01 · Aerial perspective
DJI Mavic 4 Pro
For revealing scale, geography and the relationship between ruins and landscape. The drone is used when height adds information, never as filler.
MADRID · 40°25′N Somebody has to
Somebody has to
pick it up.
This is going to involve dropping the bike. Repeatedly. That part is in the edit too.
Who's riding Not disappearing.
Not disappearing.
Getting ready.
There is a version of this story where somebody sells everything, quits their job and disappears east. That story has been told very well already, and it isn't mine.
I'm a Dutch filmmaker living in Madrid, and I make films and fly drones for a living. Somewhere in the last few years the idea of riding to Mongolia stopped being a thing I said at dinner and became a date in a calendar.
So I gave myself up to two years. Not to disappear. To get ready: to learn to tell a story on camera, to ride Spain and then further, and to find out what breaks first, the bike, the plan, or me.
This site is the record of that. There will be more here in time. For now it is mostly a promise with a deadline attached.
Two countriesBorn in the Netherlands.
Born in the Netherlands.
Made in Madrid.
I was born and raised in the Netherlands, but I have lived in Spain for more than half my life. Madrid is home, and Spain is my second country.
That double perspective is part of Dust Pilgrim: seeing Europe as someone who belongs to two places, and who learned to understand distance by travelling through it.
Life on two wheels
The motorcycles came long before Mongolia.
I have been riding motorcycles for many years. Along the way there have been several scooters, a Honda CB500, a Husqvarna 701 and the Honda Dominator now being prepared for the long road east.
- Several scooters
- Honda CB500
- Husqvarna 701
- Honda Grom
- Honda Dominator
- On the wish list: Honda Transalp 750
2014 · HONDA GROMThe little bike
The little bike
that will never leave.
One of the gems in my collection is this Honda Grom, bought new in 2014 and extensively tuned and modified.
Suspension, brakes, exhaust, wheels and a long list of details turned it into something entirely personal. I may ride it less these days, but it is not for sale. This one stays forever.
Four cameras.
One story.
The kit is chosen for what it contributes to the story: scale, presence, intimacy or resilience. Every camera has a defined job.
02 · The complete environment
DJI Osmo 360 II
A 360° camera for roads, mountain passes and moments where choosing the frame later preserves the unpredictability of the journey.
03 · Pocket cinema
DJI Osmo Pocket 4P
The discreet camera for people, interiors and spontaneous scenes. Mechanical stabilisation and two focal lengths without turning every encounter into a heavy production.
04 · On the motorcycle
DJI Osmo Action 6
The resilient camera for riding, dust, rain and falls. Its square sensor allows horizontal and vertical frames to be extracted from the same take.
Planned production kit · Equipment may evolve before departure.