Story #4 (part II): He who follows his instinct and dreams is free
October 1, 2024
The initiative of 7 Lakes Camping – “Inspiring Camping Stories” is the only one of its kind in the Bulgarian camping community. We continue with part II of story #4, where the main character is the Frenchman Pierre Mornand. From the very beginning, I got indications that his adventure and social cause were highly enlightening and perfectly embodied the title of our column.
In the first part of the story, we got to know who is Pierre Mornand, what was his childhood dream, where his passion for bicycle travel originates, the hardships he went through to realize the journey to Asia, and what is the mission behind it all. Now it's time to delve deep into our hero's adventure. Let’s find out what situations fate throws at him, what he learns about the world and himself, and many more details that deserve to be told.
This is the first story that I am sharing with you in two parts. I decided that the continuation will be in the form of an interview in order to get you as close as possible to Pierre's thoughts and values.
Enjoy the reading!
The interview:
Pierre, tell me a little more about your trip: how many countries will you pass through, is Vietnam still your final destination or will you continue to even more distant horizons?
After reaching my originally planned final destination (Vietnam), I will have passed through twenty countries! That is if I don't get lost somewhere along the way or decide to cross other borders. Once on the road, I have the desire to go even further, that is the risk of going on such a journey, it is highly addictive and I allow myself to be carried away by the encounters that come by me.
But the adventure doesn't end in Vietnam, my plan also includes going back and this will be the realization of another dream of mine - that of traveling through Siberia during the winter season - I dream of seeing Lake Baikal! To be perfectly honest, I'd like to avoid flying back. After a year of exciting adventures around the world, I can't imagine going back for a few hours flight to the starting point...
So, adding the return trip, I will have crossed 24 countries!
I'm curious how do you see the world from your bike – what is the feeling during such a journey? What does this experience give you personally?
Let's start by saying that cycling is a very slow way to get around. Faster than walking, slower than a car or bus, but still allows you to cover quite large distances in a day (my longest trip so far was 190 km in the Uzbek desert!) and still be in direct contact with everything around you. This is an excellent way to make connections, because a traveler on a bicycle loaded with all his provisions is intriguing!
I managed to enjoy colorful meetings with very kind people in each country. It often happens that I am invited to eat (in Turkey sometimes four times in the same day!), drink tea, dance at a wedding or to share a funeral evening in a Turkish village. It's hard for me to remember the number of people who stopped me in the Kazakh and Uzbek deserts to offer me a bottle of cold water, honey...and sometimes even money (which I refused!). As a friend told me on the day of my departure I allowed myself to be carried away by human encounters (locals and other cyclists). So far what I have seen from the human side of things, it is very positive and encouraging, despite what is portrayed in the media, the world is far from just warlike and malicious people!
Traveling by bicycle for a long period of time is a real challenge, of course the first is the physical effort, but you also have to leave the comfort of home, your little habits, there is also a psychological moment. This type of journey figuratively knocks us down, shatters us into little pieces, then we gather and refocus, at the end of it all we come out different and stronger. I learned patience and perseverance - things that always eluded me before. An adventure of this kind also offers a very private time for yourself, a time to run through your thoughts, to reflect, which we rarely do when we are absorbed in our daily lives. Being in nature has always given me a lot of peace, for me everything seems clearer whether I am by bike, skiing or simply walking.
I continue to be amazed at all the beauties that our planet offers - from the picturesque Italian cities to the Pamir mountains, through the colorful Istanbul, Cappadocia, the wonderful cities on the Silk Road, the canyons of the Kazakh desert. I often feel that before my eyes plays a TV show about the most impressive pieces of nature - it is simply amazing!
You mention of numerous meetings with people from all over the world. Is there any meeting or event that left a lasting impression on you and why?
Now I remembered that until the very end of our conversation I forgot to introduce my bicycle, which I named Tudo, this means "Freedom" in Vietnamese. The name suits it so well because that's exactly what I feel when I get on this bike, I feel like I have no limits and I want to take every trail to explore the world!
To get back to your question, I will share moments from my trip that left a lasting impression on me. I remember one particularly rough day in Turkey, taken over by the fatigue of an endless road, fighting headwinds, in a very isolated region, where several locals advised me not to cycle through there because I would meet people with bad intentions, and I could run into wild animals (wolves...). I was getting ready to sleep in a ditch because I couldn't find a suitable place to set my bivouac. Just at the bend in the road leading to a small village I meet a couple who quickly understand my situation and I am welcomed like a king by the French-speaking villager Ismet, who is overflowing with generosity towards me. What a relief I felt at that moment, and what a proof of humanity!
In the Kazakh and Uzbek deserts, which were a real test to cross, I was very moved by the solidarity of the people I met. In addition to offering me food and water, many took my phone number (in exchange for a selfie, which they love!) and called me regularly to find out how my trip was going and if I was missing anything. Some of these people still call me! These signs of humanity marked my journey on the Pamir road!
During my short stay in Kyrgyzstan, I took the opportunity to walk near the majestic Mount Lenin (7134m), by climbing to Mount Yukhina (5130m), which is opposite of it. It was magical to enjoy the huge glaciers of this mountain range, with amazing weather by my side. The night spent at Base Camp 1 at 4400m without a sleeping bag will also remain a memorable moment. I ended up sleeping not so badly with my plastic bottles full of hot water around me!
I can also share something from a fun point of view. I was able to test the durability of my tent during an impressive windstorm in the Kazakh desert, when I had recklessly pitched my tent near a cliff about 300 meters high, thinking that I would enjoy the view of the canyon when I woke up. I ended up spending much of the night trying to hang on to my tent, which was bending in the gusts of severe wind, and I was ready to use it as a parachute to land at the bottom of the cliff. With utter horror, I watched out of the corner of my eye my bike, which could also leave at any moment. In the morning I tried to quickly gather all my belongings into a ball so that nothing flew away, only my helmet fell victim, lost somewhere at the bottom of the canyon. I felt lucky it didn't end worse.
I also lost my cycling shoes somewhere on the Georgian roads, preferring to ride in sandals on that day, so the badly tied shoes ended up in the field. I have so many stories to tell, some are quite long.
Finally, what would you say to those who want to embark on such an adventure?
For those who hesitate to embark on such a journey, be it by bike, on foot, on horseback or by boat...I have one piece of advice: dare to embrace the adventure, believe in your dreams and in yourself ! Don't be afraid to shake up your life, you will learn a lot from contact with others and nature.
If you want to read all my adventures step by step from the moment of the departure and follow the next episodes of this adventure, I will be happy to have you among the readers of my diary of this trip, which you can find on the Polarstep platform, through this link.
