Kim Roelants finished his journey in Tarifa this morning, July 17, 2024, at 10:00, after 28 days and 10 hours of travel from North Cape. He was greeted by a big surprise: his wife, who had been waiting for him at the finish line since 7:00 AM. She had driven for three days from Belgium to Tarifa. During her trip, she stopped once at the coast in France and, while on the phone with Kim, told him she was at a beach party in Belgium.
After the welcoming and obligatory photos at the fish, Kim asked, “What’s next?”
Kim’s goal for the North Cape to Tarifa journey was:
“There are two adventures that have been on my wishlist since I started doing long-distance rides: the Transcontinental race (crossing Europe from West to East) and the North Cape-Tarifa adventure (crossing Europe from North to South). Especially the latter appeals to me because of its enormous latitudinal change: The idea of riding through tundra (North Scandinavia) and (semi)desert (Andalucia) in a single ride, meanwhile passing through so many biomes, landscapes and mountain ranges, is super exciting.
My ‘careful’ goal is to finish the North Cape – Tarifa trajectory in less than one month, finishing before July 20th. This would require covering an average distance of 240 km each day. However, my more ambitious goal is to be able to maintain an average of 300+ km per day, like I did during the Transcontinental Race two years ago. If I manage to do that, I’ll finish in 25 days. Honestly, I don’t care much about finishing position, adventures like these are mostly a race against yourself. No matter how long it will take me, I plan to reach the finish and enjoy every minute along the way. Even the hard moments (I know there will be many), while not enjoyable in the moment, often make for beautiful memories afterwards.”
Photos: From the finish in Tarifa. The first photo was taken when Kim stopped at a bakery in Alta after riding in the rain from the start and was thinking about to scratch from the adventure.
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