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| © Luz Díaz |
Hi, my name is Luis. I am Spanish, an expat living in The Netherlands, and I’ve got to go.
Where? Crossing The Netherlands, north to south. Yep, that’s right: from Noordpolderzijl to Maastricht.
How? By bicycle. The typical old school bikes that Dutch people are known to use for transportation. With only a raincoat ( Would you cross The Netherlands WITHOUT it? )
Why? At first the reason was obvious: as an attempt at finding myself.
I
have been living in The Netherlands for just over a year, first in
Utrecht and now in Amsterdam. During this time the Dutch infrastructure
for transportation by bicycle has intrigued me. So, crossing this small
country the traditional Dutch way seemed an interesting adventure
and a good way to find myself again...
As
I started gathering information, I was surprised by all the things
needed for a ± long distance bike trip. People told me I would need a sleeping
bag, a tent, lots of spare parts for my bicycle (such as an extra tire), a pump, money
for food, hostel reservations in advance and so on, and so on...
Things were clearly getting out of hand: I wanted to ride my Dutch bike through the Dutch landscape, nothing more. I didn’t want to go around packed like a mule! So, I discarded all advise.
Things were clearly getting out of hand: I wanted to ride my Dutch bike through the Dutch landscape, nothing more. I didn’t want to go around packed like a mule! So, I discarded all advise.
My new objective is to cross the entire country as light as possible: with just my bike and raincoat. Nothing else. Not even MONEY.
People of course said this would be impossible. Which suddenly became the exact reason for me to believe in the project and its new rules: to show you can do whatever you want in life.
I
am sure I will find many great things on this journey. And hope it will
inspire others to live their dreams, to do whatever they want. But of
course all help is welcome !
Luis Durán-Campos