Two Wheeled Vagabonds

Power of Bicycles

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My Activity Tracking

11,148
kms

Cycling across Europe

We are Catarina and Gwen, two individuals born and raised in different countries (Portugal and Singapore). We met in one of the biggest trauma hospitals in London, UK, right after Christmas 2020 whilst working as a Pharmacist and a Nurse in the Intensive Care Unit treating critically ill COVID patients. 

Our friendship revolved around our love for the outdoors and cycling, which became our escape from the daily grind of our day jobs.  We have managed to incorporate cycling into our travels ever since, which has never failed to allow us to connect authentically with the people we met on our journeys.

This year has been dedicated to exploring new places, forging new friendships, and most importantly, learning to live at a slower pace and experience living without rushing.

We chose this charity as we have seen the positive impact of cycling on our mental and physical health, and we believe in the Power of Bicycles and their ability to bring change to the world. 

Please consider supporting our fundraising efforts to help mobilise individuals in rural developing countries, giving them access to basic needs such as education and healthcare. Any amount that you choose to donate is greatly appreciated as USD$120 helps put a brand new bike in the field and forever changes the trajectory of a child's life.

Spread the word by sharing this page with others who may want to donate to help individuals challenged by distance. 

Thank you for your support!

My Updates

Day 95- Finally done

Tuesday 22nd Aug
What a journey it has been! 

12 countries and 5715km cycled across West  Turkey to the Balkans, Mediterranean and the Iberian peninsular.

If you asked us 3 months ago if we knew the exact date we would finish this journey, the answer would be a big no! Even up to 2 weeks ago we weren't sure we would make it home by the 20th August.

We are glad to report that we kept pushing hard over the last 13 days where we covered 1006km and 10555m of elevation for us to be in Casal do Alho by Sunday, and we did! 

We were met with a lovely reception by Cat's family and friends which was a beautiful end to the trip. 

We would like to thank everyone for your generous donation for the charity we chose to support. The money does not go to us, but to the charity which provides bicycles for children, healthcare workers, or farmers in rural communities who need it most. It was a privilege for us to embark on this cycle journey, and we would like it to benefit communities to improve their quality of life!

66 days on the road, 4100km behind us!

Saturday 22nd Jul
First off, thank you so much to all who has supported us on this journey with your donations and tracking us through our journey with messages of support. 

It's extremely hard to believe sometimes that we have been living a nomadic lifestyle since January this year, even more so in the last 2 months which saw us getting on our bikes on 18th May and cycling across 10 countries!

It has been an extremely liberating feeling to cycle across borders and taking along things that we need (we also managed to send off some stuff back to Portugal to lighten our already light load). The people we've met and the experiences we've been through has been invaluable and taught us so much of what we have learnt, more than if we drove through the countries!

We're nearing the end of our journey in France as we leave the Eurovelo 8 route and enter the Pyrenees tomorrow and cycle from the Mediterranean sea to the Atlantic ocean before heading into the Basque Country in Spain!

We're still keeping this fundraising going and would be honoured for you to support our cause to provide bicycles for children in rural areas for better access to education!

Day 32- Second month on the road!

Sunday 18th Jun
A BIG THANK YOU to all who have donated to our cause so far! 

The past month has taught us so much about human interaction and learning to trust in the beauty of humanity. Starting our journey in Istanbul taught us just that as we had the honour of experiencing the warmth and hospitality from the  Turkish.

As we entered Greece, we were bought breakfast on our first morning there by a man keen to show us Greek hospitality, and we met very kind individuals who helped us when we ran into problems with my bike without expecting anything in return. Albania, despite its scarily busy roads provided us with plenty of white mulberries and cherries to snack on, and got gifted red wine and a loaf of bread from the custodian of a monastery and exchanged stories via google translate. 

Montenegro was a beauty with her coastal roads (albeit also terrifying with fast cars), and when we chose to enter the smaller roads in the mountains we were blessed with marvellous views. As we crossed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we were immediately taken away by the breathtaking views as we descended from our highest border crossing at 900m elevation.

In every country we've crossed, we were often given cans of coca cola or fruits, and were able to interact with the locals and spend more time in conversation with them to understand the country we're in better.

We're currently starting the 2nd month of our epic journey in Bosnia and Herzegovina and are in Mostar at the moment. This city has touched us with its beauty and history that we chose to stay another day to learn more about it, and restart our journey towards Portugal tomorrow!


Gwen

Finalising the last bits

Friday 12th May
Been a busy week since we arrived from Singapore. Finally getting this fundraising thing going- A HUGE THANK YOU to all who's donated :) 

We've got ourselves and our bikes insured which took a huge chunk of stress off our shoulders. However some essentials we ordered for our bikes did not arrive so we'll have to look for some alternatives now! 

Less than 3 weeks to go!

Friday 28th Apr
We're coming to the end of our voyage in Southeast Asia where we managed to do some cycling. We're now in our hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, finalising the little (more like major) things needed for our cycling trip. Glad to have made a start on this fundraising page which will go live soon!

Thank you to my supporters

£20.88

Grace Schofield

Amazing job!

£360

Fttbf

Happy birthday and keep doing the goodness you’ve been doing and keep being you ❤️

£20.88

Jhaye Garette

You two are super inspiring!! 😍😍

£50

Fenny & Kevin

Go Go Power Rangers!

£30

Wioleta Tokarz

Amazing job, guys!

£50

Michelle Teo

Such a meaningful cause! Glad to support you in a small way :)

£10.44

Cai Hua Sim

£125.28

Kelvin Koh

Such a meaningful thing you're doing for the world. Stay well and Ride safe Gwen =)

£5

Reshem Kaur

Good luck and congratulations on completing ur cycle journey. Xx

£10.44

Simon Ibbotson

£100

Ana Santos

£20

Giovanni Crocioni

Great to meet you at the top of the Serra de estrela! Best of luck 🤞

£10.44

Anonymous

Such a great initiative :) Good luck with hoje fundraiser and hope you have a great time during your journey!

£5.22

Anonymous

£20.88

Michelle Pye

You two are legends, absolutely unbelievable challenge, what an achievement, loving watching your travels via Facebook! Keep going ladies xx

£50

Xinlin Liu

Stay safe while pursuing adventures! ❤️

£30

Diana Ferro

Go girls!!! Have fun around the countries 😁

£125.28

Sim Family

Go go go! You can do it 💪🏽 you both are marvellous. ❤️ mommy and papa

£26.10

Angelique Van Wegen

£104.40

Rachel C.

Dear Gwen and Cat, I totally enjoyed your riding journey and am immensely proud of the both of you for completing (almost) this challenge! I’m sure you had so much fun but at the same time made new friendships! Stay safe and take care for the rest of your journey! (p.s. and Gwen, stop running into issues with your bike! Hahahahahah! 😜)

£50

Pamela Foong

Press on! Love the passion in all that you do 😊

£50

Rob & Mariana

We are really enjoying the opportunity to follow your journey and live vicariously through you! Hope to meet you someday back in London. Keep powering on!!!

£52.20

Michelle Ting

Have fun!

£50

Sarah Knight

You gals are doing a great job!!

£10.44

Anonymous

£62.64

Yiping

Stay safe you 2 🚲💪🏽

£15

Megan Wynne

Very impressive, you two legends!

£20.88

Kerrie Webb

All the best, safe cycling!

£20.88

Pam Wong

Jia you 22! Love from the 4 of us down under :)

£52.20

Parjam Zolfaghari

Well done to you both. What an amazing challenge. Best wishes and safe trip.

£125.28

Thomas Cheung

You should be paying me for stealing my bike nickname 🙃

£20.88

Mariana Fróis

What an amazing adventure!! You are an inspiration! Well done girls & can't wait to catch-up Catarina 😘

£10.44

Kai Macfarlane

We’ll done guys!!!

£125.28

Emmeline Sim

All the best to you ladies as you cycle onwards your endpoint! Stay safe and enjoy every moment :)

£33.41

Paul Wright

Amazing adventure …. Loving the updates …. You guys are smashing it 👍🏻

£120

Vian & Joan

£20

Gwen Heading

Good luck, such a great cause! Enjoying the daily updates xx

£52.20

Sok Boon Tay

Pedal hard and enjoy the journey!

£20.88

Eesa Chaudhry

£20.88

Anonymous

£100

Steven Quek

All the best! 🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️ 👍👍

£52.20

Kumaresh Venkatesan

Best wishes and enjoy the trip

£20.88

Sophie Williams

Amazing Charity! You’ll have the time of your lives!! Good luck 😊

£50

Cat And Gwen

Been busy heading back to London from Southeast Asia after 4 months away and finally have some time to support our very own cause! Thank you to all who have supported us thus far! ❤️

£50

Hongbei Toh

£20

Mireia

So looking forward to see your journey!!!