Below some of the questions I answer most frequently:
Gijs is also the name of the trashcans in Hollands most famous theme park, De Efteling
Q: How do you pronounce your name?
A: Gijs, it is Dutch and quite impossible to pronounce for foreigners, an instruction:
DOWNLOAD HERE: How to pronounce Gijs (MP3)
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Q: How do you pay for Cape to Cape 2012?
A: Gazelle is my main partner, they supplied the electric bicycle. I have some smaller sponsors, however, most of the expenses I cover myself. For equipment I reserved ca. 2000 Euro, for food, drinks, entertainment & communication ca. 6000 Euro. This money I earned myself from my student job at Maersk while I was studying for my MSc.
To keep costs low I made a rule for myself not to pay for accommodation when I am still in Europe.
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Q: If you don’t pay for accommodation, where do you sleep?!
A: I travel fully equipped for camping. As such I (wild)camp roughly roughly a third of the time. Roughly one third of the time I sleep over at people I meet via the website Couchsurfing.org. The last third is at friends and acquaintances.
During my trip I slept in a church in Alta, a roman amphitheater in Plovdiv and in a abandoned church Palojoensuu
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Q: How long will the journey take in total?
A: I intend to be on the road for 10 months in total. I have Valentines Day 2013 in my mind as arrival date, however, nothing is fixed and I am fully flexible.
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Q: How do you charge the batteries of your e-bike?
A: It takes roughly 3 hours to charge my 2 batteries (with a fast-charger). Mostly I charge my batteries when I sleep over at somebodies place. If I am camping I charge my batteries while I have lunch/dinner at a restaurant, swim in a swimming pool, give workshops at schools or visit the workplace of interesting people.
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Q: Why do you cycle on an electric bicycle?
A: First off I think it fits very well with the theme of renewable energy (would love to have some pictures of me and my e-bike in front of a large hydropower dam or wind turbine). Secondly, during the trip I think I will really worship the day when I decided to use an electric bicycle instead of a normal bike. It will be really nice to get a bit of help from the electric engine when I have to climb up and down the Ethiopian highlands or have headwind on the Afsluitdijk, the Netherlands.
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Q: Isn’t cycling on an electric bicycle less sustainable?
A: Less sustainable than what?! The simple answer is yes and no 
. It will not be possible for me to charge my bicycle using surplus renewable energy everywhere along the route. Therefore I will indirectly be using coal/oil/gas which is burned in power stations. An electric bicycle is less sustainable than a normal bicycle.
Yet, it is more sustainable than other modes of transport. I could also have made the trip by motorcycle, car, plain or public transport. Those options definitely have a higher ecological footprint.
A back on the envelop calculation: If I have a 500 Wh battery-pack (large capacity battery pack for an electric bicycle) and charge this 300 times during my trip I would use 150 kWh. This is the equivalent of washing my clothes 150 times in an Bosch washing machine, or driving 200 kilomters in a normal car (the energy content of one liter of gasoline is 9.4 kWh/liter).
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Q: What will you do after Cape to Cape 2012?
A: My plan is to start a company within the renewable energy sector. During my journey I hope to gain knowledge, contacts and idea’s so that I can start when I return to Europe in 2013.
4 comments
joop
June 18, 2012 at 22:18 (UTC 1)
Dear Gijs,
What is the brandname of your bicycle?
Yours,
Joop.
Gijs Stevers
June 18, 2012 at 22:25 (UTC 1)
Hi Joop,
My bike is a Gazelle Fuente Innergy, in the equipment page on my site I have a link to the model on the site of Gazelle.
Best,
Gijs
Df Conradie
December 29, 2012 at 08:19 (UTC 1)
I like your trip. I have 2 questions
1. Just wonder if you can use a solar charger wile in area s that don’t have power or camping?
2. I want to buy a electric bike what tipe are you recommend. Living in Potchefstroom near Gauteng . What do you think about “Easey” or “Diamont black” electric bike?
Df
Gijs Stevers
March 1, 2013 at 17:36 (UTC 1)
Hi Df,
1. I use a solar charger to charge my phone. It should also be doable to charge my electric bicycle with help of solar power but that requires quite a large surface of solar panels.
2. Sorry, but I do not know about these models in South Africa.
Best,
Gijs