A loaded bicycle beside an open road can make a very large journey feel surprisingly tangible. The essentials are there in front of you: a way to move, bags for what you need and a route that continues beyond the frame.
For South African traveller De Bruyn Joubert, that image belonged to an ambitious project called Around 7 Continents. The story shared in 2014 described a goal, not a completed record.
The ambition behind the early photographs
Business Insider’s June 2014 report described Joubert’s plan to cycle through 70 countries across seven continents over five years. He had begun in August 2013, and the account followed early travel in Australia and Europe.
Those numbers explain the scale of his intention. They should not be presented as proof that every proposed stage was later completed.
The early photographs are worth reading as a sequence of places and decisions even without a verified final tally. Look for the changing role of the bicycle: a means of reaching a town, a loaded object beside a camp, or a familiar scale against a much larger landscape. Those ordinary relationships explain what touring involves more clearly than the seven-continent ambition alone, and they leave space for the account to remain an open-ended chapter of Joubert's project.
A smaller trip can answer the important questions
If the idea appeals, start with one overnight journey within reach of home. Choose a route suited to your current confidence and a place to stay that you have arranged in advance.
The purpose is to discover how you enjoy travelling with luggage, stopping along the way and setting off again the next morning. Those ordinary details matter more to a longer tour than the total number of countries on a map.
Our guide to different travel rhythms can help you think about how much movement you actually want in a day.
Test the bicycle with the load you will carry
Before departure, ride a familiar route with your planned luggage. Notice how the bike feels when starting, stopping and turning. Keep the first test manageable enough to make changes comfortably afterwards.
Check that your equipment is secure and that you can deal with basic issues appropriate to your bicycle. Arrange suitable maintenance beforehand instead of relying on enthusiasm to solve mechanical problems along the way.
Carry navigation that works when mobile reception does not, along with a way to contact help if needed.
Build the route around stops as well as distance
Locate realistic food and water stops, accommodation and places where you can rest away from traffic. A long line on the map tells you little about those needs.
Leave time for an enjoyable pause. The best memory of the day may be a small town, a riverside view or a conversation rather than a distance target reached late in the evening.
For photographs, stop in a safe place clear of the road. A dramatic pose in a traffic lane is not a necessary part of the story.
Let the first experience shape the next one
After returning, note what you used, what you missed and what made the trip feel easy or awkward. Then adjust one or two things before planning farther afield.
For a longer journey, our long-term travel framework covers the wider questions of budget, cover and flexibility. Budget-travel ideas can help with costs without turning the trip into a contest to spend the least.
Joubert’s early project offers a striking example of a large ambition. Your own beginning can be much smaller: one well-planned overnight ride, with enough room to discover whether the road makes you want another day.
Australia brought rivers, small towns and open country
The early route began with Australia, including the Sydney-to-Adelaide section and Macquarie Pass. Joubert’s account described adjusting to repeated long days rather than arriving as a fully conditioned touring cyclist. Jugiong supplied a small-town stop, while rivers and roadside camps became part of the everyday rhythm. Those details make the trip more tangible than the ambition’s country total alone.
The Nullarbor and Bunda Cliffs offered different views
The treeless road and the cliffs along the coast were among his strongest memories. The original described help from other travellers with food, showing that the journey depended on encounters as well as individual effort. Its dramatic claim about a thousand kilometres without shops should not be used as a current resupply description; an actual route needs named, confirmed stops.
A detour changed the Australian itinerary
Recommendations from people met on the road led him towards Esperance and its beaches. Lake King provided another stop, where a photograph break became a struggle after he got stuck. These are useful travel details because they show both the pleasure of changing a route and the inconvenience that a polished highlight album might omit.
The European section changed the daily experience
Ireland brought a different search for camping places and a scenic approach towards Aherlow. In Wales, Caernarfon Castle was a place he had specifically wanted to see. The Netherlands introduced canal-side cycling and navigation disagreements with a companion, including photographs around Leiden. The same bicycle journey could therefore involve quiet road miles, historic buildings and the small negotiations of travelling with someone else.
The later photographs keep the route open-ended
Lindau, Belgian fries at Christmas and views of Dubrovnik from Mount Srđ appear among the European memories. They belong to the documented early stages. Antarctica remained an ambition in the account, not an established completed crossing. The historical annual budget was also a planning estimate with separate allowances for food, accommodation, visas, insurance and promotion, rather than proof of what another cyclist would spend.
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