15,000km on bike with baby
Would you consider travelling 50,000km by bike – including 15,000km with a baby? This may seem insane, but step-by-step, we included our daughter in our nomadic life. Diving into the unknown when she was just five months old, we crossed altitude passes in China and the Nullarbor Desert in Australia. From the Swiss Alps to the Southern Alps, we finally reached our destination in New Zealand five years later with our daughter Nayla. “You are crazy!” said our neighbour in Penang. “How are you going to cycle with a five-month-old baby?” “We really don't know,” we answered, feeling the tension in our stomach. For three years, we have been living a very simple life, a nomadic life by bike. This long journey took us through some of the most remote areas in Mongolia, Tajikistan and China and in the human movement of countries like Bangladesh and Syria. From an adventure to discover diverse cultures, it became a way of living, being nomads on bikes. We breathed at the pace of
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kiwiparent – supporting kiwi parents through the early years
life, having a powerful feeling of freedom. This is when we decided we could start a family. And just a month later, our daughter whispered her presence. Céline was pregnant. At that time we were facing Mount Everest at more than 5,000m elevation. Even if it was a conscious choice, we didn’t expect it to be a reality so soon. “When are you coming back?” asked our parents. Despite all the doubts, we knew we wanted to live this nomadic lifestyle as a family, at least try. But we had no idea how.
2.6 kg of Love When Céline arrived in Malaysia she was seven months pregnant and still cycle touring. “How could you risk it? Isn't it too much to loose?” asked a woman on the side of the road. We had no fear about the pregnancy. We fully trusted the ability of Céline's body to nurture our baby. Every time Céline cycled, the baby would be in a position