TWO VAGABONDS ON THE ROAD

About Us

7

 

JP and Justine left for their first trip together in the fall of 2011 with their backpacks on, in direction of Southern and South-East Asia. An exact year later, JP was leaving for his first cycling trip with a friend in South America while Justine was crossing Spain by foot. At that time, she thought, who would be crazy enough to climb 4000 meter high passes?! Little did she know, in spring 2013 they would be cycling together on twenty-inch folding bikes up to 4655m above sea level on the mythical Silk road – they were now both hooked.

Then followed many epic cycling trips in Europe, Africa and the Americas. At this date, they have shared each others wheeled company for 27.700km and across 35 countries. This blog shelters stories and pictures of their travels in order to share their experiences with family and friends.

Next adventure : Undecided

 . . .

2019

CYCLING IN MADAGASCAR

Madagascar. The word alone is dreamy – with or without seeing the animated movie. This huge African island located between the Mozambican Canal and Indian Ocean is actually almost as big as France, its back-in-the-day settlers. The last sixty years of exploitation transformed the once called Green Island. It could maybe still shelters some unique wilderness beauties amongst the man-made damages… That’s what we’ll go see.

For the occasion, JP’s foolproof radar takes us to the North-East coast and the mythical national X road built of sand, mud and rocks through multiple rivers to be crossed on rafts, along empty paradise beaches and from tiny fishing villages frozen in time to the next.

{Try the tag : Ethiopia}

Statistics
October to December 24th, 2019. X days on the road. x days on the saddle. x days in transport. X days trekking. X rest days. X nights under the tent. X paid nights including x on a bed. X nights in a village, a school yard or a health center. X nights in the bush. X nights on a plane or at the airport. X km including x km of dirt road. 1 country. 55% tarred road and 45% dirt road. Average weight of bike : 35kg. Planned budget : 20$/day/person. Real budget : X$/day/person. X$/person in plane tickets, bicycle handling fees, visa and traveling insurances. X$/person for x days. Includes all expenses of a x-day trekking in the national parks (with a guide) and boat fees for x.

. . .

2018

CYCLING IN ETHIOPIA

Traveling as much as we did for the past years is a privilege, and a choice that comes with its share of downsides : no steady home; catching intestinal friends who rebel when they feel like it; carrying only few essential items; but mostly, missing out on so many important events back home.

And so, for Christmas 2017, we held our promise and we stayed in Quebec, a first since 2013. But after securing a new summer contract for the end of April, we got the call again. Our thinking : Africa + outstanding landscapes + unique culture + fascinating history + 6 Weeks in March and April + crazy roads to cycle… And we found the perfect fit.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a straight-to-the-point 40-day cycling trip in the mountainous Northern districts of the never colonized and epic land of Ethiopia.

{Try the tag : Ethiopia}

Statistics
March 4th to April 22nd, 2018. 49 days on the road. 30 days on the saddle. 6 days in transport. 3 days trekking. 11 rest days. 30 nights under the tent. 30 paid nights including 17 on a bed. 14 nights in a village or in a police station. 3 nights in the bush. 2 nights on a plane or at the airport. 1900km total including 520km of dirt road. 1 country. 78% tarred road and 22% dirt road. Average weight of bike : 35kg. Planned budget : 20$/day/person. Real budget : 21,18$/day/person. 1586$/person in plane tickets, bicycle handling fees, visa and traveling insurances. 2645$/person for 49 days. Includes all expenses of a 3-day trekking in the Siemens mountains (with an armed scout, without a guide) and the visit of Abuna Yemata Guh church (without a guide).

. . .

2017

CYCLING IN PORTUGAL

 

On peut difficilement placer ce voyage côte à côte avec les autres. Mais puisqu’on a tout de même cyclonné cinq semaines après nos cours de voile, beau temps, mauvais temps, le voici. Notre première présence en terre européenne depuis 2013. Rien d’extraordinaire, rien de palpitant, et vraiment beaucoup de vino.

{Try the tag : Portugal}

Statistics
October 23rd to December 17th, 2017. 55 days on the road. 19 days sailing. 26 days on the saddle. 2 days in transport. 3 days of festival. 5 days chilling in Lisbon. 25 nights under the tent. 4 paid nights plus 19 nights on the school sailing boat. 6 nights in a bed. 2 invited nights in people’s house. 24 nights hiding in the bush. 1000 km. 1 country. Estimation of 95% tarred road and 5% dirt road (excluding 250km of mega dirt road on the Trans-Algarvania for JP). Average weight of the bike : 35kg. Planned budget : 20$/day/person. Real budget : 20$/day/person. 1644$/person in plane ticket, bicycle handling fees and traveling insurance. 2744$/person for 55 days. Excludes Justine’s emergency passport and second plane ticket (!!!), as well as our classes with Faro Sailing.

. . .

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2016-2017

CYCLING IN CENTRAL AFRICA

Ok so… What about another one?  Our last cycling trip in South America left us with a bitter taste : we need to get back in Africa. Namibia, Angola, Senegal, Morocco… There’s so much to see! But think deeper, bushier, muddier. Think equator, primary forest, endless river network. Central Africa is a huge intimidating forgotten piece of land with a pretty bad reputation and that’s exactly where we want to celebrate our thirties.

{Try the tags: Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Central African Republic}

Statistics
November 7th 2016 to April 10 2017. 155 days on the road. 39 rest days. 112 cycling days. 4 days in transport. 133 nights in our tent. 13 paid nights. 18 nights in a bed. 66 nights with families, in villages, in school yard, church yard ou at a police station. 8 wild camping nights. 5500 km. 5 countries. Maximum cycled in one day : 100km of dirt road between Congo-Brazzaville and Central African Republic in major elephant territory, ended with head lamps. Estimation of 40% asphalt and 60% dirt road. Average weight of bike : 54-50kg. Planned budget : 20$/day/person. Real budget : 19,90$/day/person. 3730$/person in plane tickets, visas and traveling insurances. 1369$/person in visas (see below for details). 2028$ for 3 one-ways, including 8 flights and 3 bike boxing processes… 6815$/person for 155 days. Excludes the gear and emergency spare parts sent by mail. Includes Douala-Cape Town and Cape Town-Montréal plane tickets, but excludes our expenses in South Africa (April 10th to May 4th – Hello again, AfrikaBurn).

Visas ($CAN) – total 1369$/person :

• Democratic Republic of Congo. 437$/person. Tourism visa 2 months simple entry. Ottawa embassy. Priority treatment price. 10-day process. 315$/person + original copy of the invitation letter with Okapi Tours online (50$US for us two for the letter and FedEx shipping for 135$US – total 122$/person).
• Congo-Brazzaville. 275$/person. Tourism visa 3 months multiple entry. Toronto consulate. Priority treatment price. Same day process.  No invitation letter needed for us.
• Gabon. 212$/person (160$US). Tourism visa 3 months simple entry. Kinshasa embassy, RDC. Regular price. 3-day process.
• Central African Republic. 105$/person (80$US). Tourism visa 1 month simple entry. Brazzaville embassy, Congo. Regular price. 2-day process.
• Cameroun. 340$/person (151.000 CFA). Tourism visa 6 months multiple entry. Brazzaville embassy, Congo. Regular price. 3-day process.

. . .

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2015-2016

CYCLING IN CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA

What can I say! We left – again. But this time, we want to do things differently. We left with our beloved Surly and a two-person packable raft. Trails, passes, roads, rivers, bring it all! After some good time in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, we are thirsty for adventure. We make a crazy move and fly straight to the starting point of a dream cycle. Goodbye, junglely paradise beaches… Hello, 3,000 meter-high Altiplano !

{Try the tags: Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Bolivia , Chile, Argentina}

. . .

Statistics
November 16th 2015 to May 1st 2016. 168 days on the road. 36 rest days. 119 cycled days. 13 days in transport. 8 days on the water. 126 nights in our tent. 40 paid nights. 17 nights on a bed. 66 nights in families or villages. 27 wild camping nights. 5550km. 5 countries. Maximum cycled in one day : 130km with a headwind in Northern Argentina. Estimation of 60% asphalt and 40% dirt road. Average weight of bike : 54-50kg. Planned budget : 20$/day/person. Real budget : 19,80$/day/person. 3100$/person for plane tickets, visas and insurances. 2728$ for 4 single-ways, including 12 flights and 5 bike boxing processes.  6700$/person for 168 days, door to door, all included (except gear).

. . .

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2014-2015

CYCLING IN EASTERN & SOUTHERN AFRICA

Who said it was a two-year sabbatical? I guess it isn’t anymore. Nothing could stop us of setting foot on the African continent. A new adventure is waiting for us in October. We are trying to organize everything from the Saskatchewan back country where we work as servers in a fishing camp. Unfortunately, the bipolar internet connection has become our biggest enemy. Way beyond hungry bears, enormous mosquitoes and the idea of a whole summer working in a dining room without an espresso machine and hard liquor.

{Try the tags: Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, South Africa, Lesotho}

. . .

Statistics
October 19th 2014 to April 19th 2015. 183 days on the road. 27 rest days. 142 cycled days. 3 days in transport. 9 days in festivals. 145 nights in our tent. 95 paid nights. 17 nights on a bed. 42 camping nights in families or villages. 33 wild camping nights. 8200km. 11 countries. Maximum cycled in one day : 106km in Tanzanie on a bad dirt road. Estimation of 40% asphalt and 60% dirt road. Average weight of bike : 40-45kg. Planned budget : 20$/day/person. Real budget : 22,75$/day/person. 2500$/person for plane tickets, visas and insurances. 1360$ for 2 single-ways, including 5 flights and 2 bike boxing processes.  6700$/person for 183 days, door to door, all included (except gear and our 10 last days in Cape Town and at Afrika Burn – which burned our budget).

2013

CENTRAL ASIA & BALKAN COUNTRIES ON A FOLDING BIKE

May 5th 2013 is the day of a new start for us, Two Vagabonds On The Road. It already has been two years since we first left home. Same clothes, same smiles, new bicycles. First stop : the Silk Road, linking Europe to Asia for the last centuries. Why the folding bikes? After only five months since JP’s accident in Colombia, the little bikes seem like a good option – unlike our destination preferences who are among the most remote we could choose. But what can we say… The World’s rooftops are calling our names.

{Try the tags: Uzbekistan, Kirghistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Sweden}

. . .

2012

SOUTH AMERICA ON TWO WHEELS & WESTERN EUROPE BY FOOT

After ten months of co-living in a tent the size of a coffee table, the Two Vagabonds On The Road have decided it was time to follow their respective dreams for a bit – especially since they don’t always share the same ambitions. JP left for a cycling trip in South America, going up 4 000 meter high passes for hours, sometimes days – and going down right away. Going up, going down. Welcome in the Andes. Justine, on the other hand, left for Europe. The Spanish Compostella Way and the grape harvesting are two old dreams of hers, and they shall be realized this fall. We both share the same purpose : reaching the point where the land ends, one in Ushuaia (Chile), the other in Finisterre (Spain). Only one will succeed, the other one will win a one-way ticket in an emergency plane back to Canada.

{(sorry! no English stories)}

. . .

THE STORY BEHIND THE BLOG

JP and Justine first created the french WordPress blog Deux Pouilleux en Cavale when they left for their first trip together in South-East Asia in 2011, in which family and friends could read funky stories, mainly happening in India and Nepal. After making lots of new friends in the international community, they figured they should translate their stories to make them more accessible – and so came Two Vagabonds on the Road, which only contains cycling trips now that JP and Justine mainly travel on two wheels. Both Deux Pouilleux en Cavale and Two Vagabonds on the Road shelter Justine and JP’s stories and pictures, though not the exact same for now – but will.