[EN IMAGES] A couple of Quebec nomads on bicycles to conquer Africa

There are the little Sunday bike rides and there is the endless epic of the nomads in the square, a couple of Quebec adventurers who have accumulated more than 200,000 km around the world and who recently left to ride across 13 countries on the African continent.

Pierre Bouchard and Janick Lemieux have been traveling the globe, pedaling side by side since 1997. Among other things, they tamed the Pacific Ring of Fire for six years, in three stages, on 30 islands.

Their most recent journey stretched from January 2014 to April 2016, from Scandinavia to Tanzania, over 21,000 km. This is what they described as step 1 of their “velocipedic odyssey.”

After a longer return than expected to their base camp in Charlevoix due to COVID, the two explorers are finally off again. They touched down in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where they left off eight years ago.

“It’s not a challenge with record expectations. We’re going to explore. In our case, we are talking about an anti-career for cycling adventurers. Going to see the world is the most legitimate thing to do with our skin while we are on Earth. There is a desire to share the scenes we experience,” explained Pierre Bouchard during a recent interview.

Meeting other nomads

During their extended hiatus at home before returning to their nomadic lifestyle, the explorers became involved in the development of local cycling and gave numerous lectures.

They hope to add 15,000 km to the clock in the next 15 months, which will take them to Cameroon, passing through several countries, including the island of Madagascar.

“In our heads, we were going back to 2020, before the virus changed plans.”

“We have four nomadic groups in our sights. Madagascar is complicated to get there by bike, but we really want to spend three full months there.”

“We want to discover the country, but also the Vezos, the sea nomads on the west coast of the country. Their roads aren’t too developed because they don’t really need them. We expect to pedal quite a bit in the sand. It won’t be easy, but we will be well equipped,” noted Janick Lemieux.

A technical challenge

Without describing themselves as athletes, the two Charlevoix nomads know that they are embarking on a demanding sporting journey.

They particularly remember moments in Sudan, at 45 degrees in the shade, when they each had to carry 11 liters of water. Their autonomy in places without water available to them should be three to four days, while they can cycle a full week with water access points.

“Biking is a wonderful and therapeutic way to take a trip. Showing up in a community with a fully charged bike is the most peaceful way to do it. People are curious and come all around. They realize that we are making an effort and want to invite us into their daily lives,” mentions Pierre Bouchard.

If it is too early to talk about the exact nature of the rest of the odyssey, it is nevertheless certain that it will continue in the years to come, after the present African stage.

“It’s a lifestyle. This fundamental curiosity is here to stay and we will satisfy it as long as it suits us, even if we are going to enter a period of our lives where trips will become shorter,” conclude the bicycle wanderers together.