It now appears that the bicycle does not cause any major problems. Jeroen: “The profile of my rear tire is now quite worn, so I have to replace it. But that is normal. And I also have to look at the chain.”
The language barrier hardly bothers him, and physically the adventurer feels ‘actually very good’. The problems lie elsewhere: according to Jeroen. “I didn’t think I would miss my girlfriend and daughter so much. Saying goodbye was difficult for me.”
Homesick, dirty and no comfort
Jeroen was able to cope reasonably well during the first few months, but over the past two months the landscapes he sees from his bike are no longer as beautiful as at the beginning of his journey.
“There’s a road straight in front of me for miles,” says Jeroen on the phone. “It’s a bit, well, boring, and there’s a lot of dirt along the road.”
And then there is no guarantee of a comfortable place to sleep or a hot shower at the end of the day. “I now realize how comfortable we are in the Netherlands,” says Jeroen. “Now I’m happy if I can sleep with someone. They really don’t have an extra bed, so I sleep on a mat on the floor. But then I can wash and I get a cup of coffee in the morning.”