Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
22K Followers
25K Likes
5K Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • Mountain Biking
  • The Great Outdoors

Three Questions with Martijn Doolaard

  • September 1, 2017
  • Ben Osborne
Total
11
Shares
7
0
4
0
0
0
Total
11
Shares
Share 7
Tweet 0
Pin it 4
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0

On April 16, 2015, Dutch graphic designer/filmmaker Martijn Doolaard embarked on a yearlong bike ride that covered 17,000 kilometres through 18 countries from Holland to Singapore. Departing without fanfare, he mounted his bike in Amsterdam and started pedalling, avoiding the inevitable questions from friends and family for which he didn’t yet have answers.

One Year on a Bike 2

Words: Brian Peech

The journey carried Doolaard from Europe through the Middle East into Asia, immersing him in communities, cultures and environments without the barriers of vehicular travel. “If someone sees a car approaching, they don’t know who’s in it or what they’re up to,” notes Doolaard. “But a bicycle is never a threat. It’s a positive thing, so there’s always an interesting conversation that starts up.”

One Year on a Bike 4

He chronicled the adventure on his blog “Espiritu Libre” espiritu-libre.com, and after a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, expanded it into One Year on a Bike—a deeply personal photographic celebration of the lost art of slow travel—in hopes of inspiring others to explore the world in the open air. Arriving in Vancouver this May, Doolaard was preparing for a second long-distance cycling adventure through the U.S. to possibly South America. “Possibly” because in true open-road fashion, he’s wasn’t sure, and happy to keep it that way.

One Year on a Bike 6

What was the inspiration for your first trip?
I wanted to see the world and travel by bike because it’s so simple—you’re outside and exposed, which makes it very intense. You also have time to immerse in the landscape and the people you meet. Cycling through a village, you can really make eye contact and hear what people are saying. You miss that in a car. You really get more insight about the big picture, how things work, the differences in countries and their cultures. And nature becomes more beautiful when you travel in such a detailed way.

Did you plan to make it to Singapore, or just end up there?
The plan was to head to China. I was interested in travelling through countries like Turkey and Iran, so that was the route I chose. Very vague. Around halfway, though, I decided I didn’t want to stop at the Chinese border, so from Kyrgyzstan I flew to India and continued on from there. Singapore was a beautiful end goal, basically the furthest you can travel by land.

One Year on a Bike 3 copy

Any ideas about how this next trip will go?
I thought Vancouver, with its beautiful mountains and thick forests, would be a great start. And I’ve always been intrigued with the United States. I want to go to Mexico, but am also considering going a bit more west-to-east through the states. I’ll make those decisions last minute. I could end up in South America. I did my previous trip on a Surly Long Haul Trucker, a great touring bike, but on really rough terrain it wasn’t so comfortable. And since travelling smaller dirt roads and villages is the most interesting part of a trip, I want more of a mountain bike. Another difference is that I’ll be able to communicate with people. On my previous journey I didn’t speak the languages, and was showing photos on my iPhone to explain what I was doing.

One Year on a BIke 5

From the 2017/18 Mountain Life Annual, available to purchase here.

MLAthumbMountain Life Annual is a once-a-year, one-of-a-kind ode to nature-minded folk who seek an honest, intimate connection with planet Earth. Going beyond the typical bravado of outdoor pursuits, “The Annual”—as many call it—is a visual and journalistic celebration highlighting the cultural, political and environmental contexts behind most great adventures. Valuing inspiration over aspiration, The Annual promotes personal connection and deeper resonance in an expanded understanding of the environments we love—and those we wish to protect. Hopefully, you’ll be as delighted as we are with our fifth edition: Mountain Life Annual 2017-2018.

Total
11
Shares
Share 7
Tweet 0
Pin it 4
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • Martijn Doolard
  • Mountain Life Annual
  • One Year on a Bike
Ben Osborne

Previous Article
  • The Great Outdoors

CMH Joins Outward Bound Canada’s Veterans’ Program to Inspire and Heal

  • August 25, 2017
  • Ben Osborne
View Post
Next Article
pCWsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=
  • THE GEAR SHED

Jetboil Genesis Base Camp System

  • September 8, 2017
  • Ben Osborne
View Post
You May Also Like
AleTrailsSouthernInterior_Vernon_MikeGamble_LookoutTrail_BenHaggarPhoto
View Post
  • Mountain Biking

Ale Trails: Southern Interior Part 1, Vernon + Shuswap

  • Mountain Life Media
  • March 20, 2023
Life-Time-Grand-Prix-gravel-bike
View Post
  • Mountain Biking
  • On The Trail

New Docuseries Profiles the World’s Elite Off-Road Cyclists

  • Editor
  • January 30, 2023
Golden-BC-mountain-biking
View Post
  • Mountain Biking
  • On The Trail

Shifting Gears

  • Mountain Life Media
  • December 18, 2022
Sarah Hornby, Penny Lawless & Katrina Rosen, Icefields Parkway
View Post
  • Mountain Biking
  • Rockies

Friends in High Places

  • Editor
  • November 22, 2022
View Post
  • CLIMBING
  • Mountain Biking
  • Surfing

Friday Flick: Inseparable

  • Mountain Life Media
  • November 11, 2022
Colin-Field_weekender-ride-fall-colours-Ontario-crop
View Post
  • Mountain Biking
  • Ontario

The Weekender Ride

  • Mountain Life Media
  • November 10, 2022
AleTrailsPenticton_TinWhistleBrewing_BenHaggarPhoto
View Post
  • Mountain Biking
  • On The Trail

Ale Trails: Penticton

  • Mountain Life Media
  • October 25, 2022
Brett Rheeder
View Post
  • Mountain Biking

Two Canadians Podium at Red Bull Rampage Freeride Contest in Utah

  • Editor
  • October 24, 2022
Featured Posts
  • 1
    End of an Era: Another Double Chair Bites the Dust
    • March 28, 2023
  • Skiing at Hudson Bay Mountain in Smithers 2
    Where Eagles Dare
    • March 27, 2023
  • Mountain-Life-20th-showreel 3
    20 Years of ML
    • March 24, 2023
  • Mustang-Survival-WOMENS-HELIX-CCS 4
    Gear Shed: Our End-of-Winter Picks
    • March 23, 2023
  • natural-selection-Redbull 5
    Friday Flick: Natural Selection Tour Highlights
    • March 17, 2023
RECENT POSTS
  • Powder-Highway-BC-ski
    Powder Highway Revisited
    • March 21, 2023
  • AleTrailsSouthernInterior_Vernon_MikeGamble_LookoutTrail_BenHaggarPhoto
    Ale Trails: Southern Interior Part 1, Vernon + Shuswap
    • March 20, 2023
  • Elements-Outfitters-Filson-cabin
    Elements Outfitters Partners with SALTS to Protect Alberta’s Incredible Landscapes
    • March 16, 2023
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
INSTAGRAM
mountainlifemedia
22K Followers
No one called me Feet Banks back in 1987. In those days, most people called me by my given name—except for my ski buddies, to whom I was known by the most badass moniker to ever schuss the slopes: Twinkle Toes.
We’re celebrating 20 Years of Mountain Life!
From The Gear Shed: Last Monday was the official start of spring, but we know there’s still some winter to be shredded. So ML staff and partners have picked the latest jackets, lanterns, bindings, mugs and drysuits for winter-spring.
Exploring the sights around beautiful Sutton, Quebec with ML creator @adv_bird ❄️🫶
Back on the road with three generations, dancing lifties, best-on-planet pizza and elusive-but-exquisite pow days.
Live It Up EP 24 is out now!
The Southern Interior region of BC holds an ecological cross-section of the province with alpine meadows, arid Douglas fir grasslands, damp cedar and hemlock forests of the Columbia Mountains and the warm expanse of Shuswap Lake.
Do Not Disturb mode activated ✅ #mountainlifer
Conceived by superhuman snowboarder @travisrice, the @naturalselection Tour highlights earth’s premier riders, from big-mountain mavens to Olympians, all competing on the most stoketastic—and unpredictable—terrain known to humankind.
Built upon a shared desire to enjoy, respect, and advocate for Alberta’s incredible landscapes, it was a natural fit for @elementsoutfitters to work with a local conservation organization @saltslandtrust to highlight the province’s rugged beauty and outdoor apparel to match.
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

No one called me Feet Banks back in 1987. In those days, most people called me by my given name—except for my ski buddies, to whom I was known by the most badass moniker to ever schuss the slopes: Twinkle Toes.
We’re celebrating 20 Years of Mountain Life!
From The Gear Shed: Last Monday was the official start of spring, but we know there’s still some winter to be shredded. So ML staff and partners have picked the latest jackets, lanterns, bindings, mugs and drysuits for winter-spring.
Exploring the sights around beautiful Sutton, Quebec with ML creator @adv_bird ❄️🫶
Back on the road with three generations, dancing lifties, best-on-planet pizza and elusive-but-exquisite pow days.
Live It Up EP 24 is out now!
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.