are just shouting what to do in general.
Who broke the boom?
After 5 days of sailing I get up in the morning about to start my shift. The captain says, lets jibe (changing the direction of the sails). He yells to the people what they have to do and so we all do. Being at the helm, he gets a nice overview of what we are doing on the boat. One lady is winching the main sail and finds it very hard to do. There is something wrong, but the captain yells to hurry (nobody knows why we should hurry) and another guy jumps in to help. With 2 people they are winching hard on instruction, until BANG… The boom (horizontal part of the mast) breaks. A crazy sight to see and I think, fuck, it’s over. We have a big problem. The captain ended blaming the crew, which still frustrates me for not taking any responsibility. In the end we were still able to sail to Cape Verde to get it fixed. It ook 4 days to fix it in Cape Verde. For me a nice break from the sailboat but we still needed to do the crossing.
oops
playing football with the locals
training in Cape Verde
The big blue
The weather got a lot warmer from Cape Verde and the whole crossing was getting harder on me. We had some good winds, but after a while they dropped. So it became even harder and hotter. Sleeping is very hard, with 3 in a cabin an almost no ventilation. Regularly I try to find a place in the sail locker (which stinks from the moist) or at night on deck. We’re all in the same situation and mentally it was hitting me hard to be for such a long time on a boat. Dustin, who’s father worked for years on boats, told him once “boats are like prisons you can drown on”. To me it really felt like that. I get a big sense of freedom from my bike and climbing mountains. And I understand people get the exact same feeling on boats, but not me.
getting a sea bucket wash from Dustin
trying to find shade under the main sail
Because of the low winds from time to time, the captain decides to motor parts of it. I think it’s sad, but as I explained in a previous post, this is a plan B where I didn’t have the luxury to take too long to decide on things and still better and more adventurous than flying to Denali. When we are all sick of being in this situation Aurore gets the best idea. Let’s just all turn things off and have a swim in the ocean. So we did and that was an amazing feeling, surrounded only by water and cooling off in it (I have a video of it which I couldn’t upload here with limited internet, but check my social media for that 😉 ).
thanks to the fishing crew for the amazing fish!
captain pancake at work
Dustin trying to save the bad carrots
Land ahoy
Finally after such a long time on this boat, I’m very happy to see first land. We arrive in saint lucia on the 15th of December. Most people rush off the boat (including me) because we have a big delay in the schedule. So the whole trip ended quite abruptly leaving me with mixed feelings about the whole crossing. In St Lucia I’m meeting up with Alf, the captain of the next boat which I will be crew on until Panama. Feeling hopeful for a better sailing experience we prepare for the next 1000 miles across the Caribbean Sea.
Crossed the Atlantic!
Sidenotes
I learned my lessons about this crossing and people wanting to do a similar thing, you can contact me so I can explain the do’s and don’ts for this. I hate to do this, but in my 10 years of this adventure I never experienced something like this. I don’t want to get too deep into this and bashing people or a company, but I’m definitely not the only person with these feelings about it.
Special thanks to my sponsors who help me make this crazy adventure come true!
After arriving in Lorient by bicycle it was finally time to start sailing on the 4th of November. I said a last goodbye to friends, family and my girlfriend and hopped on the “Albatros” with 9 other crew and 2 captains. I was a bit nervous about the start because conditions where expected to be quite hard in the Gulf of Biscay and I tend to get pretty seasick… Without too much sailing experience I set off on this boat.
A rough start
Before getting on board I took some seasickness pills and hoped for the best. We set the sails and started sailing on quite rough seas. Wind speeds picked up to 25-30 knots (gusts up to 40) with headwinds slowing down our progress. We agreed on doing watches in teams of 3hrs on and 6hrs off, which allows for a lot more rest (compared to my last rowing adventure). These first days on the ocean I was very careful about not getting sick. No reading, trying to be outside as much as possible watching the horizon and taking my pills to prevent sickness. It means I wasn’t eating that much in the first few days, feeling nauseous from the motion of the boat. But, to my great surprise I didn’t get too much of it (I only threw up twice). After a 4 days I was even able to cook some food and eat it!
Learning the hard way
Sleeping is not very luxurious in some kind of hammock bed, especially the first days, where the boat was hitting those big waves pretty hard. It’s hard to fall asleep when having those loud hits every couple of minutes.
The sailing itself was a complete new experience to me and I had to learn fast. Luckily there are some experienced people on board who are helping me to understand. The boat is mainly French so using all these terms in another language is making it a lot harder to get the know of it. But I’m grateful to be sailing with such a wonderful team having the patience for me. After a couple of days I’m starting to feel like I’m contributing something on the boat.
Finding Shelter
When we almost crossed the Gulf of Biscay we had to find shelter in a port. There was a storm coming up and the captain decided to stay in the North Western part of Spain for a night. I think we were all pretty happy with that decision. It gave us the opportunity to have a good rest, food and a shower. The next day we start sailing again, against the last high winds of the storm, zigzagging our way through.
But, after this we kinda got stuck in a zone without wind. Because we were on a timed schedule it meant we had to use the motor for that part. We had some extremely calm seas and it sucked to be using the motor. We were on and off the sails several times. I accept that as I’m considering this sailing as a plan B and still want to cross Siberia to Alaska one day. And, at the same time I already rowed to the Canary Islands before.
After 13 days we finally reached Gran Canaria, here we are restocking and preparing for the Atlantic crossing. I’m happy to have found a good rhythm and trust for the next crossing. I’m starting to enjoy many aspects of sailing, but being not very physically active is hard for me. In the last days I was starting to do daily exercises to get rid of that feeling.
The big depart
We are leaving again on the 20th of November to do the big crossing. I’m feeling a lot more confident about the next part. This is part of a rally (ARC) where I think about 30-40 boats are participating in. It’s nice to be a part of it and meet likeminded people. Still, I’m enjoying my time on land for the moment, doing some running and climbing on Gran Canaria. I’m definitely looking forward to arrive in Panama where my bike is waiting for me and my girlfriend will join me cycling to Mexico.
The next 20 days will be off grid and I’m very curious about this experience! See you on the other side!
After my relaxing stop with Mathias in Yaounde I was ready for another push towards the south. The Belgian stay was amazing (beer and fries!) and gave me a good time to mentally and physically recover. I got my visas for the next countries (Gabon and DRC) and was ready to go to Kilimanjaro!
rest stop
From chaos to tranquility
Every big city is chaotic to cycle though, Yaounde wasn’t very different. After a day I reached the Gabon border and I noticed an even more relaxed atmosphere. Crossing the border was easy, except they didn’t have any documents there. I had to cycle 30km to the next village and by the time I was there, the immigration closed. I had to stay for one night in a hotel and the next day they gave me a stamp so I could continue my journey in the tranquil Gabon.
natural cooling down places
Abandoned in the middle of nowhere???
Good company
The cycling was a bit hilly and the people are still very friendly, as usual saying hello everywhere I pass by. There’s less and less people but that’s okay, not too many cars either so I could enjoy cycling through the rainforest a lot! At the end of a day of cycling, in Oyem, I saw a cyclist and a backpacker on the side of the road. Birgit and Jonathan met each other the day before and we decided to camp together for the night. They’re going North, I’m going South. A perfect opportunity to exchange experiences and information about the route and roads coming up.
Jonathan and Birgit
Coffee time!
Company!
From forrest to savanna
Gabon is a really nice country to be cycling in. There are not many cars and mostly I saw trucks transporting big trees. Mainly these are Chinese companies exporting wood, the roads are obviously really good here.
perfect road and cooling down spot
One day Birgit sends me that the borders are closed in Gabon, at least all land borders. She was stuck there for 2 days before they let her out and into Cameroon. Because of the news I’m getting more and more stressed but still try to enjoy the change in landscape. After cycling through the beautiful rainforest I’m entering the savannah.
In these parts of Africa you see bushmeat everywhere. Almost every village I pas by I see barrels with dead animals hang around to be sold. It can be anything from lizards to gazelles and even monkeys. A very strange image to see this hanging at the side of the road. I don’t like it, but on the other hand it’s their source of income/food. The saddest part is that because of deforestation and poaching some of the species like chimpanzees and gorillas are endangered. In Yaounde (Cameroon), I visited a sanctuary to learn a bit more about their work. If you are around, it’s worth to visit the Mefou Primate Sanctuary.
Bushmeat
Bushmeat
The savanna is a very beautiful and flat part with high grass which makes my progress much easier. The downside is that it gets really hot out there. The humidity and the sun at the equator give me a hard time when cycling trough the Savana. There’s no shadow from the rainforest to protect me. While cycling, it feels every moment a lion or elephant can pop up! But the only thing I see is some elephant dung and footprints.
The equator!
no escaping the sun
the road to Congo
chilling out
Corona heat
Exiting Gabon was a bit stressful because I was afraid they wouldn’t allow me out, or allow me into Congo. They checked my fever twice, asked some questions, called around and after a couple of hours I could depart Gabon. On the other hand, entry in Congo was very easy. A very small village and the officials didn’t seem to care about anything.
my first camping spot in Congo
One of my “hotel” rooms
with shower and toilet
I was supposed to pass different checkpoints, but none of them cared and said it was all fine. I didn’t mind and just got stamped in and was ready to go. The scenery was really beautiful and I continued my way to Dolisie, my first city in Congo. The first part was still pretty hard because of the burning sun. The dusty road through the savanna didn’t allow me to take some breaks from the sun. After 3 days and just 30 km before Dolisie the road was asphalt again and was just perfect until Pointe-Noire, an industrial city with some oil drills offshore. When I entered different people shouted at me: “corona!!” even 2 hotels didn’t allow me to stay there…
road to congo
stuck in the mud
Closing time
The day after my arrival in Pointe-Noire I heard the news about the borders getting closed. I called many people to get their opinion and I decided to stay and try to get back to Belgium. As soon as possible booked a flight back home, like many advised me to do. A day later the government suddenly shuts down their airspace so my flight got cancelled. I really wanted to prevent to be stuck there in Congo, sadly that didn’t work as planned. Luckily I met a German couple (Quirin and Lara) who are travelling by van. We decided to stay together and rent a house for the time we’re trapped here. That way I wasn’t alone being stuck and made things a bit more bearable. The Swiss consul helped us a lot. I got in touch with the Belgian consul and embassies to see if they could help me out.
Lara and Quirin’s van
The whole situation was hard and confusing. It’s stressful, but I realise it’s very stressful for most people. I’m very happy my sponsors, friends and family called me regularly to check if I’m fine. It’s a perfect moment to appreciate that I’m surrounded by extremely wonderful people.
The great escape
After being stuck in Pointe-Noire for 2 weeks I got an email from the Belgian embassy. They said that there might be a chance I could fly out from Kinshasa. This is another country, there are 2 Congo’s. I had to get to Brazzaville that same day. With great luck I still find a place on the last domestic flight. The next day the confinement starts and all transportation is blocked. Our embassy was negotiating hard with authorities of both Congo’s (Brazzaville and Kinshasa). Brazzaville and Kinshasa are both the capitals and are separated by the Congo river, there is no bridge. They finally got a permission to pick me up by boat from the embassy and bring me to Kinshasa airport. Since the borders are closed this was not easy to negotiate. From Kinshasa there was a repatriation flight back to Belgium.
ready and packed
to the rescue
the fast boat to Kinshasa
back home
After being 6 months and 14.000km away from home it is strange to be back. On one hand I’m happy and feel more relaxed because of the situation here is more comfortable. On the other hand I’m disappointed that I have to pause this adventure. I’m completely aware that this was the best decision and there’s nothing to blame me. Normally when I come back to Belgium I can see my friends and family, drink a beer and have fun. Now I can’t even hug or kiss my girlfriend, very strange times….
Very thankful to my sponsors who support me to get this project done and supported me to get back to safety!
After my visit to the monastery with its waterfalls and the Solar Sisters I was a bit reluctant to leave this beautiful and quiet place. But, the Eastern part of Nigeria was promising with quieter roads and the prospect of getting in the mountains gave me some energy to continue.
Royal visits
The road took me more up North with some headwinds. Combined with the slightly hilly regions it got more difficult and realised I was still near the Sahara. Therefore the winds blow mostly from the North and some kind of fog seemed to be there most of the day: Sahara dust!
Kids working hard here
notice the fog in the background
One day I was cycling and a car stops and comes to talk to me. He introduces himself as being the King of one of the Kingdoms I will cycle through. He invites me to come over to talk and have some food, and so I do. A great surprise to be visiting His Royal Highness Dauda Haruna Umaru Tiisintai of the Suntai Chiefdom. He gives me food, we chat and then I continue my journey. Just before I leave he tells me to visit other Kings on my way. One of the other kings died recently but I can still sleep in his lodge because some servants are still there. The next day I visit His royal highness Alk. Zubairu Hamman Gabda Muhammadu Sambo of the Gashake Kingdom. I get to sleep on one of his domains and he takes great care of me. I get to see his horse and when leaving to go up into the mountains he offers me some money for the road, which I can’t refuse!
Up to the hill
The Mambilla plateau is the last obstacle before Cameroon. It takes me up to 1800 m on a steep (most of the part is 10% average) and winding road. I’m very happy this section is asphalted and I get into my climbing rhythm again. The climb is hard but beautiful and many people cheer me on the way up.
going up!
sunset on the mambilla plateau
Once on the plateau, the climbing isn’t over. It’s a constant up and down and in Gembu I decide to take the road to Dorofi. That’s a small smuggling route with mainly dirt tracks. Absolutely stunning scenery and I get a feeling of being in the Alps. It’s a tough road with many steep parts, downhill isn’t relaxing and going up takes tons of effort. One hill I need to get off the bike and push. There a guy stops his motorcycle and helps me push it, very grateful because it was not an easy task! The atmosphere is really relaxed and people waving and greeting in every village.
steep hill ahead!
Great help from this guy
Borderline intimidation
Once in the border town of Dorofi I try to find a safe place to sleep. It is the border zone with Cameroon and because of the conflicts this is a “red zone”. They bring me to a bar with some “rooms” where I can sleep safely. A couple of hours later the army and an immigration officer come to me. The immigration officer is really angry and says I have a big problem. I try to ask why but don’t really get an answer. I try not be impressed, which is hard when these guys are standing around with their guns. Then the army officer takes me in the bar and explains me that it is not safe to sleep.
road to Dorofi
Sunset on the Mambilla plateau
It feels that they’re trying to confuse me and get a “good cop, bad cop” story on me. I stay calm and the immigration officer wants to see my passport. When he sees my passport it seems I even have a bigger problem. There is something wrong with the stamp they gave me when entering (one of the numbers was wrong he said, while everything was correct and legal). I’m sure I did nothing illegal and tell him that if the migration officer gave me the wrong stamp when entering, he should call him and not put the responsibility on me. Then he told me they could bring me to Gembu, with my response “no problem sir, I’ll just have to call my embassy from there”.
Cooling down
Things seem to calm down and then the military officer starts to talk to the people in the bar and around: “you can not just host these guys, white people here! They can be spies, or anything else. If you go to Europe the police does the same things,…” and many more lies about people and a place they know nothing about. They try to scare people and then take me to the immigration office (in Dorofi).
There they tell me that all is fine. That being after my threat of calling the embassy and showing some recommendation letter of a friend of a very well known organisation. Then they start talking that if anything would happen to me they will burn down the bar! That seems completely crazy to me and we discuss the options while they try to confuse me. He explains me there’s something wrong with the stamp and that he is just helping me in case the Cameroon immigration will say something about that! A big lie off course, like the Cameroon immigration will know what Nigerian entry stamp would be correct…
It’s a nightmare!
They try to scare me more and tell me I shouldn’t sleep there. They say that the bar is dangerous and I have to sleep in the immigration office so the army can protect me. I don’t have much choice and I go for my bicycle and cycle in the middle of the night to their office, with armed escort.
That night I slept extremely bad, I sleep in the immigration officer’s room on my mattress. He is in his bed sleeping with his machine gun next to him. In the middle of the night he wakes up screaming with his gun! I wake up, he shouts something and falls asleep again. Seemed like a bad dream he had but it didn’t make me feel very comfortable.
In the morning I set off to the border with Cameroon, thinking how disgusting it was as a last experience in the otherwise beautiful country! Hoping Cameroon will be better again…. Besides this incident I really liked Nigeria and its people. It is an impressive country and the things that scared me the most was traffic. I actually never felt unsafe, but on the other hand I never camped in the wild here just for my safety…
New hope
I enter Cameroon easily, although it’s a demanding track again, especially after a night like that! Once I reach customs I can change some money and explain my story there. The officer there offers me to buy water for me and I set off into Cameroon. It feels different, people it’s less crowded, less chaotic and more relaxed, but it’s still not easy to cycle. It goes up and down and I feel getting exhausted!
The dusty road past Mayo Darlé
Camping at a church in Cameroon
Every day I feel very tired and I’m looking forward to Yaoundé. Matthias lives there and will host me. He was in Belgium some days before and will bring some goodies that my mum and my girlfriend arranged to get to him (thank you so much you all!!! I enjoyed the candy, letters, beer,….). What a teamwork and I’m looking forward to the small gifts (including my spare credit card which got damaged) and definitely to some rest, food and social contact! I feel very drained both physically and mentally and then I realise I went quite hard the past weeks. Covering 5200km in 6 weeks from Dakar was a real rush, especially to get in time in Nigeria for my visa!
Thanks to my sponsors to make this project possible, give them a thumbs up!
After a rest day in Lagos I left the chaotic city with some caution. The general advice of foreign affairs is negative. The risk of getting robbed or kidnapped is high in this country and therefore I’m taking some safety measures. I’m not wild camping and not cycling during the night. I made a strict plan on where to sleep and limit the amount of km’s so I won’t get surprised by anything.
City hopping
Safety
From Lagos I immediately head east and since I’m trying to keep up to my plan I cycle on the big roads. This is not very nice and almost up to 20 times a day I pass by police/army/??? checkpoints. Mostly these guys are heavily armed with machine guns, making me feel so very safe… Sometimes they are armed with sticks and golf clubs and I wonder if some of them are official or not? Most of the checkpoints I just have a small chat with mostly the same results:
What are you doing? Where are you going?
I’m cycling from Belgium to Tanzania, I covered about 11.000km so far
NO! Thats’s not true, you’re lying! It’s impossible
Yes I am, I can prove you, showing the map and trying to convince them I’m not a spy or anything (seriously, some of them are convinced I am)
What ??? That is unbelievable (with lots and lots of expression and intonation in their voices) !!!!
Then we laugh and chat and I continue. Actually a fun distraction for them and me.
meeting some nice guys along the road
But about 2 – 5 times a day some checkpoints ask me money/present/”water”… Some of them are trying to intimidate me by asking what’s in the bags, tapping it with their stick or gun. I’m not letting that happen and every time I politely tell them I don’t do that, or that “I have water in my bottle, thank you!”. I sometimes think about how people warn me for armed criminals trying to rob me, doesn’t seem very different than those guys. This is sad because people on the street don’t seem to take them seriously and it gives a bad name to the many really nice people I meet.
Many times on the street people just shout at me “white guy!” or “Chinese” or many different things. That’s in the whole of Africa already and I don’t mind, most of the time it’s just for fun and I just wave at them. Occasionally I stop to have a conversation. Most of them actually never spoke to a white man before and some kids even come and touch my skin and my hair.
Road safety
Cycling the bigger roads is not great at all! Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa and like most countries, they love cars. People drive like crazy and I’m very often scared for my life while cycling here. A couple of times a truck just forces me off the road, if I wouldn’t do that they would just hit me. That pisses me off and results in a lot of yelling and swearing at the truck…
Irritation
After a couple of days I get sick of it, I just have enough of it and having a hard time. I feel isolated and lonely in this big chaotic country. Luckily I still meet nice people along the road, but when cycling and at night, I feel alone. It’s a struggle every day: corrupt police, crazy truck drivers, terribly bad exhaust fumes irritating my eyes and lungs,… I’m getting to a point I want to just stop…
These trucks make me irritated!!
That’s dust and smog on my face…
I see the light!
On the road I meet Chris again, the Swiss guy who’s going to South Africa on a motorcycle. This is a relief and great distraction. We decide to meet up near Enugu. We both read that there’s a Christian monastery (the first one in Nigeria) with some waterfalls and decide to head up there. The best choice I made! This place is a haven of peace and quiet: no busy traffic, no shouting people everywhere, no corruption,… There even is a waterfall nearby and we decide to take a rest day there and visit that.
Chris
wading through the river
the waterfall!
Solar sisters
On my rest day I decide to visit solar sisters. That’s an organisation that invests in woman’s rural communities with sustainable products (like solar panels) in Africa. Excuse me the copy/paste from heir website but I think they explain it best:
Solar Sister believes women are a key part of the solution to the clean energy challenge. This is why we invest in women’s enterprise in off-grid communities. We see the opportunity to empower women and to reach those who aren’t reached by business-as-usual energy models. Centering local women in a rapidly growing clean energy sector is essential to eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable solutions to climate change and a host of development issues.
Solar sisters!
They took me to one of these communities where they had a meeting. It was a great experience to see how they all support each other and where bonding and helping each other like real sisters. In a very African way they had this meeting: starting and ending with their song that actually is quite catchy. I’m very thankful to have visited this project and will do so in Tanzania. If you want to know more please visit their website and make a donation today! I will, like some other previous project I visited, raise funds by giving presentations for this cause!
Thanks to my sponsors to make this project possible, give them a thumbs up!
After Ivory coast I followed the coastal roads towards Nigeria. A welcoming change with more facilities but on the downside more chaotic traffic.
Coastal cruisin’
After my visit at SOS forêts in Abidjan I had set off towards Ghana. It is a bit strange to suddenly start talking English to people again. Ghana is (like most countries) very welcoming to me and when I’m cycling by lot’s of people are waving at this strange white guy on a bicycle. Because of the flat roads and pretty decent quality I’m able to make good progress and after a couple of days I arrive in Accra. The weather is getting pretty humid and warm here. Especially in the mornings everything is wet when I wake up in a big cloud. This is not helping with my moods when waking up and trying to pack a wet tent.
Country hopping
From Accra I get to Togo. There a corrupt officer tries to trick me asking 5000CFA (around 7,5 euros) more for a transit visa. I look at the visa stamp and indicates the right price. When I ask him why it is more he tells some lame excuse and I stand my ground. Luckily he gives it back without too much hassle and I’m free to go. His “helper” still comes after me and asks me some money which I politely refuse. When giving in to that I will make it much harder for others to cross and helping to support corruption, no thanks. This border crossing is easily forgotten by the very welcoming people of Togo, too bad I’m leaving the same day to enter Benin. I had heard that I could easily get a Congolese visa in Cotonou and when arriving it seems true. In 30 minutes I got my visa and I can catch up in a guesthouse with other overlanders. There I meet a Spanish couple who have just crossed Nigeria and a Swiss guy who will cross it with his motorcycle.
Nigeria
Nigeria has a bad reputation in the news. When I read other traveller’s stories I hear many good things about the country and its population. Still, with some worries I head off to Nigeria and aiming for the biggest city of this country. A massive city with 18 million inhabitants and chaotic traffic. When entering Nigeria I have very warm welcomes, the only difference here are the many (up to 20 or more) police, army, … checkpoints. Mostly I have a good time with these guys and they are just interested in what I’m doing. Their reactions are great as well, mostly extremely surprised about what I’ve done or will be doing, with lot’s, lot’s of expression in their faces and language!
Chaos
One thing is true, Lagos is chaos! Lot’s of traffic, bad roads and people screaming everywhere. The reason they scream at me is mainly out of interest but I can imagine that it can feel quite intimidating at first. The traffic is dangerous but the way I felt it cities like Bangkok where more dangerous. The roads are bigger and better making the cars drive much faster. In here there were so many traffic jams that I was usually faster than the cars. In here you have to have eyes everywhere! I have a mirror on my handlebars and look at it regularly. At the same time I have to look sideways for cars merging in and in front of me. This to avoid potholes or motorcycles, small cars or even police driving in the wrong direction. then you quickly have to look in your mirror if nobody is about to catch you in, then to the front again, assess the situation very fast en hope to avoid the guy driving in the wrong direction. At the same time people are shouting at you (out of friendliness) to get your attention or encourage you. I’m very happy I already have a life full of cycling experience in BMX, Mountainbike and road racing, I can use those skills here.
Rest
I rushed to Nigeria because my visa was about to expire and I reached my goal. Here in Lagos I took 2 rest days. The first day I arranged my Cameroonian visa which was fairly easy and a same day process. The next day I met up with the cycling community for a bike ride in Lagos. This is a very well organised group of cycling enthousiasts and I’m the only one with a touring bike. All others have race bikes and when I hear that the ride will be 70km I start to have second thoughts. Yet we leave in the darkness (early morning ride) and I’m riding in group C. It’s not easy to follow these guys on my bike and I feel that this isn’t going to be a rest day after all. After a couple of hours we get back to the main spot and I’m ready for a second breakfast. That’s the good thing about a big city, food everywhere! Good to get eating and get some energy for the next days here. This ride was well organised, I think with all groups combined we were 40-50 riders and group C about 20 riders. We even had a car escort during the whole way which was a good experience to cycle in this city (broke my phone, no pictures 😓).
Planning
I’ve used the rest here to plan for the next weeks ahead and I feel ready. I’m taking things a bit slower from now on. I’m way ahead of schedule now. They gave me enough days to stay in Nigeria at the border which I’m very happy about. I can explore more of this country with enough time and no pressure. Looking forward to that!
Thanks to my sponsors this project is possible, give them a thumbs up!
After the holidays in Dakar I started cycling with new energy. Both mentally and physically I was ready for a challenge to get in time in Nigeria!
Bye bye
I start cycling again in Tambacounda where I left my bike and fast enough I make my way out of Senegal. The stamping out proces is easy, but still quite some distance to the actual border. This means I will have to continue to entry Guinee in the same day. I don’t take the big asfalted way but a more quiet sand/dirt road which follows just next to a national park. I see many animals along the road and the cycling is just beautiful here! A bit later I reach Guinee and I immediately get a very welcoming feeling in the country. The first village I pass by I ask if I could pitch the tent there. It is a very basic place, with not much resources, but they insist on sharing their dinner with me and I have a great time here. They tell me they used to hear lions roar sometimes but that disappeared a couple of years ago.
Into the hills
The inland of Guinee has quite some hills and the roads take me to the Fouta Djallon region. This is a beautiful area inland of Guinee where the climate gives somewhat “cooler” and drier temperatures. Everywhere I’m cycling people are very warm and welcoming. After a while my arms hurt more than my legs from waving to all those people. I just love the mountains and this whole section gives me great views. The rest in Dakar gave me good energy as I’m still good to cover the daily distances. After a couple of days the legs start to hurt, but the beauty of everything here (nature, people, wildlife,…) totally makes up for that! I meet some other travellers on the road and this helps in making me not feel too lonely, which is a normal feeling after the great time in Dakar. The regular phone calls from friends and family help as well off course! (thankyou)
Coffee and borders
After about a week of cycling I get near the border with Liberia (I stay in Guinee). There I take a route which is a shortcut in distance, but would take about the same amount of time as the normal one (route de cafe/coffee route). No asfalt here but a dirt road taking me between coffee and cacao plantations. There I meet 2 French girls cycling to Benin. But as I’m trying to get many km’s done, we only camp together for the night and then I’m off on my own. Too bad I’m rushing a bit but as I have this goal now but I have to go on and maybe come back one day. I’m still enjoying this to the fullest and cycle on along the Liberian border towards the border with Ivory Coast.
Full speed
The border crossing to Ivory Coast was fairly easy and every time I tell my story to people, they don’t believe me. They are extremely surprised that I’m cycling from Belgium around the world. It creates funny reactions and all kinds of questions. I then receive many good lucks and cheers while I’m setting off again . I just love how people are open and warm in these regions and not even once I feel threatened or scared. In Ivory Coast the hills getting smaller and I can get my distances done with less effort. At the same time it’s getting warmer, but more facilities along the road. I am even able to buy a cold drink from time to time, what a luxury! For water I mainly use the pumps on the side of the road, mostly installed by NGO’s. These are very reliable water sources and always a very social moment for the people around.
Peage
In Ivory Coast I take the road to the Capital city Yamoussoukro. Things get more easy here with better roads, more shops and food. Once I pass by the city there is a big highway (peage) taking me all the way to Abidjan. The road itself feels much safer to cycle, there is more place for the cars and trucks. There aren’t too many of them either and by cycling on the emergency lane it actually feels good cycling here! Soon I enter Abidjan and this city is all chaos. One of the reasons I pass by this city is that I want to visit SOS Forêts, a local NGO fighting to save the forests in Ivory coast. From here in Abidjan I’ll enter Ghana, get to Togo, Benin and reach Nigeria just in time before my visa expires.
SOS
As in many countries I see the same happening here in Ivory Coast: deforestation. Lot’s of forest and wildlife is disappearing and SOS forêts is a local NGO trying to slow down and reverse this. In Abidjan (at the botanical garden of the university) I went to meet the president and other workers in the ngo. This project is already running since 1996. In 1992 Dr. Wadja Agnankou received the Goldman prize for his work to protect the mangroves in West Africa. As a result of this they founded this organisation that is still trying hard to limit the los of the forests here. I had the honour of meeting them and to see how they work. If you would like to know more about their work (I will get more into detail about it in a following post) please visit http://www.sosforets.ci/
If any of you would like to help out in this great organisation, don’t hesitate to contact me. In Belgium I’m giving regular presentations for organisations or companies. The money I get with it goes to such initiatives and my next presentation I will definitely try to raise them some funds. There are other ways to help them out! If you have some equipment laying around that is in your way and you would like to donate, contact me (or them straight away). Equipment meaning: tents, binoculars, camping gear, gps, drone,…. Thank you.
I want to give a big thanks to my sponsors who make this project possible!!
It’s been a great couple of weeks. Meeting up with friends and my girlfriend in Dakar and spend Christmas and New year’s together gave me a great new boost to continue the next push to Kilimanjaro!
Not quite the holiday
When I arrived in Dakar, after greeting my friends, I immediately started my visa hunt. The first one for Guinee Conakry went really well. I was able to get that the same day.
After that I went down to the Embassy of Ivory Coast. Because things went so easy I expected the same here. I was wrong. Without getting too personal about the embassy, I was immediately rejected (I had done research and even called them before). They said I couldn’t apply here. When I got out and told my story (it is not possible to get my visa in Belgium because I’m cycling) the guard said that a letter from the Belgian embassy might help.
Finding help
Having done that (thank you Embassy of Belgium in Dakar for the help!) and getting back they refused my application once more. I had to be a resident of Senegal. Amdel, a Senegalese friend told me that it might be possible and fairly easy to obtain. He took great care of me and helped me out getting to the right people to get me my certificate of residence from the city hall.
Happy, not for long…
As soon as I got that I went straight to the embassy and they refused me again. I needed some other documents of proof… Now it was obvious, there was no easy way to get it here. I was already starting to make different plans to get to other cities and apply there. The thing is that I have visas for Ghana and Nigeria already and I don’t want them to expire so I don’t want to make too big detours.
An hour after I get out of the embassy I receive an email from the embassy of Ivory Coast in Brussels. I had mailed them regarding my issue and they understood my case. They told that if I would send it with DHL they could, exceptionally, grant me a visa. So I did.
More help on the way
I sent my passport the 31th of December which they received the 2nd of January. At 10 am they mailed me my passport was ready for pick up. My brother (Peter) cycles to the embassy to pick it up. About an hour later good friends of mine (Willy and Doris) go to my brother and bring it to their cousin (Yves), who’s wife works for Brussels Airlines. Their daughter (Ellen) drops it off at the airport and one of the crew members (Valerie) takes it on the next flight. There she drops it in the hotel outside of Dakar. Then a friend of Luca (Camille) passes by and picks up my passport and brings it to where we are. All just took a couple of days and it is amazing how all those people worked together to get my passport here in time!!!
Gratitude
I’m very grateful to all those who helped in getting my passport in time so I don’t need to rush too much to get in time at the border with Ghana. Thank you very much Luca, Amdel, Frederic, Katrien, Yves, Ellen, Valerie, Peter, Willy, Doris and Camille for the transport, translation and/or writing letters to get this one done. Thank you very much Inge (my girlfriend) for being so patient along my side during this whole process.
Holiday!
Beside all this visa stress I had an amazing time in Dakar. It’s not always easy to be so long away from home and especially travelling alone. These past 2 weeks have given me great mental and physical energy again. We have been visiting many places in and around Dakar and had a great variation between relaxing, party, surf and train a bit. I had so much fun that it is with sadness I see them all leave and lot’s of mixed feelings to be going my own way again. Thank you guys for all the fun and patience, I’ll be remembering this on the harder moments of the next episode!
happy new year!
Sene Surf
As part of this project I try to visit individuals, organisations or businesses trying to create a better world for everybody. In Dakar I visited a local restaurant/bar/ organisation that is trying to keep the beaches clean. They are the only ones in the area trying to actively do that. The restaurant is a pioneer in Dakar because it’s the only waste free project in Dakar. The garbage that they find, or gets in is getting recycled. One of the issues in Dakar is that they don’t get lot’s of support from the local government.
They already invited all different mayors to visit them so they can explain the necessity of the plastic pollution. They never got any response and therefore they believe that it has to come from the people itself. They try and convince other businesses in the are to do the same and definitely limit their single use plastics. They regularly clean up the beach and have a paying service (private company) that is in charge of waste management (recycling and garbage collecting). If you go to Dakar, definitely visit these motivated guys! If you want to help please visit their website www.senesurfdk.com or contact me (veyt.jelle@gmail.com).
Many thanks to the sponsors who make this all possible!!!
