After the dust has settled

Two years, it took us two years…

The drive from Belgium to the Alps was super exciting and kind of scary for me, because I had only driven Jumbo George through the flatlands of Belgium and Holland and hadn’t been able to test his uphill riding skills just yet and who knew the engine might not be as strong as we expected it to be. When we crossed into the French part of Belgium and started the first long haul in the Ardennes and I saw the speed dropping to under 40 km/h, it felt like my whole world was crumbling down. If Jumbo was already struggling with these soft hills, there was no way he would be to able to get up the real mountains in France and our whole master plan of chasing powder next winter would fail.

I know the climb to Val Thorens by heart and knew that if Jumbo would make it past the first couple of turns, there would be a good chance of him getting all the way to the top at 2300 meters above sea level. I stepped on the gas paddle and smiled as Jumbo took his first turns with ease, he wasn’t flying up the mountain, but it felt smooth and steady. At some point 20 km/h was the maximum speed he could handle, but he was handling it and no sooner than an hour and a half later I saw the flags of Val Thorens waiving on both sides of the street, just before the last bend to the village.

I was home, again.

It is so weird to finally be in the place you are supposed to be. When we started the crowdfunding campaign exactly two years ago, we truly believed we would be on the road with our hostel on wheels by the upcoming winter about six months later. We didn’t reach that initial target because of many reasons, but the main one was definitely that we are both such damned perfectionists, something we have come to realise more than once during this project. It is so funny to look at some of the early footage, where we were constantly bickering about what the best possible option would be for, well, for about every centimetre of the bus: from the size of the table, the height of the kitchen sink, the placement of the wood stove, the sort of insulation for the roof, the kind of paint to the width of the hallway and a million other things. Not one thing was decided without brainstorming about it for at least a couple of days. In the end I am super glad we did the whole project that way, it has led to something that has exceeded my expectations in so many ways and thanks to this (sometimes tiresome) process, we now have a hostel on wheels, one that really works, in every way. Finally I am able to say it out loud, I am fu**ing PROUD! Sorry for the language, but that is exactly how I feel right now. I know it now for sure; making a dream come true is the best feeling there is. Never hesitate to follow yours. Ever.

Cheers!

The post After the dust has settled appeared first on Let's be Nomads.

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

After the dust has settled

Two years, it took us two years…

The drive from Belgium to the Alps was super exciting and kind of scary for me, because I had only driven Jumbo George through the flatlands of Belgium and Holland and hadn’t been able to test his uphill riding skills just yet and who knew the engine might not be as strong as we expected it to be. When we crossed into the French part of Belgium and started the first long haul in the Ardennes and I saw the speed dropping to under 40 km/h, it felt like my whole world was crumbling down. If Jumbo was already struggling with these soft hills, there was no way he would be to able to get up the real mountains in France and our whole master plan of chasing powder next winter would fail.

I know the climb to Val Thorens by heart and knew that if Jumbo would make it past the first couple of turns, there would be a good chance of him getting all the way to the top at 2300 meters above sea level. I stepped on the gas paddle and smiled as Jumbo took his first turns with ease, he wasn’t flying up the mountain, but it felt smooth and steady. At some point 20 km/h was the maximum speed he could handle, but he was handling it and no sooner than an hour and a half later I saw the flags of Val Thorens waiving on both sides of the street, just before the last bend to the village.

I was home, again.

It is so weird to finally be in the place you are supposed to be. When we started the crowdfunding campaign exactly two years ago, we truly believed we would be on the road with our hostel on wheels by the upcoming winter about six months later. We didn’t reach that initial target because of many reasons, but the main one was definitely that we are both such damned perfectionists, something we have come to realise more than once during this project. It is so funny to look at some of the early footage, where we were constantly bickering about what the best possible option would be for, well, for about every centimetre of the bus: from the size of the table, the height of the kitchen sink, the placement of the wood stove, the sort of insulation for the roof, the kind of paint to the width of the hallway and a million other things. Not one thing was decided without brainstorming about it for at least a couple of days. In the end I am super glad we did the whole project that way, it has led to something that has exceeded my expectations in so many ways and thanks to this (sometimes tiresome) process, we now have a hostel on wheels, one that really works, in every way. Finally I am able to say it out loud, I am fu**ing PROUD! Sorry for the language, but that is exactly how I feel right now. I know it now for sure; making a dream come true is the best feeling there is. Never hesitate to follow yours. Ever.

Cheers!

The post After the dust has settled appeared first on Let's be Nomads.

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Why the Nomads Bus?

This Why the Nomads Bus? is written on Let's be Nomads.

Tim was sound asleep while I was going trough my Facebook newsfeed and clicked on the “Livin’ Tiny: A Quest For Powder” video my uncle sent me. While I was watching the video something clicked in my head, it felt like a puzzle piece just found its place. Watching the video reminded me of my favourite thing in the entire world, the only thing that gets me out of bed in the early hours, to stoked to sleep: fresh snow. A few weeks before I saw this inspiring video, we had come up with a plan to create a hostel on wheels and drive it through the Americas. So, my next thought was why not combine the two; a hostel on wheels and snow? Why not do what we love to do most?

To be honest, even though we do feel the need to have a home that we don’t have to carry on our backs all the time, we’re not ready to settle in one place just yet. Most of all because we have no idea where. I fell in love with Canada when I did my first winter season there, Tim feels his home is in Val Tho where he spent 10 winters, and we both feel that there are so many other options out there to be explored.

During our travels we are constantly confronted with pictures of friends riding pow on Facebook and try to watch all of the big snowboarding contests. We are having the time of our lives in Central-America, but whenever we can we choose to be in the colder mountains, away from the heat, preferably watching the Dew Tour and already dreaming about our next season in the snow.

Don’t get me wrong, I am having a blast during this whole journey, but I discovered my greatest passion by walking away from it. I discovered that I’m not a part of the hippy culture even though I love baggy pants and managed to get one (let’s keep it mellow) dread in my hear. I am, and am proudly to say so, part of the snowboarding culture.

Another thing I have learned during this journey is that a culture is like a family, it’s one of the many stickers we wear. Hippies for example, seen as the free people of this world, are also wearing a sticker, they might not be wearing fancy brands but they all have the same style, they love the same kind of music and they make each other happy. Because that’s what cultures are all about; no matter where you are in the world, when you meet someone who wears the same sticker there is an instant and real connection. You share the most important thing in the world: the same passion, whether it’s fighting for peace, riding the best lines of your lives or dancing around a bonfire like pirates with a bottle of rum, it doesn’t matter.

This is why we are creating the Nomads Bus and are more stoked than ever. Our original idea was to do our first winter tour in the US and Canada, cruising through the rockies and along the powder highway, but as Europeans this was very hard to realise, especially due to liability issues in the US and Canada. But to every downside, there is an upside and if it wasn’t for all the rules stopping us from realising our project in North America, we would have never thought about trying to get this off the ground in Europe. A change of plans that actually made us happy, it made us realise how much we loved the idea to be closer to our families and friends while still living a nomadic life and chasing pow.

Creating a project like this, feeling like an entrepreneur, has given me more motivation than any challenge I ever put up for myself. That night when the puzzle piece fell into place I knew that this is what I’m supposed to do, so challenges come get me, I am sure there are many of you to come, but I’ll conquer you one at a time. Nah.

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Why the Nomads Bus?

This Why the Nomads Bus? is written on Let's be Nomads.

Tim was sound asleep while I was going trough my Facebook newsfeed and clicked on the “Livin’ Tiny: A Quest For Powder” video my uncle sent me. While I was watching the video something clicked in my head, it felt like a puzzle piece just found its place. Watching the video reminded me of my favourite thing in the entire world, the only thing that gets me out of bed in the early hours, to stoked to sleep: fresh snow. A few weeks before I saw this inspiring video, we had come up with a plan to create a hostel on wheels and drive it through the Americas. So, my next thought was why not combine the two; a hostel on wheels and snow? Why not do what we love to do most?

To be honest, even though we do feel the need to have a home that we don’t have to carry on our backs all the time, we’re not ready to settle in one place just yet. Most of all because we have no idea where. I fell in love with Canada when I did my first winter season there, Tim feels his home is in Val Tho where he spent 10 winters, and we both feel that there are so many other options out there to be explored.

During our travels we are constantly confronted with pictures of friends riding pow on Facebook and try to watch all of the big snowboarding contests. We are having the time of our lives in Central-America, but whenever we can we choose to be in the colder mountains, away from the heat, preferably watching the Dew Tour and already dreaming about our next season in the snow.

Don’t get me wrong, I am having a blast during this whole journey, but I discovered my greatest passion by walking away from it. I discovered that I’m not a part of the hippy culture even though I love baggy pants and managed to get one (let’s keep it mellow) dread in my hear. I am, and am proudly to say so, part of the snowboarding culture.

Another thing I have learned during this journey is that a culture is like a family, it’s one of the many stickers we wear. Hippies for example, seen as the free people of this world, are also wearing a sticker, they might not be wearing fancy brands but they all have the same style, they love the same kind of music and they make each other happy. Because that’s what cultures are all about; no matter where you are in the world, when you meet someone who wears the same sticker there is an instant and real connection. You share the most important thing in the world: the same passion, whether it’s fighting for peace, riding the best lines of your lives or dancing around a bonfire like pirates with a bottle of rum, it doesn’t matter.

This is why we are creating the Nomads Bus and are more stoked than ever. Our original idea was to do our first winter tour in the US and Canada, cruising through the rockies and along the powder highway, but as Europeans this was very hard to realise, especially due to liability issues in the US and Canada. But to every downside, there is an upside and if it wasn’t for all the rules stopping us from realising our project in North America, we would have never thought about trying to get this off the ground in Europe. A change of plans that actually made us happy, it made us realise how much we loved the idea to be closer to our families and friends while still living a nomadic life and chasing pow.

Creating a project like this, feeling like an entrepreneur, has given me more motivation than any challenge I ever put up for myself. That night when the puzzle piece fell into place I knew that this is what I’m supposed to do, so challenges come get me, I am sure there are many of you to come, but I’ll conquer you one at a time. Nah.

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J