Author: Admin

  • Cycling and climbing with ups and downs

    Cycling and climbing with ups and downs

    It’s been 3 months off the bike in Belgium and a lot has happened since. I’ve been climbing, cycling and preparing for the next stretches. The plan is to cycle from LA to Seattle with a detour to Yosemite. Then in December I’m heading back to Belgium for the holidays and preparing for the 3rd and final part to Denali. This will be from Februari till May. I had a great time seeing my friends, family and Marie again. I organised a brunch celebrate the 10 years of the Secutec seven summits and all the people who helped me in those years. I got an extension from my sponsorships, so a BIG shout out to Secutec (the cybersecurity expert), Elementsbvba (distributors of Houdini, kleankanteen, Nordisk, Patagonia,… lots of great gear) and VDWbikes (distributor of VSF Fahrradmanufaktur, my bike). Marie and I spent a great summer together but then we kinda realised our lives aren’t very compatible anymore. Sadly we broke up just before I left on this journey again. With double feelings I left back to the US for another part of this adventure.

    Fresh start

    Back in LA I meet up with some friends and head out to the place my bike was stored over summer. I take my time to set everything up, Karen and Bob are great hosts and take me around whenever I need to go to the shops. I feel ready for this adventure as this will include parts cycling and a big part of climbing. The first day is very nice as Bob is joining me and knows all the nice roads for me to take. But soon I get to some boring farmlands and realise that the wind will be against me for a long time (as most people warn me about). It’s great though, cycling against the normal direction. Most people cycle south so that means I’m meeting so many other cyclists every day, with lots of information about the upcoming route.

    Landslide

    I follow the highway 1 along the coast, which gets more beautiful the further I go. It’s with a detour I’m heading to Yosemite, but just so wonderful. There’s a landslide on this highway not allowing any traffic to pass. It will take a long time for the road to be ready again but because of the other cyclists I knew there was a way around. Just go very early in the morning, or late in the evening when there’s no workers there. So I did and it’s pretty great cycling in this region with not so much traffic. Just a couple of cars every ten minutes or so because of this roadblock. I guess when the road is complete it’s a lot more tricky to cycle. Soon I’m in Big Sur and there it gets really beautiful. Those redwood trees are amazing and camping in this forrest is too. After some decent rest I’m heading to Monterey by the coast and it’s all easy cycling. Until I go inland. Then things get boring again and more complicated. 

    Freeway rolling

    I’m trying to avoid the big roads as much as possible and sometimes I win, sometimes I loose. The biggest loss is when I try to get through from Hollister to Los Banos. Komoot gave me a nice mountain route, but after 30 minutes cycling uphill, I found that this road is closed. It’s private property and the owner shut it down. Pretty frustrated (and how is this just possible, it was public once?) I go back and go for the freeway 152, that clearly is allowed to cycle on the shoulder. Not advised tough. It’s just a crazy road, try cycling the E40 in Belgium on a windy road. Full of trash and other obstacles on the shoulder, cars driving by and you go uphill so slowly. Sometimes people think I shouldn’t be there and start to honk at me. There are cyclist signs painted on the shoulder so I’m supposed to be there. It was a crazy day and when I get to the other side of the hills I’m just done. I find a place to camp at a lake, where I meet really friendly people. A German couple I have dinner and beer with and then a Mexican American couple. Really nice to finish my long day on terrible roads. That’s what is great about trips like this. You get some lows, but you get rewarded!

    Back to the hills

    Another day of cycling later I’m staring the feel the first hills. I’ve been riding through farmlands again but on much nicer roads. Then I get to Mariposa, a bit of a gateway to Yosemite. The old road doesn’t have much traffic and I really need to get there. Late in the evening I arrive at a door of my warmshowers host. She told me she is on a trip herself, but will just leave the door open! I was super excited about having a nice bed again and maybe even a rest day, I started to get some knee pain in the past days. After my day off, and eating very good, I set off to Yosemite. A climber’s paradise and I was looking forward to this stop for a very long time! Just before arriving I got in touch with Forrest Schaeffer. He’s a hobby photographer and was up for a photoshoot as I would enter the valley. Just look at the pictures! I mean it really felt like I was cycling in a painting and I felt overwhelmed by emotions just arriving here. By the night was falling I got to the famous camp 4 where I pitched my tent and had a great first night.

    Rock on and fly high

    I came to Yosemite with not too many objectives or expectations. I just wanted to get to know the area, it’s people and climbing style. Even before I was really settled in, I got contacted by a couple of people. Cary sent me a message and we set off for my first multi pitch in the valley. The same evening I met up with his friends and all of them ‘adopted’ me in their group. A couple of days later they where planning to rig up a highline. That’s kind of a slackline, but higher off the ground. We left early in the morning on El Capitan, jugging our way up a couple of hundreds of meters to Heart ledges. The plan was to rig up the highline across this ledge system. While I was just witnessing the spectacle. A huge line, across these ledges, hundreds of meters where the result! Really impressive as I saw it just above my head and Cary was the first one to walk over it. Everyone had its go on it and I climbed up higher up to see it from above. Just amazing to see these people crossing this thin and bouncy line, high up. When almost everyone was finished they called me in to get there and give it a try. I was a bit reluctant but I gave it a go. Not easy being on something like that and in the end I managed to slide sitting on it about one third. There I tried to stand once but I epicly failed on that and fell off. Overall it was a crazy experience with that kind of exposure. I’m happy I was on my first highline ever, on El Capitan!

    The next days we did several other climbing trips, with different people. I knew it was gonna be a very tough one to be climbing here. The style is totally different to what I’m used of (crack climbing). And having a bit of trad experience helped, but not for the nerves. Overall I’m very happy about my time here already. I learned a lot and one day I want to climb El Cap so this was a very good first learning school for when I will cycle south again. Then I want to pass by here again and get one of the objectives here. For now, it’s still a distant dream and I need to focus on the next summit and getting there. 

    Not all is good

    After about 2 weeks in the valley I go climbing with David and we’re up for a long day out. I get up very early, but I’m feeling a bit off. I think I’ll get warmed up while doing the long approach and get into it. During this approach I’m too fast out of breath and we climb the first 2 pitches. A horrible chimney where I can’t seem to get through. When we get to the anchors, I explain I’m feeling bad and maybe should retreat. In the end I’m happy I did, because the next day I was really sick. That explained a lot over the days. At the same time, I wasn’t feeling mentally strong. A result of the sad news I heard that my aunt has cancer and not so much time left. It creeped in the back of my head and popped up during the climb. Being sick in my tent now and getting as much rest as possible helps, as well as keeping in touch with some friends and family back home. There’s a lot of stuff going in my head right now, the breakup with Marie, my aunt, being ill. I’m just happy and grateful I can call friends and family and talk about it. At the same time very grateful to have met so many cool people here so that gives me time to get distracted and space to let things come to me. 

    Still, I’m very happy to be here, even when being ill. I’m looking forward to be seeing friends and family in December, but enjoying lot’s of moments here too. The time off here I use to write, think, rest and prepare for the bigger objective: heading to and climbing Denali!

    The last days in the valley I went for a hike and a last multi pitch climb. The perfect goodbye to the valley and it’s great people. Then I left for a 75 km bike ride out of the hills, with some long climbs. I suffered a lot that day and when arriving in the evening I had a fever and a cough. This made me stay in bed for 3 days and I hope now, I’m ready to continue cycling up north to Seattle.

    Thanks to my sponsors who make this happen!

  • Planning, failing and planning

    Planning, failing and planning

    It’s been a year that I have been writing on this blog. Not because I’ve done nothing, but mainly because I’ve been making many plans, but they kinda failed to be executed. 

    After my return in Belgium I immediately started preparing for the next mountain: Denali. As the highest mountain of North America it is not easy to get there. After my failed rowing attempt I decided to get back to my original plan: go to Russia and cross Siberia in winter to the Easternmost point. From there I planned to kayak to Alaska and trek to Denali. 

    My preparation consisted of arranging logistics, administration (permits etc), routes, and training. Because I had never skied in my life, I needed to learn that as well. I took some (tour)skiing courses in the Alps with my girlfriend which definitely wasn’t that easy for me. Many falls later (and laughs of her) I’m still not a very good skier….

    But, after some months of preparation the Russians started to invade Ukraine and the whole expedition is paused. Because I don’t want to wait indefinitely for the whole area to be safe to travel, I had a difficult decision to make. 

    There where 2 options to me: 

    1. fly to Alaska and climb Denali, from there cycle down to Aconcagua ( the highest mountain of South America). When the situation would improve (after many years?), I could finish the Belgium Siberia route by human power. 
    2. Cross the ocean by sailboat and cycle/walk to Denali and climb it. Then still finish the Siberia expedition one day when things calm down. 

    Finally, I chose the second option, it is not the easiest or fastest option, but I would feel more comfortable instead of flying in. Sailing is still within the philosophy of the project, but I still feel that one day I would like to cross Siberia in winter. 

    I found a sailing team that I could join from France to Saint Lucia. We would stop at Gran Canaria for some days and continue to the Caribbean. From there I don’t know yet how I will reach the American (Panama) mainland, I’m still searching for a solutions. According to most people I contacted, I would be able to hitch a ride on a boat from there. 

    In Panama (or another American country) I will cycle to Alaska, which will take me about 14.000km in 6 months. Then it’s not finished yet, because I will have to go through Alaska to reach the base of the mountain. This will be a very demanding expedition!

    The 3rd of November, I will start sailing from Lorient. I often get the question about why sailing would be better than rowing and if I will not get seasick on that trip? 

    I’ve been talking to some experienced people and my doctor to see if it would be possible and we found some reasons why the sailing could work out for me:

    • the sailboat (21m)  is much bigger than the 9 m rowboat I was trying to cross the ocean with, so the waves are relatively smaller
    • A sailboat has a keel, the rowboat not, which makes the tilt less aggressive
    • I will not have to row for 13 hours straight. I will have to work on the sailboat, but my safety and that of others is not completely dependent on my seasickness
    • I’m better prepared in the case of seasickness (medication)
    • Sailing is much faster compared to rowing. We planned to row for 3 months non-stop on the ocean. The sailing will take about 40 days in total, which I wil have 20 days non stop  on the ocean. 

    Still, for me the ocean is not my favourite place. I have been rowing for 6 months to Papua and I liked it, but not like climbing mountains. So to be honest, I will be happy to be in Panama where I can continue cycling and climbing mountains. 

    cycling to Lorient and posing in front of the boat I’ll be sailing with

    A couple of weeks ago I already started the journey to Denali by cycling from Belgium to Lorient. It took me a week to get there, on a very nice cycle route through Normandy and Bretagne. Once arrived in Lorient I visited the boat and headed back by bus to Belgium. I did this on my brand new touring bike: vsf fahrradmanufaktur. Very happy to announce this new partnership with this brand of really good touring bikes. I’m currently riding a TX-1200 model and will give some updates about the bike from time to time.

    The reason I had to head back to Belgium is that I needed to guide a group to Kilimanjaro from the 28th of September to the 25th of October. A couple of years ago, Etion asked me to do this and I agreed on that. I was supposed to arrive in Tanzania by bicycle and climb Kilimanjaro myself. As I would already have been there, the group would arrive after my climb and I would guide them up. But because of covid everything got delayed until now. Therefore I had to cycle to Lorient now, guide on the mountain, and head back to Lorient by train after that’s finished. Very busy weeks, but soon I’ll be back on track to the highest mountain of North America! 

    Thanks to my sponsors who help me make this adventure possible:

  • Kilimanjaro summit #4!

    Kilimanjaro summit #4!

    After cycling 19.000km from Belgium to the start gate of kilimanjaro I “parked” my bike again and started climbing up the mountain. At the gate itself I had a group of friends waiting for me to join me on this climb. 

    • my friends waiting for me at the Machame gate

    To climb Kilimanjaro you need permits, guides and porters. It is not possible (permission wise) to climb it completely on your own. That’s why I teamed up with Wild Tanzania to organise a group myself instead of joining one. We made up a group with friends to join. Therefore this was a special climb, it is a non technical climb that only needs a good physical stamina and acclimatisation so everybody was welcome to join.

    It took us 6 days to reach the summit, slowly going up the slopes of this beautiful mountain. In fact, it seems more like a mountain range while passing many different climate zones. The key part is to go up very slowly and it was just a fun climb with this group of people. Telling jokes and enjoying the scenery wile walking up. As it is not my first time at extreme altitude, the climb itself was not very difficult to me. Just the presence of the group made it a special experience. 

    By the 20th of September I finally reached the 4th mountain of the Secutec Seven Summits! A very special moment again, especially the last hour or so. Like the previous summits, I relived many moments and efforts to just get there: handbiking from Belgium to the south of Spain for weeks with Frank. Then crossing the Strait of Gibraltar by Kayak onto the African continent. From there I cycled another 17.000km through west, central and east Africa for many months to finally arrive at the foot of this mountain. It was an amazing experience to get there and I’m very impressed by this huge continent. 

    It makes me very grateful for all the people who helped me achieve this goal again! A very special thanks to Secutec who help me achieve my dream to become the first person ever to do this. And thank you to all of you who support me in any way, by joining me, sending me messages or anything else. It is already such a fantastic ride en I’m up for so much more!

  • The final push

    The final push

    After the rest in the Mutinondo wilderness camp I had new physical and mental energy to cycle the last part to Kilimanjaro. Determined that I would make it in time, I planned a route with some detours to visit some beautiful places along the way.

    Beach time

    Taking a turn off the main road to Tanzania I find a more relaxed road going straight up North. Because of Covid, the small border I’m heading to is closed. Locals tell me pedestrians and cyclists can cross anyway so I’m taking the risk. Pretty soon I end up cycling the 500 km near the border. There I take another road in the direction of Kalambo falls. A pretty, but rough ride takes me to this amazing place. The waterfalls are about 235m high and it’s quite remote. After a refreshing pause I continue descending down to lake Tanganyika. It’s one of the biggest freshwater lakes in the world and definitely worth the visit. The only painful part is that the descent is pretty long on a rough gravel road. Already feeling the pain for the uphill the next day…

    The final crossing

    My rest day at the lake helped me to get up the hill again, but it hurt a lot. Pushing hard to get up the steep hill with many loose rocks. I found most energy out of the fact that I would cross the final border in Africa and will be entering Tanzania! The border is a very relaxed one, and they only ask a quick test for covid to enter. Soon I’m stamped in and then I meet a group of cyclists. They cycled from Zimbabwe to Uganda for charity and are now driving back with the support cars. It’s really nice to meet them and they give me some good tips for the road. As well as some of their snacks (thank you so much) and a mosquito net for my head. That’s mainly to protect me from the tsetse flies that I will encounter later. I find a really nice place to camp not far from the border and the next days I’m heading to Katavi national park, one of the few you’re allowed to cycle through.

    Attack of the flies

    Before cycling through the national park, people warned me about dangerous animals there, especially lions. They told me to cycle on the warmest moments of the day, that’s when the animals are the least active. It’s only 60km on a bad (constant washboard) gravel road so I’m not too worried about all of that. Another warning where the tsetse flies, they are extremely terrible there. Especially when you’re cycling. They follow moving objects an just want to suck your blood. Insect repellent is not very effective for these little bastards. They get very active on the warmest moments and they made the drive a hell!

    Followed by a swarm of those blood sucking vampires I’m swearing myself through the park, occasionally spotting some wildlife. Sometimes I’m finding the courage to take my camera, but only to start hitting myself non stop. This means no stopping at all, not even for drinking or eating. At the end of the day, getting out of the park I’m completely exhausted. Mainly because of a lack of fuel. But when I cross the bridge and I see all the hippos and crocodile in the river I’ve forgotten about those terrible flies. The next day was rest day and I went for a game drive. Not being attacked as frequently by those flies was a luxury and gave me the opportunity to take more pictures.

    The final push

    As I’m getting closer to Arusha it feels that my body needs some descent rest. I promised myself 5 days of rest before climbing which I’m looking forward to. From the Congo-Zambian border the main wind direction was against me, sometimes more, sometimes less. It became very frustrating to push every day and I was getting really sick of it. Slowly I made my progress, still enjoying the views and experiences of the road. I take it easy and try not to get frustrated about it. Which after a while really helps and while having fun, I’m making progress. After some days I finally arrive near Arusha. Instead of pushing through and finding a hotel I look for a nice place to camp one last night somewhere alone.

    It’s a great time to realize what I’ve done, cycled and kayaked 19.000km from Belgium to Kilimanjaro. What an experience that was! I love enjoying the stars before getting back to the city where I will wait my friends to climb together. Here in Arusha now I’m taking some well deserved rest in Onsea house and the 11th of September I will go up Mount Meru with Ben and Nuno. We’ll be back down the 13th. The next day I will cycle half a day to Moshi where the other friends will arrive to climb Kilimanjaro with me. The 16th I’ll cycle to the Moshi gate where the others will start the climb with me and I’ll leave the bike to climb up. Can’t wait to get going in the mountains and especially climb the 4th mountain of the Secutec Seven Summits!

    • water pumps are always a great stop in Africa!
    • Camping inside this building
    • Last camp spot before arusha
    • last sunset before entering Arusha

    Special thanks to my sponsors who make this adventure possible!

  • Zambian Tranquility

    Zambian Tranquility

    After my negative PCR test it was time for the last 100km of the DRC into Zambia. People in Zambia warned me for the passing trucks and traffic. Luckily it never went as bad as in the Congo. One of the disadvantages of cycling on good roads was to discover that the main wind direction was south east.

    • saw too many of these on the road in the DRC

    First impressions

    Zambia is a calm country, people drive more carefully and roads are in good condition. Everything is a very big contrast compared to the DRC, except for the friendliness of the people that stays the way it was. I can find food everywhere, even lot’s of fresh food and I find some supermarkets that overwhelm me with choices!

    • bored, but happy

    Boring progress

    I’m making good progress on this road, despite the constant headwind. Mostly there are some trees or vegetation at the side of the road to filter it, or the passing trucks give me a push in the right direction. I’m cycling on this plateau of around 1500m the whole time, taking me up and down from time to time. Cycling is somewhat boring , but I’m still enjoying the views and the many foodstops along the way. This road is helping me to make some good distance. Not that I’m in a rush, I’m well ahead of schedule. But mainly because I want to make a small detour to Kilimanjaro to visit some nice and interesting places now that I’m here.

    Rest in heaven

    My first real stop is Mutinondo wilderness. A very nice place in a nature reserve where I can take the first proper rest since starting again. I’m taking some days off to recover, eat healthy, fresh food and enjoy some good company before heading North to Tanzania. Here I meet other Belgians that are travelling the area with kids from an orphanage (an American NGO) in Northern Zambia. And then some Belgians working in the forest conservation. Nice to talk Dutch from time to time.

    My time camping in the nature reserve gave me the right energy to continue my trip to Kilimanjaro, I’m nearing it! Only 1900 km to go and we can start climbing 😉. Thanks to some boring roads I’m making good progress and I’m a couple of days from the Tanzanian border. From here I’m making some detours to visit some nice places now that I can.

    Thank you very much to my sponsors who make this project possible.

    https://secutec.eu/
  • Cycling the DRC part 2

    Cycling the DRC part 2

    After a day of rest in Kananga I left to find slightly better road conditions. The whole drive to Lubumbashi took me another 2 weeks to complete with a few good roads, and many terrible ones to push the bike. Despite the bad road conditions I had a really great ride in this country.

    Diamond towns

    From Kananga I head to Mbuji Mayi, another diamond city in the heart of Congo. But before reaching it, I stop by lake Mukamba where I read there’s a catholic mission with some nice rooms to rest. The road itself is better and I have to walk only about 10 percent of the drive to Mbuji Mayi. One of the bridges broke and the locals made one out of bamboo to cross it. This means no cars or trucks passing by that can’t destroy the road that much. After a great rest at the lake I’m off to the next city. Mbuji Mayi is a very loud city and everyone screams at me while entering. Not in a bad way, just trying to get my attention. It is annoying to do that while trying to avoid potholes, passing cars and motorcycles. Very soon I find a place to sleep and prepare for the next day.

    • crossing the bamboo bridge
    • pushing the bike again

    Keep rolling

    From Mbuji Mayi to Mwene Ditu I find an asphalt road, not perfect but good enough for cycling and that day I can make some good distance. When it’s almost getting dark I’m trying to find a place to sleep, but then a guy on a motorcycle starts to follow me. It happens quite a lot (in many parts of the world) that people do that and mainly they do it out of interest. We start to talk a bit but I’d prefer him to leave so I can find a nice place to camp in the forest. He tells me there is a police barrier further up. Because he’s worried about me so continues to follow me. In the end it’s very nice and he drops me off at a secure place then continues to his house. In all these parts there are less checkpoints but when there are, they are very nice to me. Just doing their job, being friendly and not trying to persuade me to pay. Even on one occasion the DGM (much feared immigration) asked money, I explain them what I’m doing and they get me a free drink!

    • They didn’t let me go, I had to eat!
    • DGM wanting to pose with me, being happy I’m visiting their country

    Ups and downs

    My hopes where high after the asphalt road but that didn’t last long. The conditions got very bad again with several stretches of pushing the bike for hours. Sometimes I feel strong, other times I’m exhausted, pushing the bike. Sand everywhere, pain, itch, a dry mouth, pedals hitting my shins, blisters,  it’s a struggle… But all the amazing kind people I meet, make up for that. Sometimes I’m not cycling alone. I meet several people who are travelling for a week or more to the next town, just to buy dry fish and head back to their village to sell it. All on these old steel bikes. Their stories touch me and I’m happy we can share this experience. They’re pushing their heavy loads in the sand. It’s a great lesson of humility, I’m not doing something extraordinary, these people do! And with a smile.

    That’s what I like about travelling by bike, being able to meet people from all kind of places, not just going from city to city but everywhere in between. This way I understand their life a little bit better and just makes me respect them more.

    As the villages are getting further apart I’m camping in the wild regularly as well. Not only because there is nothing, also because it gives me some privacy. Being in a village is nice but after a while I want to be able to sit alone without 30 people watching everything I do.

    Back on track

    The road mainly follows the old railroad that is still operational, but I think I only once saw a train. They are not very frequent, neither fast. The same goes for the trucks, they are overloaded with stuff and lots of people on top. Crazy to see and when they pass me I get covered in a cloud of dust and fumes. Many times I pass them the next day because the truck is stuck, had an accident or broke down and they’re working on it. My whole trip from Kinshasa to Lubumbashi took me about 25 days, most trucks do about the same time on that…

    It all starts to get difficult, and I’m really looking forward to some rest. Therefore I’m pushing it more to reach Lubumbashi where I promised myself some rest days. The last 200km are asphalt again, but this is the only time I feared for my life in Congo. The trucks and traffic, connecting Kolwezi with Lubumbashi, are just extremely dangerous. I see many cars and trucks in the side of the road, completely destroyed after horrific crashes. Most don’t care if you’re there. They will overtake another car or truck and if you as a cyclist don’t get out of the way, you’re in bad luck… Even from the back that happens and having the mirror on my handlebars saves my life many times.

    Looking back

    After all, I had a really good experience here in the DRC. I read and heard many stories of corruption, dangerous places and people. Out of my experience it’s different. Yes there’s corruption but not very different than in another African country. The problem is mainly focused at the locals I’m afraid, having to pay police to be able to transport some goods on their bicycle, which is really sad… People in general where amazing and kind, except for a few, but you have those everywhere in the world. I learned a lot and this country will have a long lasting effect on me, I will have to process what I’ve seen and experienced here for a while.

    Congo exceeded my expectations a lot and I’m happy to have cycled here, thank you for that!

    Thank you very much to my sponsors who make this project possible.

  • Cycling the DRC part 1

    Cycling the DRC part 1

    As I was preparing to cycle through the Democratic Republic of the Congo I read different blogs on how people crossed this huge country overland. I got a mixed feeling about it (excitement, fear, …) and when talking to my friend Tracy who lives in Kinshasa, she said “you either love it or hate it”. For the first part I can tell you, it’s really hard, but it’s worth it!

    Leaving the big city

    The first challenge was escaping the city of Kinshasa, one of the biggest cities of Africa and easily compared to Lagos, Nigeria. After having cycled here I can say it’s not exactly the same. Because of the stories here of people being robbed and such I was on high guard (just like in Lagos). But the feeling the city itself gave me was okay, I didn’t fear for my life being run over by crazy drivers. To my surprise I get out of town quite easily and once passed the airport I’m continuing the N1.

    The countryside

    Once out of town everything calms down a bit. There is still a good asphalted road, but less traffic. It takes me up and down, to another plateau giving me a cooler climate. Cooler at night, the daytime I’m still cycling in 30°-35°C temperatures.  People around are screaming at me, but in a good way. I was afraid that maybe corona would’ve impacted the view on travellers here, but I never noticed that. It is still very intense and people are really enthusiastic, which can be experienced like threatening. My time in Nigeria learnt me that the enthusiasm comes from a very sincere kindness.

    • at the catholic mission
    • almost daily eating a pineapple, never alone!
    • long stretch of boring road…

    Authorities

    Mainly I sleep at farms, villages or catholic missions at the side of the road. Occasionally at a police barrier. I read many bad things about authorities here and was afraid that corruption would bring me into tight spots. Especially the DGM (Immigration) has a bad reputation. I must say, until now I didn’t encounter many difficulties. At least not different than any other country. If I was asked for money, they would just ask after my registration was done in a very polite way. They mainly ask for something to drink (about 40 cents).

    • With the village chief

    Until I reach Tshikapa. A feared city on my list and it became some reality. The nice DGM officers took me to the main office. Where I was treated in a good way and just interrogated by 3 different people, taking a lot of time. Then I could go, but I had to pass by the Intelligence service too, for my safety. The police in the city stopped us and being quite aggressive to me and the DGM officer. Trying to intimidate us. After some discussion we could go. At the intelligence there was another long time of waiting, interrogation and registering. At the end the wanted 50 dollars for that service. We got into a discussion about it as they didn’t want to hand me any official proof that I would pay… I really hate these kind of situations and in the end it took me more than 4 hours to get away from all the hassle.

    Still, most of the checkpoints and officials I go to are nice and friendly and are doing a good job. It just takes time and patience but they take their job seriously and feel responsible for me passing through in safety. And I understand that for them it’s not obvious for someone to be cycling a bicycle to Tanzania just for fun, while he could easily pay for a flight there. Even in one village I asked the police if I could sleep there, they slept in front of my tent to protect me (no money asked)!

    • with the DGM
    • morning with the police

    End of the road

    After about 1000 km of asphalt road it stops quite abruptly and there is ar “road” that I can follow. Mainly it’s sand, making it impossible to ride my bike. The only way is pushing the bike for very long stretches and suffering in the heat. Sometimes there is a possibility to cycle but not for long. Going through the villages helps but then I get chased by all the screaming children ( in a nice way). After a couple of days I arrive in Kananga, the capital of the Kasai-Central province. I’m really enjoying this drive through the country. It’s very hard, but worth it.

    • terrible sand!
    • kids chasing me

    Thank you very much to my sponsors who make this project possible.

  • Starting trouble

    Starting trouble

    The 29th of June I started cycling from Dolisie to the border of the DRC. The ride was great, mainly small gravel roads into the hills to the border. I passed several checkpoints (police, army,…) and then nearing the border I got stopped by Immigration. They wrote down all my details and I was free to go on. Until about 10 minutes later the officer comes back on a motorcycle. He called his boss in Dolisie and told me I had to go back. They put me on a truck that dangerously drove me back. The next day the colonel came to visit me in the city, still hoping he would allow me to cross. There was no discussion possible, I had to get permission in Brazzaville.

    • happy to be cycling again!

    Plan C

    That day I left, disappointed, to Brazzaville. Some years ago there was a whole new road constructed, asphalt all the way to the city. During my ride on it I neared the border a couple of times and asked there as well, without success… In a meanwhile I contacted some people at the embassy and found some connections that are willing to help me get it sorted out. The ride itself to Brazzaville was great. Sleeping in the villages I meet on the road, the people being all so friendly and welcoming! I’m feeling good and it’s the dry season. This means it is not as warm and humid as last time I was here. It’s making my nights a whole lot better as it cools down at night. I’m still drinking about 6 litres of water a day though.

    • the long good road to Brazzaville

    The new road is great, but makes a huge detour around the city. This is definitely a lot faster by car, but as I’m cycling it was just some extra km’s. As I arrived in Brazzaville, I’m having some obligatory rest to get everything done. I hope to be in Kinshasa soon so I can continue this adventure. The real one is about to start: cycling the DRC, which I’m very excited about!

    Thank you very much to my sponsors who make this project possible.

  • Plan B

    Plan B

    After my last attempt to row the ocean to Miami I decided to finish off my human powered to Kilimanjaro. Last year I had to hurry back from the Republic of Congo as borders where closing with the beginning of the pandemic. My bike stayed at the Swiss Consul for that time. The 25th of June I flew out to the Republic of Congo again, to pick up my bike and continue cycling.

    Nice to see you again!

    Arriving here is strange because I’ve left it with a very big unknown when I would come back and what would’ve changed by then. Most is back to a kind of normal here, except the usual like wearing masks, pcr test for border crossings etc. Another concern I had is that my bike, which was one year in a warm humid climate, would be rusted or some parts wouldn’t function well. Luckily it didn’t, although I had to replace something which was already broken and that took me a long time. Next was to unpack the bike from the box and get everything set!

    • curious about the damage inside
    • reasonably happy
    • happy and ready to go!

    The new route

    My original plan was to cycle from here South to Angola, I heard it’s an amazing country to cycle so it was on my list. Sadly their borders are still closed off because of covid, there’s another route which is more demanding (and rewarding?). Tomorrow I will start to cycle from Dolisie (if my covid test is negative tonight) south towards a small border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, so there’s 2 “Congo’s”, confusing I know). I hope to be able to enter there and pass to Matadi and further to Kinshasa. There I’ll visit some friends, recover and prepare for the next leg. Then it’s cycling South-East to Lubumbashi and from there into Zambia. This part in the DRC will be the most demanding one according to others who travelled there by motorcycle and car. It consists of mainly dirt and sandy roads which means pushing the bike. For some of them it took 3 weeks to cover a distance of 2000 km with a motorised vehicle. I hope it will be okay by bicycle but I’m prepared for some good adventure time!

    • The not so accurate route, I’m estimating to add up to 1000 km because maps doesn’t know about road conditions

    Cooling down

    After the DRC I’ll be cycling from Zambia into Tanzania over (probably) mainly asphalt roads. I hope to arrive in Machame (the base of Kilimanjaro) by the 10th of September. Then I’ll have a couple of days rest before my friends arrive and we can start the climb together.

    As usual keep following here or follow me on the map where I am in the next couple of months.

    Thank you very much to my sponsors who make theseSecutec Seven Summits possible.

    http://secutec.eu
  • Finding my limits

    Finding my limits

    On the 25th of February Koen, Gijs and I departed from Portimao by rowboat to Miami. After a long wait, the weather predictions finally looked good with the first couple of days high waves and winds, but mainly in the right direction. I knew this crossing would be challenging, especially since I know how easily I get seasick. I know this from the previous expedition to Papua, where I spent 6 months in total to row there. This was mainly island hopping. On the longer crossings I got seasick.

    • Picture by Miguel Titéca

    The first wave

    The first day was going pretty well. Ricardo and Fa are escorting us out of the marina by sailboat and we’re very excited to be crossing the ocean! The first night is hard. We need to cross the shipping lane fast so we continue to row 2 hrs on 1 hr off and of course I’m getting seasick like expected. I was prepared for that and vomited myself through the night. The next couple of days were extremely hard. I didn’t manage to eat or drink properly and as a result got dehydrated and didn’t have much energy to row. During the days I was able to row, but mostly the evening I got so sick that I couldn’t row anymore. Luckily Koen and Gus were there to continue rowing during those nights.

    • Feeling good for now
    • First miles support boat

    Counting calories

    Usually sea sickness can take up to 10 days, with mostly the worst going away after 3 days. After the first 4 or 5 days of vomiting, the weather was good. Not too big of waves and not too much wind. It gave me hope, because it felt like an impossible thing to do for me in those first days. With not too much motion from the waves I was starting to feel better. I was able to eat a full meal from Trek n’ Eat and eat some 4gold energy bars.

    I’m counting my calories and trying to get to 5000 kcal a day, which I never succeeded in. The rowing was going good and the energy came back to me. The second day of calmer weather I was even able to eat 2 full meals. I had hope, just to start vomiting again that same evening. My meals where not digesting properly.

    • showing off the 24hrs ration packs
    • Captain Koen preparing his meal

    For Koen there was some sea sickness in the first days but that gradually got better. Gus aka “iron stomach” never got sick, could still eat a lot and could even read on his e-reader with 5 m waves. Something that made me jealous of course.

    • very calm seas
    • just enjoying this “break”

    The second wave

    After this intermezzo where I felt a bit better I got sick again. Same kind of sickness where I’m barely able to keep anything inside. Including medication. It was hard, but despite that we were still enjoying. That’s what I loved about it. We were on our limits, but we never had tensions and still had a good time! Well most of it… The one thing I wasn’t looking forward to was going to the toilet. Luckily it didn’t happen that much since I didn’t get much food inside of me.

    • Trying to smile while being sick

    Taking a dump goes as follows (right in front of your friend who’s rowing):

    • take wet wipes (bamboo ones) and alcohol gel
    • fill the bucket with sea water
    • try taking off your pants and sit on the bucket
    • take a dump
    • throw your poo and the water overboard
    • take sea water and clean yourself
    • wipe off with a wet wipe and disinfect your hands
    • Koen showing how it’s done

    If this seems okay, try to do it on a choppy sea…

    The next days were up and down with the sea sickness. One time I can eat, I get my hopes up and think I’m getting better. A few hours later everything is going out again. It just doesn’t stop and I’m starting to realise that after 14 days it doesn’t get any better. I’m dehydrated and don’t get enough water and calories in me to row properly. We talk about it as a team and realise this is not safe anymore. From time to time I’m just shaking and my heart rate is not in control. So we decide to divert to Tenerife and go to land. I try to row as much as possible, which mostly works.

    • trying to sleep in a tiny wobbly cabin

    Learning to fail

    From the moment I realise I have to stop I feel very bad. I feel disappointed and feel like I’m disappointing a lot of people. Koen and Gus, sponsors, friends and family… At the same time I knew that stopping was not a choice, it was a clear sign of my body to stop here. Koen and Gus are disappointed, because we will not reach Miami by rowboat. However, they know that seasickness is beyond my control. They were very supportive and realise well enough that I’m not to blame, which I’m very grateful for.

    Overall I’m happy about this expedition, I didn’t reach my goals, but I learned a lot. It’s the first time in my life that my body sais: you can’t do this. So I’m grateful that it’s only now that it’s doing that. I’ve been going to amazing places and doing crazy stuff. That’s what adventure is about, there should be a great possibility to fail. I’m happy to find out what my limits are.

    We stepped on the boat as 3 friends and because of the great teamwork and understanding we got off the boat as 3 better friends. As a team we managed to get to Tenerife without having to resort to a rescue operation. We did inform local authorities and rescue services, mainly to have them stand by in case my situation would deteriorate. Luckily it didn’t. We failed one out of 3 objectives and this was my main one: rowing to Miami. The other 2 objectives: the ocean rowboat Whaleboat 028’s performance and testing the custom engineered power systems and autopilot on board were great successes.

    • The boat did a great job (photo: Miguel Titéca)

    Land sickness

    Arriving on land is a bit weird the first couple of days. Your head is still wobbly so walking is not that easy. On land, I’m still concerned about my failure, but when I call sponsors, friends and family they’re all very supportive. I’m very grateful for that, thank you all for the nice messages, it really means a lot to me!

    Because of this expedition I realised that my body won’t allow me to row an ocean, ever. But the people who know me aren’t surprised that I’m not giving up on the Secutec Seven Summits. New ideas pop into my head, not giving up and being creative is another important part to succeed in this project. It is not sure yet, but I might be crossing the atlantic ocean by sailboat. Which is not completely human powered but the low carbon footprint (only using the wind) of it is still within the philosophy of this project.

    Now we’re in Tenerife, preparing the boat to get it back to Belgium. Once it is going back I’ll be taking a 40 hr ferry to the Spanish mainland and cycle back and taking trains back to Belgium. All this to avoid flying. I could more easily fly out of here, my insurance (thank you very much for the help Lambrecht verzekeringen) would even cover all these expenses, but whenever possible I try not to.

    A very big thank you to my sponsors who make the Secutec Seven Summits possible!

  • Lockdown fun

    Lockdown fun

    A good rest in the Pyrenees gave me the energy to continue to Spain with Steven. During the ride Steven decided not to join me to Portugal because he’ll get into trouble to get back home for work. The covid situation is not exactly great in Spain and Portugal with some lockdowns coming up…

    Spanish winter

    Many regions are closed for non essential travel in Spain and it stresses me out. I have supporting documents from the government and sponsors (shoutout to Secutec!) to prove that this is a professional activity. This means that I should be able to continue my trip to Portugal as being a professional adventurer, but it still worries me.

    The first couple of days are great. Despite that it’s cold I’m enjoying the hills, beautiful views and the sun. I decided to cycle through a national park and be a bit more isolated. Very soon I was caught up in the snow and had to push the bike up the big hill for a couple of hours. I really enjoyed this part, being not surrounded by cars and having the extra adventure of balancing in the snow.

    Plateau phase

    The second part in Spain was terrible where I got to a plateau with nowhere to hide. The headwinds were very strong and the roads always straight making my progress frustratingly slow. Very exhausting. When I heard the news from my rowing friends that they will have some delays arriving here I decided not to exhaust myself too much and take it easy.

    I got sick of this plateau and decided to head to Portugal, where I was hoping for less wind and more protection from trees.

    Portuguese spring

    Entering Portugal was easy, despite the fact a lockdown was in place. Cycling was still allowed so I knew there wouldn’t be problems for me to cross the country. As usual I avoid being inside with people and sleep in my tent or a private room. The great thing about the lockdown is that there aren’t too many cars. Overall I had a very enjoyable ride in Portugal. I get lots of help from people to spend the night safely and I’m enjoying the views! I got to spend a night at Joao and his family. A very nice experience to meet them! They have been travelling by bicycle around the world as a family and I’m just loving their stories.

    • Joao and his family

    By the end of January I arrive in Portimao where we will depart by rowboat to Miami. In Ferragudo Miguel Titeca, a Belgian who heard about our plans, invites us to stay in his hotel (one2seven), thank you very much for that great stay!

    • Arrival in Portimao!
    • The gang’s all here
    • Picture: one2seven

    Getting stuffed

    When Koen and Gus arrive with the van and the boat we start preparing our crossing. It’s not an easy task and takes days. First we get the boat in the water, then we start to unload the van. We have food for 100 days (each person) divided in 24 hrs ration packs. One pack contains 4500 – 5000 kcal. It is a lot of food and not an easy task to fill the boat. It took a couple of days to find the right balance. Besides that we try to eat as much as possible to get some extra weight. The weather to depart is not that great in the first 2 weeks which gives us the opportunity to test the boat and eat lots of pizza and getting stuffed. Once the right weather window pops up it’s all hens on deck to go, very excited to start this rowing phase!!!

    Many thanks to the sponsors who make this project possible!

    https://secutec.eu/
  • Tour de France

    Tour de France

    As planned I left my hometown again for the continuation of the Secutec Seven Summits, on the 3rd of January. This time the goodbye was a bit different as we’re still in a full pandemic. No hugs, no kisses, just a wave goodbye of my beloved friends at the starting place. Still very happy and grateful to have seen these people before leaving.

    Planning mania

    The first 60km my brother and some friends are joining me for the ride. There we have the same awkward goodbye and I’m off by myself. It’s always very strange to suddenly cycle alone again. From now on I’ll be by myself for one month, and social contact will be very limited due to corona. Because of that I have been planning my sleeping places a bit more in advance. Mainly contacting people if I could pitch my tent in their garden. Usually I cycle till the evening and try to find a place to sleep, but this time it’s different.

    Warm nights

    The places I’m sleeping at is in people’s garden and they’re all concerned about my comfort, especially this time of year. Still I’m very well equipped to do winter camping and luckily I’ve got some experience in the cold 😉 . Most families I go to even invite me in their houses to eat or sleep. Which I mostly refuse just to keep them and myself safe from corona. Mostly, because I had the occasion to have a complete place by myself. I’m enjoying the time in my tent a lot. It’s very cosy on those winter nights to read a book from my sleeping bag. Only in the morning it’s a bit harder to get up and get everything ready so I can leave when the day comes. Still the coldest it has been in minus 6°C which is not that extreme.

    Birthday fun

    I had been rushing a bit to the pyrenees because I knew Glenn and Steven would be there waiting for me. I wanted to be there on my birthday so we could have a ride together. Turned out to be a great day going up to Arudy, having pizza on the streets (only take away allowed in France) and then enjoying a beer before going to bed. Again here I have a place for myself which is awesome to sleep in a bed.

    On my rest day (today) I’m visiting Pau again to get a covid test, just to have some extra administration to enter Spain. All negative so I’m good to go again!!

    I want to thank all the people and families I’ve been passing by for their generosity and help during these strange times. I really enjoyed these first 10 days and looking forward to the next part!

    And many thanks to my sponsors to help me in these Secutec Seven Summits!

  • Pandemic life

    Pandemic life

    After my arrival from Congo I was very disappointed that I had to return and pause my project to Kilimanjaro. As time progressed it became clear that I wouldn’t be able to continue in 2020. Things have gone pretty fast, and currently I’m about to leave on the next step of the Secutec 7 Summits: human powered to Denali. First it’s 2400 km cycling to Portugal followed by 7200 km rowing to Miami (with Koen and Gijs), then again 10.000km cycling to Alaska. There’s the highest summit of North America: Denali. Here’s a small overview of what I been doing and what we’re up to.

    • The suggested route to Denali!

    Bad News/Great news

    In the past months things got quite interesting. I got to hear that one of my main sponsors (Vayamundo) is quitting the sponsorship. But, at the same time Secutec grabbed the opportunity to become name sponsor of this project and from now on it is called the “Secutec Seven Summits”. I’m very happy and proud we’re reinforcing our partnership! Secutec provides businesses with integrated security solutions for a fast, efficient, secure and enjoyable IT experience. They are CyberSecurity experts and provider of the Secutec Secure DNS to give your company an extra layer of security. Secutec was founded in 2005 by Geert Baudewijns.

    Product partners are excited about this project too. I became ambassador for Elements. They strive to enforce the relationship between human and nature. Therefore they’re an agent and distributor of brands that take the responsibility for the environment. As part of the 1% for the Planet, they donate 1% of their revenue to environmental organisations. Some of the brands they’re distributing are: Houdini, Spektrum, Nordisk, CarePlus and Klean Kanteen. For sports nutrition we’ll be supplied by 4GOLD, which provide sports supplements and DNA based performance advice for athletes. We’ll be undergoing a DNA analysis to check our profile and connect it to the best possible nutrition to perform on the extreme expeditions.

    Preparation

    The last couple of months have been going very fast! Regular meetings about the ocean crossing, trying to help where I can on the boat that Whaleboat is building. Next to that I’ve been working back home as a physio, which felt strange. We’re not allowed to see many people in Belgium now, and we now have a ‘knuffel contact’. Which is one person outside your home situation you’re allowed to hug. As a physio I’m hugging more people professionally than in my private time!

    • the Front Row team
    • First test of the boat

    Behind the big preparations is a team that’s helping us. Koen and Gijs are mainly working on the boat and they’ll be in the team to cross to Miami. Andre_and Leon did a great job working on the sponsor file for the front row and they’re helping with the social media. There’s Dries (Taubevideoproductions) and Lars (Shiftvideoproductions) that are making a documentary of the crossing and dedicated to make a video now and then about the progress. You can follow it all on their social media. Then there’s other people as well working behind the scenes, we’ll be supported on the land by Els Bellemans, Elske will be taking over my social media account, we’re having weather updates by Frits, and much more!

    the filming crew
    the work by Anre_Leon

    Training

    To get in shape for the next year I’ve been working hard. 2021 seems to become an intense year with more than 10.000 km of cycling and +7000 km of rowing, plus climbing Kilimanjaro twice! What I’ve been doing in Belgium is lots of endurance training. Which mainly are low intensity and high volume trainings. I’ve been cycling and rowing, mostly as a combination. For example I go on a cycle ride of 5 hours and row on the ergometer for another 2 hours. Besides that I’ve been doing strength training, especially for injury prevention. On the boat we’ll be rowing in 2 hour shifts. This means we’ll be rowing for 2 hours, then we have 2 hour “break”. During this break I’m supposed to eat, wash, sleep,… and this will be 24/7 for about 3 months. Now in the final days I’m doing one more big effort which consists of 2 hours rowing, 2 hours off, and that for 24 hours long.

    The plan for the upcoming months will be like this:

    • 3rd of January I leave my hometown by bicycle to cycle to Portugal in 3-4 weeks
    • by the end of January we will start rowing from Portimao to Miami. It will take about 3 months to cover more than 7000 km
    • from Miami I will cycle to Alaska where I want to climb Denali. when exactly is not sure yet. I will not make it in time to arrive there in the right season to trek in the Alaskan wilderness and climb Denali for 2021. I should be arriving in Alaska in April for the right timing, so most probably I’ll summit Denali in 2022…

    Keep track of my progress here, and maybe send me an encouraging message or great joke when we’re out on the ocean

    Huge thanks to my sponsors who make this all possible!

  • New adventure, same goals, new look

    New adventure, same goals, new look

    A lot has been going on since my return from Indonesia. It’s been a pleasure being back in Belgium seeing back my loved ones. There has been so much preparation going on for the next episode of this human powered adventure. The rowboat is finished, tested and shipped by now and should be arriving the 7th of April in Surabaya (Indonesia, Java). The 27th of March I’m flying to Jakarta where my bike is waiting for me to continue a 750km cycling trip to Surabaya. There I’ll be waiting my boat to arrive and start rowing to Papua. An estimated 2500 km rowing trip following the Indonesian archipelago from Bali to Lombok, the Flores Islands and on to some bigger stretches of open sea into Papua. This is all very new to me, but luckily Koen De Gezelle (the boat constructor) will assist me for 3 weeks to give me the needed experience I need on the further stage of this journey. From there I’m on my own for a couple of weeks to have another companion help me cross the bigger section by the end of the rowing trip into Papua.

     

     

     

     

    The support for this project from all sides is getting bigger and I’m happy to announce my ambassadorship for Vayamundo. They are providing a good platform for my expeditions and help me achieve my mission. By having the same values we strive to invest more on international solidarity, Active ageing, Ecology, tourism for all and multiculturalism. I keep on giving full support to the INGO shangrilahome which gives opportunities in life for street children in Nepal. Therefore the name of the boat will be baptised the “Shangri-La”. This is a Utopian place described in the book ‘Lost Horizon’ from James Hilton, we’re trying to provide such place to the children in Nepal and the rest of the world. Besides that I want to create more awareness on some other problems I will meet along this trip and all continents and oceans. This creates an extra value to this project and is not all about adventure, it is about connecting people, their worlds and our environment.

     

    Our partnership with Secutec is continued for this year as well and I’m very proud to be part of their team. This is a fast growing company delivering data security for companies, which is a becoming a much bigger concern nowadays. Without their support I wouldn’t be able to fulfil my goal and I’m honoured to partner up with their strong team. Secutec is an IT security company and founded by Geert Baudewijns in September 2005 to meet the market’s needs for security solutions. The idea was to establish a strong link between vendors & distributors on the one hand, and professional clients on the other. The objective was to provide businesses with integrated security solutions for a fast, efficient, secure and enjoyable IT experience. Security is a very important aspect during my expeditions and the same counts for IT security solutions. Therefore this partnership focusses on security with the tagline your security above everything!

     

    Another major partner in the team is Whaleboat. Owner Koen De Gezelle constructed the boat I’ll be rowing with to Papua. A great machine that will give me the necessary safety and speed to clear this expedition. A beautiful boat already winning many prizes and I’m sure many more to come, I can’t wait to get rowing!

     

    This website is completely renewed  that is the result of the collaboration with my partners. This all to make it easier to follow my progress and adventures while I’m away. I hope you enjoy the new interface and please let me know if there are any issues regarding the website.