Posted 2019/8/14
On January 27 this year, 27 year old Frenchmen Basile and Simon set out from Paris on their bikes to follow in the footsteps of Marco Polo and traverse the Silk Road. On Saturday, August 9, they finally arrived in Beijing.
Simon and Basile travelled over 13, 000 kilometers in six months and passed through ten countries on their way, all by bicycle.
Their six month long journey was full of unforeseeable joys and hardships. Whilst on the road, the pair had little contact with the outside world and would use their GPS to plan the next three or four days in advance, adjusting the plan whenever the need took them.
Their biggest challenge after they crossed the border into China on June 12 was the scorching temperatures and the monotony of the Taklaman Desert. They described that section of the journey as ‘oppressive’, as they saw almost no other human beings the entire three weeks they spent there.
Despite the difficulties, they described their trip as an unforgettable, once in a lifetime experience; however, they haven’t had enough of adventuring yet- they’re now planning to sail across the Atlantic Ocean.
