About
Photo © Alena Pesavento
Grace Johnson
While growing up in the U.S., my girlfriend Wendy and I hatched plans to drive across the country after high school. But there was a slight problem: our map-reading skills. As our parents pointed out, “You guys still get lost driving around Seattle, so how will you get there?”
Then I remembered reading about the Trans America Trail. If we joined a Bikecentennial group tour, there would be other members to help point us in the right direction. Plus, my little brother had once gone on a bike trip. Being a smug older sister, I figured it couldn’t be that difficult.
After graduating in 1981, we set off. There were some difficult times (rain, freezing temperatures and cotton clothing don’t combine well…), but we loved it—absolutely loved it! I also met Paul, and five years later, I moved to the Netherlands.
In 2011, I began publishing Bicycle Traveler magazine. It’s my way of giving back to the bicycle touring community, which has so enriched my life.
Paul Jeurissen
In Amsterdam, I grew up surrounded by two-wheelers. For me, bikes were just everyday objects that you used to go to the shops, school, and even on vacation.
Later, my friend Ronald Albronda lent me the book Wat heb ik nou aan m’n fiets hangen? wherein the author recounts his bike trip across America. After a few too many beers, Ronald and I declared, “If Wim can do it, we can do it!”
In June 1981, we flew to the U.S. to start a 3-month adventure that would change our lives.
Besides being passionate about bicycle travel, I’m also a photographer and a music composer.
History
Besides our annual 4 week tours, here are some of our more memorable adventures:
The tour started in Portland, Oregon, and followed the Bikecentennial trail to Virginia.
I (Grace) was just 17 and had never toured by bike before -not even an overnighter. For me, the first couple of days were a shock. I still remember sitting despondently in a café with my friend Wendy, questioning whether we were physically up to completing the journey.
As for Paul, he was having a tough time in the mountains. He had never imagined they could be so long and steep. His old racing bike just wasn’t up to the task, and on top of that he had to communicate in a strange language day in and day out.
A couple of weeks into the trip we both revamped our bikes and soon became addicted to the new lifestyle. That first taste of ultimate freedom was exhilerating. When Virginia came into view we thought, “This can’t be ending!” We felt ready to take on the world.
For my first tour through Europe, I convinced a couple of college friends to join me.
Armed with a paper map, no guidebooks, and zero foreign language proficiency, we stumbled our way across the continent. As one of my friends put it, “How can you get lost if you don’t know where you are?”
But that was part of the charm. We had no preconceived notions of what France, Greece or even Italy would be like. It was one big adventure that opened our eyes to how different people and cultures can be around the world.
Our first touch-down in Asia.
Landing in Bangkok, Paul and I were overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and humidity of Thailand. Everything was in technicolor and we couldn’t understand a word!
Looking out over Bangkok, we wondered if it was even possible to pedal out of this hectic, overcrowded megacity. It was, but it wasn’t pleasant…
Once in the countryside, we relaxed and realized that this trip was changing our view of bicycle travel. It’s not just about the physical challenge; it’s also about embracing new traditions and cultures.
Since we met on a bike tour, of course we’re going to honeymoon on one too!
A couple of days after the wedding, we flew to Bombay, India. It was our first visit to this enormous, exotic yet also chaotic country.
India challenged us in completely new ways. The crowds stared at us as if we were aliens, the hygiene was appalling, but the country was fascinating and never boring.
Then we headed on to pedal through Thailand and Nepal before finally ending up back in the U.S.A. The contrast between bustling, overcrowded India and the silence of the American Southwest desert was striking. Even after six months we thought, “This was way too short!”
On the road again through South-East Asia, India, Nepal and the U.S.A.
In 1991, our curiosity was piqued by India and Nepal. Plus, the painted deserts of the American Southwest had left such a strong impression that we just had to go back – but this time for longer. We wanted more depth, to fully absorb what we saw and what was happening around us.
And that’s exactly what we got.
However, it often felt like we were on a carnival ride for 12 long months. Whenever things went wrong (which they often did) we would just repeat our motto, “adapt, adjust and improve!”
4 weeks of dirt road touring in the U.S.A.
The route was spectacular, beginning in the Colorado Rockies and ending in the red-rock deserts of Utah. For this trip, we splurged on new KOGA hybrid bikes that could handle the sandy backroads of the American Southwest. Previously we had stuck to paved roads, but with our new bikes we thought, “Why not go for it?”
The scenery was stunning and we loved having the road to ourselves. But there was a downside. Carrying extra food wasn’t a problem, but the weight of the extra water was. In deep sand, we regularly came to a standstill and while manoeuvring over rocky sections, we spent all our time just staring at our front wheels. It made us realize the types of routes we truly enjoy cycling, and sandy ones aren’t one of them…
After looking through pictures from previous trips, we thought, “The images of a a little red cyclist pedaling through those enormous landscapes is powerful. Why don’t we head back to the American Southwest and specifically photograph that theme?” So off we went.
You can view more images from that trip in our America Little Red Cyclist photo gallery, or download our free e-book of Little Red Cyclist pictures from around the world.
A half year spent pushing the pedals in South India.
Why go back? We had travelled there before, but this time we wanted to change the nature of how we travel by bike.
After so many trips, we realized we missed the challenge of our early journeys. Touring had become too easy, we were too experienced. Our photography trip to the American Southwest in 2004 had given us a new direction, and we wanted to explore that further.
So, we decided to take on the challenge of a couple of new photography projects. The first was to visually capture what it’s like to travel by bike. The second was to document local bicycle culture.
And our longest trip of all:
It was our longest tour ever – and what a journey! The feeling of timelessness and freedom was mind-boggling.
We pedaled through Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America. Some of the highlights included crossing the Himalayas, riding the Pamir Highway and immersing ourselves in the bicycle culture of Bangladesh.
Traveling for so long also changed us and brought us closer together. I always had my American perspective and Paul had his Dutch one. But after spending so much time in different cultures, our mentalities shifted as we picked up some of the best aspects of each country we passed through.
Besides pedalling, we continued to combine our tour with a number of projects: photographing our touring bicycles for KOGA bikes, taking pictures of local bicycle culture, and launching Bicycle Traveler magazine. Plus Paul began composing music while on the road. It was fantastic to have so much time to develope these projects further!
Our Projects
Our cycling trips have been enriched by combining them with projects:
Photography
A bike is just a bike. Or is it? Around the globe, bicycles have diverse faces and functions. Paul’s bicycle culture photography theme aims to capture these various facets. Visit his photography site for more information
BT magazine
Bicycle Traveler was launched in 2011. We aimed to create a magazine that showcases bicycle travel and looks into why people dream of undertaking round-the-world tours. Visit the BT website to download a free copy.
Music
Under construction
Our bikes
We both started out on cheap, ill-fitting, second-hand bicycles. We even took them on a yearlong tour through Asia and America.
Then in 1999, we splurged and became the proud owners of two KOGA World Travellers. While we’re glad we took those trips on our old bikes,we couldn’t be happier with our new ones! They’re so much more comfortable and reliable, allowing us to ride all types of terrain.
Since 2005, KOGA has used Paul’s photos to promote their touring segment. His images appear in their catalogues, website, store displays and other advertising materials.
The website
Previously our attic was overflowing with boxes of slides gathering dust. In a moment of inspiration (or madness), Paul said, “Why not put them on the internet?” And so, in 2001 Impressions from Bicycle Travels was born.
Since then it’s evolved into a space for sharing our HDAV series, and a showcase for inspiring images from other bicycle travelers. The site is still a major timesuck, but we love it!
Major additions are posted to the What’s new page.
Wim Dussel