itchy boots
on the road
Meet my motorcycles, trace the roads I've ridden with them, and discover their stories.
Alaska
I bought a Honda CRF300 Rally, which I named “Alaska”. After 43,000 kilometers together, I reached the northern tip of Alaska. It was time to give my bike a complete makeover with new colours and new upgrades and prepare her for another season of adventures!
I travelled through Southern Africa in Season 5, but this time I decided to explore North, West and East Africa. Unfortunately, my Africa adventure ended earlier than I expected as I had a crash in Tanzania and broke my collarbone and toe. I shipped Alaska back to the Netherlands.
You can read more about my adventures in my mini-series Travels with Alaska and can follow my journey as Season 6: Project Alaska and Season 7: Return to Africa on YouTube.
Savannah
At the beginning of 2021, I traveled to South Africa to continue my motorcycle travel adventures. There, in Johannesburg, I bought Savannah, a Honda CRF250L. I chose this bike for being light, reliable, and because she was the most affordable second-hand bike I could find.
With Savannah, I explored South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe before riding my first rally. I really tested her during the Kalahari rally, but we managed well. Only in the final stage, Savannah broke her subframe, but I was able to finish the rally. What an end to my first time traveling through Southern Africa on a motorbike!
I left Savannah in the caring hands of the Motorcycle Museum in Knysna, where she is put on display.
You can view the full Season 5: Destination Unknown, and read more about my travels with Savannah in my blog series Travels with Savannah.
Ronin
After I had to cut off my Patagonia to Alaska journey in April 2020, I waited for a while for Covid-19 to disappear, but it didn’t. I changed my plans and bought myself a second-hand Honda CB500x which I named Ronin. In Japanese, this name means wanderer or samurai without a master.
With Ronin, I recorded two seasons Season 3: Adventures with Ronin and Season 4: Investigating the Dutch Motorcycle scene. More details about the gear and equipment I used, and some of the most memorable experiences of those two seasons, you can read in my blog mini-series Travels with Ronin.
Ronin stays permanently in The Netherlands, so I always have a bike (and mode of transport!) whenever I am visiting my home country.
Dhanno
Dhanno, a Royal Enfield Himalayan, was the bike to be for my Patagonia to Alaska adventure. I named her Dhanno after a character from the Indian movie Sholay, like I did with Basanti, my first bike.
Dhanno and I had an amazing time in South America. First, we traveled down from Buenos Aires to the most southern tip of the American continent, and then upwards through Chili and Bolivia to Peru. Unfortunately, our journey together ended in Lima, Peru, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I had to leave the country, leaving Dhanno behind. When she returned to The Netherlands, she was so badly damaged that I cannot ride her anymore.
You can watch our adventures in Season 2 on YouTube, but I also wrote several blog articles. Not only about our adventures, which you can read in my blog miniseries Travels with Dhanno, but also some articles with tips and suggestions for riding in Argentina.
Basanti
I started my YouTube channel when I began my first motorcycle journey with Basanti. I bought Basanti in Delhi, India. The name Basanti refers to the heroine from the famous Indian movie 'Sholay'.
My plan was to travel with her to Malaysia, but when I arrived there, I didn't want to stop! So, I shipped Basanti to Oman and rode with her via Central Asia, Russia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans to my home country The Netherlands.
You can watch every step of that 36.000 kilometers journey as Season 1 on my Youtube-channel. At the beginning of my journey, I also wrote quite a few articles about my adventures, you can read them here.