Paul Jeurissen has been travelling the world by bike in search of inspiring images since 1981, when he pedalled off on his first cycle tour – riding the Transamerica Trail. During the trip he met his future wife, Grace, and also fell in love with photographing the journey, the landscapes and the people he met. Following that trip, he went on to study photography and has spent many years on the road since.
Little Red Cyclist, an eBook curated by Paul, is the result of a long-term project: to somehow capture the experience of travelling by bike amongst the enormity of the natural world. The special moments where we feel so insignificant on the road are one of the many reasons we travel by bike, and the collection of photos in the Little Red Cyclist goes a long way to celebrating them…
"We wanted to capture images that show what it feels like to be a small and humble cyclist travelling through the enormous, overpowering landscapes of the world."
“As all cyclists know, nature is beautiful but not benign. She throws wind, sand and rain at us. The experience can be so intense and overpowering that, by the end of the day, we are just happy to escape into a tent that will protect us from the elements…
…In the 1990s I began specialising in bicycle imagery, shooting cycle touring photos for multi projector slide show presentations with a focus on on spectacular downhill sequences of 20 or more images through monumental scenery. Grace cycled with red panniers and wore a red shirt so that she could be seen from a vast distance. After a few years I noticed some of the downhill series contained photographs that were good enough to view as standalone pictures…
…So I began concentrating on single shots to try and capture the ‘true’ experience of bicycling through immense and often threatening landscapes. At that point, the Little Red Cyclist image series began.”
Having both travelled extensively by bike, Paul’s images of Grace are from all over the world. In order of appearance here: Northern India; the American Southwest; Tajikistan; and then back above the snow line in Northern India. The concept is a really strong one and should definitely be an ongoing project; maybe just called “Little Cyclist” to be more inclusive to cyclists with less of a penchant for bright colours. Whilst it would mean Grace – the star – would be out of a job, it could also double up as a Where’s Wally for the travelling cyclists of the world. Just a thought.
Bicycling Around the World | Paul Jeurissen
In addition to Little Red Cyclist, Paul has also curated Bicycling Around the World – a photo-led eBook that celebrates bike travel and culture by documenting snapshots of the multi-year cycle journey across four continents that he and Grace began in 2010.
In Amsterdam, Paul grew up surrounded by bikes; they were just everyday objects that people used to go to the shops or school. Later, when he started cycling through other countries, he saw that they meant many different things to different people. This eBook offers glimpses into life on the road: for travelling cyclists camping in Tibetan valleys, to those whose livelihoods rely on bikes, as some of the impressive overloaded cargo bike photos show…
Wherever Paul and Grace go, they continue to search out bike culture, dramatic landscapes and remote places. By the end of their books, they hope you’ll agree that the world is best viewed from the saddle of a bike.
But, you already know that…
The Little Red Cyclist and Bicycling Around the World are available to download now from Paul’s website.