France to Armenia- An offline cycling journey with paper map and unexpected opportunities #interview

”I am Nomad” – Interview with Thibault

Join me in my latest episode of “I’m Nomad” where I sit down with Thibault, an adventurous guy who has been on a cycling journey from France to Armenia armed with a paper map, an ancient phone, and a trusty compass.
We’ll talk about Thibault’s slow-paced trip, and why everyone should get an old-school phone in order to make more memories on the road.

Lean back, get ready for an inspiring conversation and enjoy watching.

Cheerio, Goodbye, Salut & Adios!

 🚲 Any questions regarding Thibault’s trip? Just send him an email: thibault.verlomme@gmail.com

🪴For more insights and recent stories you can read my articles on Kofi & Patreon (for free):
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🔉Music: https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/f…

Hi fellow travelers, You know how it goes – always thinking  of what we might need to reach our goals,   forgetting what we already possess.  Today’s talk reminded me that it’s   not about the fancy equipment that makes  a journey. I mean, it’s nice to have,  

But in the end, it’s the people  we meet and the moments we share. I’m Giant Cheerio, a bike traveler, and  I’m currently cycling around the globe.  With ‘I’m Nomad’, I’m all about spotlighting  the different ways people live on the road. 

I’m very excited to talk to Thibault,  a young French man who cycled all the   way from France to Armenia, armed with a  paper map, a very old phone, and a compass.  The capital of Armenia, Yerevan, was not his final  stop though. I found him settled in his apartment,  

Bike parked, and working a regular 9-5. A total shift from the original plan.  But that’s just the beauty of the journey, right? If you prefer to watch the video with subtitles,   you can turn them on down in the toolbar.  And now, lean back and enjoy watching. I am Thibault from France. 

I cycled through Europe for 10  months, and here I am in Yerevan.  I arrived one month ago, and now I  am teaching here in a French school.  My goal was more the way  than the Final Destination.  When I started, I wanted  to travel to the Caucasus.

Your destination was going  to the Caucasus Mountains?  And then you ended up being a teacher in Armenia,   Yerevan. How did it happen that now you have  a flat and you’re going to work every day? Yeah, it’s true. I was very far from this. If you ask me a few months ago… 

I met a French family traveling with a van, and  the mother was a teacher in France, saying that,   it’s possible to find a network teaching abroad. So, I just applied to a school in Georgia   and in Armenia. And the day after,  

I got an answer from the director saying  like, ‘Oh, we need an interview,’ and so on.  And two hours later, I was  applying for this school.  I am now a new teacher over here. I don’t know.  I want to learn Armenia now. I want  to discover more cultural aspects,  

To have also a routine life, which is  different than the one on the road.  And then maybe I will keep  going traveling, yeah, probably. And so, you were a teacher in France.  What happened in your mind that you said,  ‘Oh, now I’m going to go on the road,  

I’m going to the Caucasus Mountains,’  which is thousands of kilometers away?  Like, what happened that this came up in your  mind? Because it’s an extraordinary thing to do. I don’t know. I really liked my life in France.  I was very happy, good friends, good  people. But I don’t know, like, I like  

The fact that you don’t know where to sleep. I like the fact that you will meet people you   didn’t expect to meet. Even if my life was  very nice, very beautiful, also very safe,   very easy-going, I needed to  explore or discover new things. 

I wanted to try an adventure by bike, let’s say. I met some people that did this experience with   a lot of good feedback, so I wanted to try it. It was a super difficult decision, so I asked  

For a gap year, but then it has been refused. So, I had to reflect about, should I keep   going teaching in France, which made  me happy, but like missing something? So, long reflection, and I decided  to quit my job, which is a difficult  

Decision because then when I come back to  France, like, I need to pass exams again. It was a difficult decision,  but to me, it was a good one.  But I cannot say for people that you should do it   because it depends on many,  many settings, let’s say. 

So, the decision was difficult to  take, but then it was easy to leave. I met you at the border, and from the first  moment, there was one thing I noticed:  You were not traveling with  a smartphone. And for me,   that was very impressive because when I met you, 

You had your Nokia phone A Samsung… Oh, I’m sorry, yeah. So, you can’t play Snake? No, I cannot. Usually, like,   all the bike travelers, they’re using  Google Maps, whatever, and you didn’t. What’s the reason behind that? I mean, you’re 26 years old,  

And usually people are using technology  to get from point A to point B. I like to say that I think it’s  the phone of the future. I mean,   I think in 10 years, everybody has this. What makes you think that in  10 years, everybody has this?

I don’t… I’m happier with this,  so I think people will be as well. I don’t know. I had a phone before, but it’s… I just maybe spent too much time, even if not so   much, but I think I was still addicted in a way. So, I don’t know.

It’s not for me, and for traveling,   it’s super good to travel with  this. For traveling, it gives me…  It gives me a lot of opportunity  to meet people in a different way. What different way? I need help of people during my travel because  I didn’t know where to go most of the time. 

I mean, I was using… I was going to tourist offices,   yes, and to get some maps. But most of the time,   I didn’t have a map, only a huge map of  Europe with capital cities and big cities.  But to find a small village or a place  to sleep was not super easy sometimes. 

So, I was meeting 20 people per day for sure. And when you think of all these people that  you ask for the roads or for, I don’t know,   any tips on where to go, is there…  Is there a special conversation that   pops up in your mind? Like, a special moment?

Everything was special each time. I mean, each person you meet brings you something,  and you learn from each person you are meeting.  And each person you meet brings  you something into your travel.  And I always say to people I met, like, ‘Oh, you changed my way of traveling  

Because after meeting you, I will  change my way of doing some stuff.’  Most of the time, we’re sharing our good moments. And some people often ask me, like, ‘What do you   do? How do you handle bad moments? Like, what’s your strategy?’ 

So, I wanted to ask you, like, you  know, whenever you’re on the road,   sometimes there are things happening which  you didn’t expect, like you’re having a   bad day or something happens or whatever.  Do you have a strategy of handling this? 

Like, how do you prepare yourself for these kinds  of situations? Do you have a strategy or a plan? I don’t really know how to  answer your question, actually.  It’s like a test, you know, when you are like,  please, like, I didn’t do my homework today.

I had very different parts of my trip, let’s say.  The first part, when I was traveling  in France, it took me three months to   get from Normandy to, let’s say, the  Italian border. So, I was super slow. And when you are slow, every  problem is not a problem. 

It’s never a problem because you have all  the time you need, and everything is going…  Yeah, but somehow you will be good. You will be back on the road.  Or even if it’s heavy rain, it can be a…  Yeah, a puncture in the  middle of nowhere, whatever. 

But when you are stressed by time, and I had  those times during my trip when I had to be,   like, for example, in Athens very quickly, or in  Yerevan as well, very quickly, then you want to  

Do as many kilometers as you can during a day. And then a problem can be a problem because you,   like, ‘Oh, I need to be quicker.  I need to fix it quickly,’  or, ‘This happened now,’ and it puts me in a  bad mood just because you want to be quick. 

But yeah, the best part of the trip is when you  are as slow as you want, as a snail or whatever. You always have problems, but  it’s the way you consider it. Do you have a major learning from your trip? Like,  something you learned for yourself or a skill?

You don’t have to know everything before  leaving or be ready for everything.  You just need to leave. Then, I learned about how to take decisions.  I’m still not so good, but when you are  alone, you have to choose a place to sleep,  

A road to take, whatever person to talk with. So, you take your decisions all day long.  All day long. All day long. So, now in the morning, you’re not  like a cinnamon roll or toast. I   don’t know. I don’t know. You’re  like, ‘Go for the cinnamon roll.’ Yeah, exactly.

What are the three most important  items that you had with you?  Like, three items that you really need? You want me to say Compass, right? But no, I didn’t use it so much. Most of the time, when I was traveling, because I  didn’t have Google Maps, I was looking to the Sun  

To know where is East, where is South, and West. I just looked to the Sun most of the time. So, thing number one for you is the Sun.  So, everybody has it, no one has to buy  it. Yeah, exactly. Perfect. Second item? What did I… Yeah, I think  a copybook is super cool.

Like a little diary. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And what’s the third thing? I don’t know…, a bike. You need a bike, but you don’t   have to have a perfect bike. You just need something that brings you from point A to point B. Now you’re here in Armenia,  you stopped your travels,  

Your bicycle is here, you have a home now. What’s your plan for the future? So, I am teaching in Armenia  in Yerevan for one year. And   I am very happy nowadays with what I’m doing. And then next year, maybe going further East. Last question:

Is there something you would like  to spread into the world? Like,   is there something you would like to tell  the people who are watching right now? Yeah, you don’t have to go on a huge travel  like the one you are doing, which is nice. 

But you don’t have to go that far. If you are scared to go, just choose something   which corresponds to your comfort area. You can travel for a short period.  You can choose to go to a camping area,  slow speed, with friends, alone, whatever. Choose something so that you  are confident and just go. 

Then it’s easy to leave when you  are in a comfort area, right? It will be my advice. You don’t need perfect material.  Just go with what you have. My bike is a very simple bike.  I don’t know, it was €50 in a shop. You don’t need the most amazing bike.

Yeah, you can go with whatever you have. Thibault, thank you very much for talking to me. Thank you for hosting me in your house. And this is how this video is going to end. If you have any questions regarding Thibault’s  trip, or if you want to know something,  

You can not find him on Instagram,  but you can send him an email.  You can find the email here or in  the video description down below.  I guess, I see you soon. Cheerio, Goodbye, Salut, and Adios!