My name is Jelle van der Munnik, 23 years old. I am born in Amsterdam but raised in Schagen. Since childhood, I always wanted to become a pilot. Therefore, it was a logical choice to do an aviation-related education after I finished the higher general secondary education. I chose the Aviation Academy, part of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. The vast majority of the students that started this education also wanted to become a pilot. During the education, I found out (together with lots of fellow students) that the profession is different than expected. It didn't suit me and the poor chances of finding a job were also not helping. Nevertheless, I really liked the dynamic aviation industry, so I did finish my study.
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I just turned 21 when I got my degree and I wasn't ready yet to start working. I wanted to see the world! For me, it’s easy to end up in a daily grind that it's difficult to escape from. I see many people that are being lived by others and I would like to live my own life. I was in the unique position to be without any obligations; house/work/family and it was therefore the perfect moment to travel the world.
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Many people ask me why I'm doing it on a bicycle instead of a car, motor, public transport or plane. Good question. I can start by saying that the Netherlands has a bicycle culture, there are more bicycles in my country than people. Moreover, I enjoy the physical challenge and I'm convinced that it is the best way of getting to know new cultures/languages/environments. How amazing is it to cross an entire continent with your own muscles with just some water and food as fuel? I consciously chose not to start from home (and go to, for example, Asia) because I didn't want a gradual change from the known to the unknown. I wanted to be in the unknown from the start until the end. I chose Sydney in Nova Scotia (Canada) as a starting point just because it's like the edge of the mainland and Alaska would have been too predictable.
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On this website, you can read the stories about my trip. If you are interested, you can subscribe yourself here and get an automatic message once I post someting new.
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Jelle
