Ever dreamed of sacking it all off, fitting out a van and hitting the road in Europe?
Our two Euro pikeys Joe Young and Maurice Raine did exactly that and are currently causing mayhem on the continent. Sleeping in lay-bys, living off baked beans and packing in as much riding as possible, they’re living the van life dream. The first leg of their journey took them from the North East down to Lourdes via Fontainbleu and they’re currently set up camp in Ainsa – here’s the first part of their epic roadtrip
From the bulkhead
Waking up to the sound of rain hammering down on the rooftop of the vanibago and recovering from another night drinking 60 cent litre bottles of beer we thought it would be a great chance to reflect on the first slab of our trip here in Europe. After all, don’t hangovers make even the best of us pensive?
After purchasing a van to convert for racing, one thing led to another and me and one of my mates Maurcie decided to hop on the band waggon and try the ‘van life’!
I roughly threw some bits of wood at the inside of the van until it resembled something homelike, adding electrics, heating and a ghetto outdoor shower for the finishing touches, before we crammed bikes and kit inside to set off for the continent.
Deciding to opt out of the péage grind we finally arrived at the first stop off, Fontainebleau, just south east of Paris. Renowned for its bouldering… not so much for its hills. A week or so exploring the vast amount of boulder problems littered across the surrounding forests saw our fingers shredded to bits.
