I asked Alice and Andoni some questions about their epic 7-year bike ride round the world. Plenty of people do big bike rides so I wasn’t specifically interested in that aspect of their tale (sorry!). I feel that the most exciting part for the Grand Adventures project is that they had 2 kids along the way and yet that did not inhibit their adventurous lifestyle… I was also impressed by the spontaneous nature of their travels, something that I struggled with on my own ride.

‘¢ What did you do?

We cycled around the world for more then 7 years. During those years, our children were born. Maia at home in Belgium, and Unai in Bolivia.

‘¢ What were a couple of highlights?

How can I reduce that experience in just a few highlights’¦? We left home in 2004, we had never cycled or done any long traveling before. We thought we would cycle for a couple of months, a year maybe’¦ and then it gradually became a way of living. For us, more then amazing landscapes, more then sightseeing’¦ it was a real life experience. I could not describe properly the sense of complete freedom one feels, when nothing, no-one has hold over you.
We had nothing to prove, nowhere to go, no agendas, no must-do. It was just us, on our bicycles. Going. Living the present as it came, going right or left depending on our wishes at that very moment. We were just there to enjoy and the present was the only thing we actually had, since we had never any idea of where we would be, 15 minutes later. Maybe we would meet someone, something’¦ Maybe not…
Those were the other highlights from our trip: those perpetual encounters with others, experiencing the generosity from all the people we met. Living continually in nature too, despite how rough that can be.

‘¢ Why did you do it?

We had backpacked before, and we were always frustrated by the return date imposed upon us. Frustrated also by how little freedom we had as we depended on our ‘˜Lonely Planet’ guide and public transport. We sensed that we had no chance to actually live in the country we wanted to understand.
So we wanted unlimited time, we wanted to be able to cross a country without restriction, slowly making sense of it all. Our bicycle would give us the perfect excuse of why the hell don’t we stay in that village, in the middle of nowhere, somewhere. We wanted to enter people’s houses in order to really make sense of the place, to understand the point of view of its people a bit more, to understand its culture as well as our own.

‘¢  What were you doing before you set off to ride round the world?

Andoni was working in a big multinational as an engineer, I was working as a project manager for a communication agency.

‘¢ What impact did this adventure have on your life?

It had a huge impact on our life, as we have not fully recovered from it yet. Hopefully we won’t ever!
😉
What started it as an in between thing, became our lives’¦ we were planning it since 2000, and only came back home in August 2013.  We are still doing work from the trip, showing our film around.
After tasting that incredibly empowering sense of complete freedom, how could we now lock ourselves back in to the system? Living outside for years, surrounded by nature, observing its strength and tenacity…
So we are now in a process of finding a way, a path, taking in all that we learned and expressing it in new ways.

‘¢How did you turn your dream into reality?

Quite simple really: just don’t give too much thought about it. If you feel you have to do it, just go, you’ll have plenty of time along the way to doubt, turn back or adjust your course.
We left, thinking “we’ll try”, we had low objectives, reaching Berlin, maybe further to Istanbul. A few months, maybe a year’¦ and it turned into 7.
People often ask us about the money… yes we saved for a while, and even before going we were not interested in mobile phones, computers, cars… so we were able to put money aside. During those 7 years, including all the material, bicycles, tent… having had 2 children on the way, we spent less then 50.000 euro. That’s what some people spend on a car, and nobody asks them how they did it.

‘¢ What do you know now that you wish you’d known before your trip?

Every travel is individual. Just go, you’ll have plenty of time to learn and adjust yourselves to what works for you.

‘¢ What practical steps should people take to make their adventure happen?

I think there are no requirements, it depends so much on each one of us. Just listen to yourself and do what feels right for you, plan or not, save money or not, buy loads of stuf or nothing… I mean there are so many ways to go. We’ve met people that were incredibly happy travelling round living almost as a tramp. Others had every single night planned and a fat credit card. It’s difficult to say what works for you.

‘¢ Any tips on saving for the trip or living cheap during the trip?

Once you impose yourselves a daily budget, there is a lot that can be done to bring your expenses down drastically.
Get a tent, stove and a bicycle. Gather fruits and wild vegetables. Sightseeing is not essential, and can be really pricy.
Let yourselves go with the flow, and most importantly take your time! Don’t rush into a guided trip… Just ask locals what is interesting and take your time to take it all in and travel on your own.

You can find out more about the family’s adventures here.

My new book, Grand Adventures, is out now.
It’s designed to help you dream big, plan quick, then go explore.
The book contains interviews and expertise from around 100 adventurers, plus masses of great photos to get you excited.

I would be extremely grateful if you bought a copy here today!

I would also be really thankful if you could share this link on social media with all your friends – http://goo.gl/rIyPHA. It honestly would help me far more than you realise.

Thank you so much!