This project, in addition to our wedding in April 2011, seriously quickened the pace of our lives since October 2009 : preparations, routes, equipment, communication,…

The project : we’ll ride our tandem (Hase Pino) from Budapest to Mongolia or further (but not via a direct route), then back to Moscow/Berlin with the Transsiberian. Everything will take place between July 2011 and August 2012. It seems to be the right moment for us, with no child yet and not « jailed » in a job-life. And the desire is there!

What for ? We do this trip for us, to experience the most extreme experience of our lives and probably the most rewarding. We know sometimes it will be difficult being far away from loved ones, in bad weather and with few creature comforts, but we only have one life so we decided to dash off to meet other cultures, other humans, other landscapes,… while travelling in a respectful way for our small planet and at a human rhythm.

Why from Budapest ? This summer 2010, we just rode from Mulhouse (hometown of Elodie) to Budapest as a test for our brand new tandem. So we thought it would be ironic to start where we stopped (infos/photos  budapest.cyclic.eu). To be continued…

Why Mongolia ? Our first idea was Kathmandu and back (all by bike) to avoid the plane (which I intend to take no more). Then we considered the Transsiberian and we found a pity not to go « a bit » further with the tandem since I (Geoff) probably won’t go so far anymore (because of my plane restriction). Actually, we really would like to go even further (to the South) but time is our enemy. And we know that we will have to come back for our jobs because money won’t last eternally… that is unless we quit everything during the trip… Who knows!  😉

Project in the project ? No! Contrary to other travelers, we won’t ride under a « humanitarian trip » label, we won’t ride thousands kilometers to reach (or « on behalf of ») any association, although we would not be indifferent in our meetings along the way to this eventuality (we already have an address in Nepal and Bangladesh). The ecological concept isn’t on the agenda because such a project is, by nature, eco-logical.
No, we’ll travel for us and only us because we want to (that for the « why » and not « what for »)! Selfish? Maybe! But above all, we will remain honest with ourselves and our relatives! Hence the idea of going on own funds. But after careful consideration, a little boost wouldn’t be unwelcome.