Samuël puts in his training kilometres on his father's old electric bike. It is too big for him and it was never built for this. He rides it anyway.
The bikes that have to carry the family and everything they own across 26,720 km have not been bought. Neither have the panniers, the tent, the spare parts or the camera that will film 77 shelters.
We are going either way. On 15 November we leave Málaga, with whatever we have managed to gather by then. That was never in question.
The only question is what we leave with. Whether Samuël rides a bike that fits him or one that does not. Whether we sleep in a tent that keeps the rain out. Whether the spare parts are already in the panniers when something breaks in the mountains.
If you make any of this, you already have what we are looking for. You send it, we ride it for eighteen months across 25+ countries, and it ends up in every photo and film because it is what we are living on.
Ideally everything is here by 1 October 2026, so there is time to fit it and try it out before leaving. Bikes take the longest, so those are the ones worth talking about first. And partial help counts. One tent is one tent fewer to buy.
Somebody reading that list is going to recognise one line of it as something sitting in their warehouse right now. If that is you, this is what you can expect from us in return.
We will use it and we will say where it came from. Your gear ends up in the films, the photos and the stories simply because it is what we are riding, wearing and sleeping in every day.
We will tell you the truth about it. If something holds up for 26,720 km, that is worth knowing. If it falls apart somewhere along the way, you will hear that too.
What we cannot promise is a fixed schedule. We post on Instagram most days, because that part is quick and it fits around the riding. But some stretches have no signal at all, and then it simply has to wait until the next town. Nobody is going to sit in a tent chasing a deadline. We would rather say that now than let you down later.
That list is only what we could think of. You know your own trade far better than we do. A workshop that can service the bikes, here before we leave or anywhere along the route. A night's stay somewhere on the way. Help with a visa. A shelter you know that sits on the road we are already taking.
If you have an idea that is not here, we would love to hear it.
Not everyone has a warehouse full of tents. If you simply like what this boy is doing and want him to make it to the other side of the world, you can help with that too. Ferries, visas, food and a safe place to sleep are the costs that never stop.
Pay in your own currency. Donations are managed by Wendy Dirksen Hermans on behalf of Samuel Cycles the World. This is a private family journey, not a company or a registered charity.