It started with a proposal that sounded like a joke. Eindhoven’s Thijs van Litsenburg and Joëlle Jochems are going to China on a tandem. You could call it the ultimate relationship test for the two lovers.
Thijs is the experienced cyclist of the two. The professional bicycle courier has already cycled to Budapest and Athens and participated in the World Championship for Bicycle Couriers in Japan. “He wanted to go on a cycling holiday with me. My condition was that we would go on a tandem, because I can’t keep up with him and of course I don’t want to plough behind him all the time”, Joëlle says.
Playground
And so the couple bought a tandem on Marktplaats. In the summer of 2024 they cycled to Switzerland to practice. That went well and that is partly why they decided to continue the adventure to China. “We haven’t planned the route completely. We’re cycling to Georgia, because Thijs wants to see that country and from there we are going to look at each country separately”, Joëlle says. “You don’t need any bells and whistles to have fun. With the tandem you just go out on the street and we leave for Beijing. On the way I see the entire route as one big playground”, Thijs adds.
Relationship test
The couple is now on their way and cycling somewhere deep in Germany. The journey is about 12,000 kilometres long and it is estimated that the two will be away for nine months. Some people wonder whether the couple will survive this ultimate relationship test. “You experience everything together so it will be intense, but we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t have confidence that it would work out”, Thijs says.
“Of course we are on the same bike. But because you don’t look at each other or cycle next to each other, you don’t always have to have anything to do with each other. We will also just be quiet for hours”, Joëlle says. The couple keeps the home front informed with a daily travel report on the cycling app Strava.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
