Gates Carbon Drive

Hera van Willick calls herself a globetrotter on a bike. On previous trips she has cycled across Europe to Asia. Now she is embarked on her next adventure. For the past two months she has pedaled through Alaska, crossing the Arctic Circle, seeing bears and wildlife and visiting mining camps. Recently she crossed into Canada and is headed south. Her destination: the United States and then South America. Her itinerary: wherever inspiration leads her. Her goal: stay ahead of winter. “I’m going easy and slow and just enjoying every bit,” she writes from outside of Dawson City, in Canada’s Yukon Territory. “I’ll pass through Whitehorse, Jasper, Banff and Vancouver, and then cycle down the West coast of the US to Mexico. From there I’ll keep going south but I haven’t planned my route. I’ll just let whoever and whatever crosses my path inspire me.”

Hera grew up in a car-free family in Holland. “Because my mother hated cars, we went everywhere by bicycle.” For this adventure, Hera has chosen one of the best global touring bikes available: a Santos TravelMaster 2.6 with a Gates Carbon Drive belt and Rohloff hub. “It’s a rugged, stiff, compact bicycle. Apart from cleaning it, checking the break pads and pumping the tires, there’s pretty much nothing I have to do in maintenance. It’s very stable, no matter how heavy my luggage is.”

Hera has no idea how long this current trip will last. “It could be one or two or 10 years or more. I don’t think I want to bike forever, but I do want to cycle every continent and see most of the countries around the world by bicycle.” For this, we can thank her wise mother. Watch the video below to hear Hera speak about her love of bikes, learn more about Santos Bikes and the Dutch company’s 3D configurator, read about other Santos globetrotters, and follow Hera’s adventures on heravanwillick.nl