Sep 30 2014
R1 World Tour 2001-2006 intro
During the Fireblade world travel, in which Sjaak rode 100,000mi/160.000km in 39 countries, he was seriously bitten by the travel bug. That’s why, the ‘once in a lifetime world travel’ had to get a continuation! To be able to do so he would have to earn the necessary finances. Because he couldn’t, and for sure didn’t want to, fall back in every day live, he started writing travel stories about his previous trip for a bike magazine. He also began organising slideshows in the Netherlands and abroad. In the meantime he devised new travel plans and searched for sponsors.
On 4 March 2001 Sjaak started the next adventure from the bike fair in Utrecht.
A fixed travel schedule did not exist but there was an overall plan. First from Europe to Africa, where crossing the Sahara was on top of his list. After that he would do everything in his power to ride down via west Africa because the east he had already travelled. Every now and then zigzagging continent inward, visiting every country that had no serious internal conflicts, he would work himself down towards Gabon.
Because of civil war and none existing roads, for years nobody succeeded to get from there to the south of the continent without shipping or flying. The solution on that issue would show itself the moment he would get closer to it, was his attitude.
He didn’t have any plans for that area, but he did so for the southern part of Africa where he wanted to make a round trip through the whole land tip.
After that done, the journey should go by boat or plane to South America where he wanted to travel all the countries on the mainland.
Depending the seasons, meaning the weather, he would once being there decide how to go from there on.
By zigzagging through Central America he would be able to visit all countries over there.
Then it was North America’s turn. From this corner of the earth he hoped to find a passage to get into Russia.
Via China, Central Asia and Saudi Arabia, the adventure should bring them to North Africa. Once back in his tiny Dutch town, Maashees, the stroll around the church would be complete.
Sponsors, motorcycle magazine editors and friends, everybody asked him how long the trip was gonna take. He knew this would be as long as he needed, but because nobody would be satisfied by such a statement, he answered, “About three years.” Partly this was based on experiences from his previous long travel and partly on the fact that there was only enough money for that time span.
Eventually it became 5 years and 5 months before Sjaak officially ended his adventure at Yamaha Netherlands in Schiphol-Rijk on 5 August 2006, after having travelled 155,00mi/250.000km through 75 countries!