beetroute

new website

2009-06-16T15:07:00.001+01:00

For our latest updates, please visit our new beetroute website

Thank you!

Routelog # 22: Belgium beer and chocolate.

2009-05-23T10:45:00.003+01:00

From Lille, France (02/05/09) To Putte, Belgium/Netherlands (05/05/09)

read more on www.beet-route.com!

Pics from the road

2009-05-12T11:08:00.001+01:00

Routelog # 21: La douce France

2009-05-12T11:05:00.003+01:00

From St. Gingolph/ Evian (18/04/09) To Lille (02/05/09)

Routelog # 20: Crossing the Alps: 48 hrs in Italy, 24 hr in France, and another 24 hrs in Switzerland.

2009-04-29T19:47:00.001+01:00

From Ancona, Italy (14/04/09) To St. Gingolph, Swiss/ France (18/04/09)

Read more on www.beet-route.com!

Pics from the road...

2009-04-21T14:22:00.005+01:00

More pics on www.beet-route.com

Routelog # 19: Greeeeek!

2009-04-20T10:22:00.001+01:00

From Kos (09/04/09) To Patras (13/04/09)

Routelog # 18: Turkish Delight and the Cyber Race

2009-04-14T19:27:00.001+01:00

From Antalya (14/03/09) To Bodrum (09/04/09)

Read more at www.beet-route.com

website progress

2009-04-06T13:57:00.003+01:00

After weeks behind the laptop instead of on our bikes, we are still in the process of releasing our new website... A challenge larger than everything we have endured so far!

We have cleared this blog, and you will not be able to view any of our movies and most of our photos until further notice. However, you will be able to enjoy THIS movie in the meantime.. Our story so far!

Enjoy our HD Midway sample, and we'll get back to you soon :)

Jon and Aukje.

ROUTElog #17 – ‘Man of Islam, Hitchcycling and East meets West’

2009-03-20T08:32:00.002Z

From Kilis (Syrian-Turkish border) (01/03/09) To Antalya (13/03/09), Including A sidetrip to Istanbul

Read more on www.beet-route.com

ROUTElog # 16: ‘The Cradle of Cilivalizations and a Visit from The Masked Rider’

2009-03-09T12:34:00.004Z

From Homs (20/02/09) To Aleppo/ Turkish border (28/02/09)

Read more on www.beet-route.com

ROUTElog # 13: A Taste of Israel

2009-03-04T13:45:00.004Z

From Amman, Jordan (3/02/08) To Jerusalem/ Hebron, Israel (6/02/08) and back.

Pics from the road

2009-02-23T16:11:00.007Z

View more photos on www.beet-route.com

ROUTElog # 15: ‘Snowy temples’

2009-02-23T16:03:00.002Z

From Damascus (14/02/09) To Homs (18/02/09) via Baalbek, Lebanon.

Read more on www.beet-route.com

ROUTElog # 14: ‘All roads lead to Damascus. Our road had plenty of surprises!

2009-02-14T09:06:00.002Z

From Amman, Jordan (9/02/09) To Damascus, Syria (13/02/09)

read more on www.beet-route.com

Pics from the road

2009-01-31T10:13:00.006Z

For more photos, check out www.beet-route.com

ROUTElog # 12: Three beet: ‘The Kings Highway and the Lowest Point on Earth’

2009-01-31T09:47:00.004Z

From Aqaba, Jordan (20/01/09) To Amman, Jordan (29/01/09)

Read more on www.beet-route.com

Pics from the road

2009-01-19T21:03:00.005Z

For more photos, check out www.beet-route.com

ROUTElog # 11: 'Ancient Egypt and the Tourism Explosion’

2009-01-19T20:50:00.004Z

From: Aswan, Egypt (11/12/08) To Nuweiba, Egypt (19/01/09) (including a three-week Christmas break)

Read more on www.beet-route.com

Pics from the road

2008-12-08T08:41:00.002Z

For more photos, check out www.beet-route.com

ROUTElog # 10: 'Out Of Africa'

2008-12-08T08:35:00.001Z

From Khartoum, Sudan (02/12/08) To Aswan, Egypt (07/12/08)

Read more on www.beet-route.com

Pics from the road

2008-11-27T11:00:00.001Z

For more photos, check out www.beet-route.com

ROUTElog # 9: "Beets Arrive in the Heat - Sudan"

2008-11-26T15:27:00.001Z

From Gondar, Ethiopia (19/11/08) To Khartoem, Sudan (26/11/08)
(not including a back and forth to Addis Abeba by public transport for our sudanese visa)

Read more on www.beet-route.com

Pics from the road

2008-11-09T12:58:00.002Z

For more photos, check out www.beet-route.com

ROUTElog NR 8: "Stoned in Ethiopia"

2008-11-09T12:50:00.001Z

From Addis Abeba (23/10/08) To Gondar (03/11/08)
(with a three day sidetrip to Lalibela by public transport)

Read more on www.beet-route.com

Pics from the road

2008-10-19T11:36:00.003+01:00

For more photos, check out www.beet-route.com

RoUtElog nr. 7

2008-10-19T11:34:00.001+01:00

From Moyale (12/10/08) To Addis Abeba (19/10/08)

read more on www.beet-route.com

Pics from the road

2008-10-07T20:29:00.001+01:00

For more photos, check out www.beet-route.com

RoUtElog 6: 'Blood, Sweat and Fears'

2008-10-07T20:28:00.001+01:00

From Nanyuki, Kenya 24/09/2008) To Moyale, Ethiopia (02/10/2008)

Read more at www.beet-route.com

RoUtElog 5: Sustainability Sidetrip nr 1

2008-09-18T11:24:00.002+01:00

From Nanyuki (08/09/08) To Nairobi, Uganda, Tharaka, Nanyuki (17/09/08)

Read more on www.beet-route.com

Pics from the road...

2008-08-28T11:41:00.001+01:00

For more photos, check out www.beet-route.com

ROUTElog 4

2008-08-28T08:52:00.001+01:00

From Machakos (19/08/08) To Nanyuki (26/08/08)
(4 riding days. 1 day spent in Nairobi, 1 'sickday', 1 'fix the computer' day and another sickday...the tourist lodge in Thika was happy with us as customers...)

Kilometre's cycled: approx. 270 kilometres

Punctures: 4 - Jon (2), Aukje (2)
Total punctures: 5

Read more on www.beet-route.com

ROUTElog 3

2008-08-18T14:01:00.001+01:00

From Mombasa (13/08/08) To Machakos (17/08/08)

Kilometre's cycled: approx. 450 kilometres

Punctures:
One, just when we rode into Machakos. Perfect timing!

Repairs:
Aukje fell graciously off her bike in wet conditions, outside Mombasa.
Damage to bike: minor - tore holes in her waterproof pannier (2 have been patched, other needs a little more work) and shredded the handle-bar grip-tape on the right hand side. Ooops.
Damage to Aukje: see 'Physical Wellbeing'

Read more on www.beet-route.com

ROUTElog 2

2008-08-11T17:54:00.001+01:00

From Pangani, Tanzania (04/08/08) To Mombasa, Kenya (07/08/08)

Kilometre's cycled: 200 approx. kilometres

Punctures: 0

Repairs: Bikes have been great!

Road conditions and Terrain: from Pangani to Tanga is undulated (hilly) and rough, the road north from Tanga to the border is unpaved, at times hilly. From the Kenyan border, it's tarmaced however often cracked, relatively flat.

Weather: Stable. low 30's.

Liters of water consumed/day/person: 6L

Litres of water in plastic bottles consumed: 3 L

Read more on www.beet-route.com

ROUTElog

2008-08-04T15:55:00.002+01:00

From Dar es Salaam (31/07/08) To Pangani (03/08/08)

Kilometre's cycled: approx. 200 kilometres

Punctures: 0

Repairs: the bikes are just starting to get broken in. Jon had some problems with a mudguard, Aukje rode without front brakes and has been having a hard time changing gear

Road conditions: from tarmac to Bagamoyo, to gravel, to extremely bumpy dirtroad and very fine loose sand where we had to get off and push. We had to cross two rivers along the way, the first one being the Wami River that was only crossable by using a local dugout canoe, the second the Pangani River. Overnight rain means that the road can be muddy and sticky until lunch-time, when the sun has had time to bake the road hard again.

Read more on www.beet-route.com

The Annual AOTU Meeting

2008-08-04T15:45:00.001+01:00

We were superhungry, tired, just went through the 5 star Lodge disaster, but then had a wonderful local dinner at Mkwaja Village. The mama who cooked our food told us to stay in the local 'guesthousie' because there were people (?) around that cut off your arms and slit your throat while you were asleep. Or thats what I understood anyway.

We decided to cycle on though and quickly found a secuded place to pitch our tent about 30 metres from the road, under a big tree. I felt a little anxious because I didnt want any of the locals to know we were there, so we whispered and silently set up our tent, threw our gear inside and locked the bikes to the tree. It was hot and we were dripping with sweat. Then Jon discovered a monkey in the tree. Or maybe it was more than one? We arranged our food so that everything fresh or eadible for the monkeys could be tied to the bikes so they wouldnt try to break into the tent. It was dark by now.

Still sweating in the tent, i peeled off my clothes and there was nothing much more to do than to get to sleep. Jon said he felt on edge. 'Why?' I asked. 'Because of the baboons'. 'Well, what is the worst thing that can happen? They can steal that pannier with our pots and food, and mess with the bikes, but thats it'. I didnt worry and grinned because I could just see the monkeys talking to each other: 'There is a big yellow dome at our UFO landing place! They have finally come!' I told Jon but he wasnt amused. It was a very interesting night. A couple of times, Jon slapped the floor real hard, or barked like a dog. I nearly got a heartattack in our sticky, smelly tent. He said there was deep grunting and the baboons were closing in... I still didnt worry and continued on with my little fantasies about monkeys that were dumbstruck by a yellow tent on their meeting place, just when the most important annual AOTU (Apes Of Tanzania Unite!) meeting this year would occur! Jon didn sleep that night and kept his clothes on, ready to fight. Somewhere during the night, he squeezed my hand: 'I'm so glad you're here'.

I'm glad i'm here too :)

Transitions and Sustainability

2008-08-04T15:13:00.000+01:00

We have had many transitions over the last two months, from Europe to Africa, to travelling in a group setting on bicycles (see Journey to the Source link), to welcoming others into the group and climbing a big mountain (see Summit link), to saying goodbye to those friends, to getting back into the swing of a 4 person team, to the closure of Journey to the Source and the transition into a new project, and pushing down on the cranks of our fully loaded BEeTRoUtE bikes and steering them northward.

Flexibility and adaptability are essentials needed in your personal bag of tricks here in Africa. Resourcefulness and awareness are some of the key tools needed when travelling in this means. All in all, the thing I have learnt, that stands out the most is, communication. I have a tendency when things get tough, or when things aren't going as planned, or when there is a big transition, to shut down communicating. Sure, this enables me to be where I need to be, however it often doesn't make it easy for others around me. So for me to practise 'Being True', I will practice communicating more, because it does take practise.

To learn about Sustainability - Woah! We have set ourselves an almighty task. I think this is a life long task, and one that I certainly am not going to completely understand after this relatively short journey (in the overall scheme of things). What can I share? Currently for me on a personal level, sustainability means 'balance'. To sustain myself on the bike on a daily basis, I am going to need to eat, sleep, rest and drink. For us as a BEeTRoUtE team, I need to take my team mate's needs into consideration so that we together are sustainable. On an environmental level we are travelling using very low carbon. The fuel from our stove, emits carbon dioxide (CO2), and we travelled yesterday 200 metres across a river using a local ferry, power used to re-charge our batteries, air-miles from a few food products such as energy bars must also be taken into account, however overall I have never lived in such a simple/balanced way that is having a low impact on the natural resources of our one and only planet. I feel very privileged to be able to live and experience this way of living/travel.

Countdown

2008-07-31T07:43:00.001+01:00

..3.., 2.., 1.. LIFT OFF!!!!

After two months in Tanzania, of Journey to the Source and SUMMIT, the time has

come for BEeTRoUtE! Today, we will set off for our journey to the north :)

To be continued...

Introducing: BEeTRoUtE

2008-05-29T22:54:00.001+01:00

To view this movie, check out www.beet-route.com