European Divide Trail

88.3 km 4:46:44 1 day(s) 18.5 km/h 52.7 km/h 89m 572m 1472m 1698m For what was meant to be some added kilometrage to make headway, it turned out to be a tiring and finally scary-ass ride in the dark. If the 30km/h headwind with plenty of gusts, and a leaking rear tire wasn’t enough, a storm hit and I was caught right in the middle of it. In an open field. [Read More]

1028.7 km 2 days, 14:40:40 19 day(s) 16.4 km/h 65.5 km/h 11m 1405m 26172m 26342m Even though Belgium is an ugly country, Luxembourg is beautiful in its own way, and France has baguettes to show; pictures only tell you so much. You had to be there. So this is a proposal to all those coming across this post. If you need a short holiday, or wish to discover what it’s like to ride a mountainbike through the forest, or living with few things and enjoying it fully: let me know. [Read More]

I was just thinking, there was this whole Airtag ordeal happening back in Belgium. Let me tell you this nice bedtime story. It was exactly (well, almost, but for dramatic effect) a year ago that I had been blasting down a hill near a cute little town called Goé. A place not long before that date to have been ravaged by floods. Smart as I was, as I did not want to have my bike taken from me, I had installed an Airtag in my saddle. [Read More]

431.5 km 21:05:54 12 day(s) 20.5 km/h 51.4 km/h -1m 42m 3155m 3139m I took a moment to rest, amidst the choreography of organizing my life. That list of tasks turned out to be exhaustive and energy-draining, not to mention the ramshackling mountain bike demanding urgent attention. Way back, at the start of this trip, one of my goals was to experience an existence devoid of common comforts, having a place of my own. [Read More]

Wherever you go, you can’t escape your past. So alright, mom can come along. Fine. Stepdad too. It was quite a different way of riding. Long, straight, flat routes. Hotels and restaurants. Hmmm… Good trade-off. We however also spent a night in the city center of Bremen, which made me remember quite well why I enjoy nature so much. My main concern was the safety of my stallion. After much debate and proper preparation, I was able to shelter it in its natural habitat. [Read More]

539.5 km 1 day, 0:43:31 7 day(s) 21.8 km/h 51.2 km/h -3m 129m 4176m 4159m Who would’ve thought I’d go sunbathing and swimming saltily so far up north. The sun was bright and beautiful, and the water had a nice chill to it. The route maker provided an interesting path downwards towards the beach, which I decided to skip for now. The beach was littered with history, where plenty of reminders of the Atlantikwall can be seen, and visited if you’re missing your office cubicle at home. [Read More]

964.1 km 2 days, 8:27:07 16 day(s) 17.1 km/h 58.1 km/h 0m 747m 12465m 12723m A state of mind you can get into if the roads get monotonous. Muscles tend to be sick of it all earlier in the day, and heavy sighing becomes part of the daily routine. The people I met weren’t kidding about the (literal) ups and downs of the road ahead. It is however beautiful to look back at the road ridden so far. [Read More]

48.1 km 2:56:08 1 day(s) 16.4 km/h 56.5 km/h 264m 395m 550m 608m I decided to plot my own route once again, and my cool little entry over a small wooden bridge was foiled by nature’s cruel destructive… nature of that very bridge. So once again I was pushing and smashing my bike through foliage, to get onto a proper surface again. Can you find the exit I used? [Read More]

Day 22 I had tasted the sweet fruits of well built shelters, and I craved them every night. So I ventured on, in search of shelter. The first night of this week brought me to the most luxurious cabin so far. It had all the stuff you’d ever want. Sadly I was clumsy, and broke one of the laths of the base. However, I was equipped with my trusty new Leatherman, and fixed it right up! [Read More]

Every moment feels like a highlight, if I just focus and be in that moment. Even the many, many, many production trees I’ve seen, and the fields of cut down trees on their way to their respective IKEA’s, all feel wonderful when you just look. So I’ve decided to condense these posts into weeks, finishing of the last week with the few days left in them not forevered onto the internet. [Read More]