MEET AMERICAS
A SELF-SUPPORTED JOURNEY FROM ARCTIC TO ANTARCTIC
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Crossing continents manpowered is a very old dream. What better way to meet the Nature and the People inhabiting both american continents? Starting mid-June 2019, I intend to cycle and hike from the Northernmost town of Canada reachable by road (Tuktoyaktuk) to the Southernmost town of Argentina (Ushuaïa). On the way I will follow two of the world’s biggest mountain ranges, the Rockies and the Andes. The Wilderness is easier reached on foot so I will sometimes put the bike aside and do long distance hikes on foot, as for example the Great Divide Trail (GDT) in Canada, parts of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) in the USA and of the Great Patagonian Trail in Chile.
At first I will race the Northern Hemisphere winter, trying to get through Colorado’s high passes before the snow locks them. I will then slow down to explore Central America, waiting for the Southern Hemisphere spring to come before I enter the Andes.
So Far... updated Jul 20th 2020After cycling from the Arctic to Jasper, hiking the GDT into Glacier NP, riding the GDMBR across Montana and Wyoming, making my own gravel route across Utah and a quick detour via the Grand Canyon, I hiked the Arizona Trail from Flagstaff to Tucson.
From there I pedalled westward to enter Mexico in Lukeville and into Puerto Penasco. I crossed the Sonoran desert around the Gulf of California before making my own adventurous route through another desert, Baja California. After two weeks "off" the bike, enjoying my mum's visit for Christmas, I took the ferry back to the Mainland. From Mazatlan I followed and adventurous route made by two others bikepackers and with the perfect mix of quiet "paved" roads and unpaved explorations. It turned up to be an epic ride that took me through, Durango, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, up Volcano Toluca, the Cacahuamilpa caves, up and down Guerrero many valleys, Oaxaca, San Cristobal de las Casas and the Chiapas jungle before finally crossing the border into Guatemala. I enjoyed my brother's visit during February's two last week to visit the different Maya archeological sites in Northern Peten, despite a tailbone fracture caused by a failing hammock... The injury forced me to take a few weeks off to recover and as I was ready to hit the road again, the COVID-19 pandemic froze the world and closed all the LatAm borders. I decided to hunker down in a small village nesteed in the beutiful jungle, on the shore of Lake Peten Itza. The future will tell us what the next chapters of this trip will be like, when then happen, if they happen! A few stats : Km bike unpaved : 4563// paved : 9365 // tot : 13.928 Km hike : 1846 Km tot : 15.774 Ascent (meters) bike : 148.293 // hike : 64.170 // tot : 212.463 |
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The Environment
As an outdoorsy person, it is my duty to care for Nature and raise awareness on the actual ecological crisis. The ability to attempt this kind of challenges is the best way I can do this. On the top of the romantic aspect of it the man powered pace is the only way to enjoy the great outdoors while respecting it. But I will also :
As an outdoorsy person, it is my duty to care for Nature and raise awareness on the actual ecological crisis. The ability to attempt this kind of challenges is the best way I can do this. On the top of the romantic aspect of it the man powered pace is the only way to enjoy the great outdoors while respecting it. But I will also :
- Follow the Leave No Trace principles removing what others have left behind. As an ambassador for the WorldCleanUpDay I will #keepitclean by picking up what my carrying capacity allows me to and locate what I can’t so they can be removed later.
- Lower my impact with gears : reuse what I can, buy second hand, go for sustainable brands
- Have an extra-minimalist lifestyle with close to no belongings for almost two years
- Keep a vegetarian diet
Raising funds for charities
Thank to AtlasGo every kilometer I hike or cycle will raise funds for charities. With a 30000km long journey and a few thousands kilometers for training, I should raise a few thousands euros.
Thank to AtlasGo every kilometer I hike or cycle will raise funds for charities. With a 30000km long journey and a few thousands kilometers for training, I should raise a few thousands euros.
Writing and Media Coverage
Writing has always been part of my life, filling dozens of notebooks during my different journeys or while studying History. Today I want to exert that passion to support my travels, to use the creativity that flows into my veins to turn those landscapes and emotions into words and colors to be shared with others. Articles will be written in both English and French, maybe Spanish later, and shared through : partnership with newspapers and magazines, social medias and this website.
Links
31 May 19 : TV clip in the Bruxelles local news : https://bx1.be/news/tom-se-prepare-a-traverser-le-continent-americain-a-pied-et-a-velo/
19 Apr 20 : radio interview in "Les Belges du Bout du monde" : https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_les-belges-du-bout-du-monde?id=2625731
Writing has always been part of my life, filling dozens of notebooks during my different journeys or while studying History. Today I want to exert that passion to support my travels, to use the creativity that flows into my veins to turn those landscapes and emotions into words and colors to be shared with others. Articles will be written in both English and French, maybe Spanish later, and shared through : partnership with newspapers and magazines, social medias and this website.
Links
31 May 19 : TV clip in the Bruxelles local news : https://bx1.be/news/tom-se-prepare-a-traverser-le-continent-americain-a-pied-et-a-velo/
19 Apr 20 : radio interview in "Les Belges du Bout du monde" : https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_les-belges-du-bout-du-monde?id=2625731
THE MAP
Updated Jul 20th 2020.
