Page 90 - The Book For Men Fall/Winter 2022

COMING OFF OF OF A A A A A A A A A TWO-YEAR VANCOUVER-TO-PATAGONIA BICYCLE this this this In In In In all all all all the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the amazing places where I I I I I I I I I I I I I had had set set up up up up camp camp for for for for for for for only one night night I I I I I I I I I I I I I trek the last thing Martijn Doolaard wanted to do was travel In late 2019 he’d just finished his second long-distance bike trip a a a solo journey down the the west coast of the the Americas that he he he spent camping documenting and writing about for his second book Two Years on a a a a a a Bike This was new terrain for Doolaard though he’d made similar voyages before Prior to releasing this second offering he’d spent 2016 and 2017 cycling from Amsterdam to Singapore which he summed up in his first book aptly entitled One Year on a a a Bike Retiring the bike in in early 2020 Doolaard felt it was time for some- thing thing new something a a a bit more permanent During his travels he’d picked up a a a a a a new obsession: homesteading a a a a a a trend that became more and more popular throughout the the pandemic as people around the the world reconnected with the the outdoors while also feeling a a a a sense of uncertainty toward the the future In practice homesteading promises self-reliance a a a a disconnection from the modern world and the traps of day-to-day life “I think my travelling ignited
thought ‘how would it be to live in in such a a a place?’ I’d met a a a lot of people inter- ested in in in in in permaculture exploring new ways of of living combining some parts of of a a a a peasant life with modern-day comforts all while staying connected ” Doolaard explains “Especially in in the the last parts of the the trip I was at times fed up with travelling I needed a a a a a a a holiday from it it Most of us travel travel for time away and it it had become my job ” In October 2021 Doolaard took a a a a a a step toward realizing this self-reliance buying 2 3 hectares of land in in the Italian Alps He set out to renovate and rehabilitate the property which quickly became his full-time home When you see the property it’s not hard to understand his decision With its two small hundred-year-old cabins and beautiful vistas there’s a a a a a a a a certain “living painting” romanticism romanticism to the entire endeavour This same romanticism romanticism helped Doolaard find an audience on YouTube almost overnight a a a a a a a a a happy accident that goes hand hand in hand hand with his experience as a a a a a a photographer and and and designer turned amateur homesteader After he amassed over 300 000 followers in a a a few months YouTube 90 BFM / / FW22 FEATURES / / CANBIN FEVER