This idea for this project came from somewhere in my childhood. I was a bit of a trouble child as "they" would say. But the reasons for me being trouble came from an external source and not from within me. I spend 3 years in a "special" school for troubled (or troubling) youths (1½ as a boarder on weekdays). I had a really hard time adapting to that life and had a hard time sleeping as life was stressing me out. One night, I woke up around 4am and went to sit on a large window sill in the living room of our unit. Looking out into the night as it slowly changed into the day, watching the sun rise slowly and making its presence felt, warming up my face as it did, I was daydreaming that I could be somewhere else. Living a better life, living a different life, living in a different place, living in a different state of mind and un-oppressed by life itself. Running away from the path that had been laid before me and create my own little path into this world.

Then the idea came to me to walk to Florida (from Montreal), to go see the beach, the ocean and a new world. I was around 9 or 10 at the time! Then in a moment of lucidity, I figured that I might have some problems crossing the border by myself, to find food on the way and what to do once I got there. And that, if I did leave, I would deeply hurt my grand-mother's feeling as she had always taken good care of me until I got out of that "special" school and she took me in and cared for me and gave me the good life that I could not have at home before, and raised me as one of her own kids, if not better, to make me the man that I am now. So, I stayed and put away the idea for a while, but never forgetting about it. Whenever life threw a curve-ball at me that I had a hard time dealing with, the idea came back to the foreground.

So, I pretty much always had what I would call, a bohemian fiber within me. The need to see other places, other people, other ways of life.

Now forward 20+ years into the future, having toured with Cirque du Soleil from August 2007 to September 2010 and Cavalia from 2014 to 2016 was a good way of making part of that dream come true. Eventually, the job was just a job and the benefits of the traveling job where crushed by the stress of the actual job itself. It was enough to give me a glimpse of what I really wanted to see. I need to see more. My life felt boring, like it was missing something, something that I can only find out there. I'm tired of feeling the day to day grind of going to work, paying my taxes, serving the rich while getting poorer. I don't want to feel like cattle being brought to the slaughterhouse everyday while I commute to work anymore.

So, I've finally decided to do it. Leaving everything behind, selling everything that cannot be of use on my journey (car, furniture, etc.) and go out there to see and feel freedom from a bohemian point of view. With little to no resources to go on once I'm out there and little to no savings to "live" on, I'll make my way across the world camping or couch surfing, that's the goal anyway!

The only way I found that was easy and not too expensive was to bike the world. Walking would have been less of an initial investment of course, but carrying the camping gear, food (if any) and clothes would have been a hassle and pretty heavy. Bike and trailer is the way I chose. That way I can make my way at a my own slow pace and enjoy the views that the world has to show and go fast enough that I don't get stuck in one spot for weeks before a change of scenery.

The timing is also right, with a departure in July 2016, I have cleared my last financial obligation, the mortgage on the house. Then with nothing to hold me back, hold me here, now is the right time. The only thing that I am very sad about is leaving my two beautiful daughters behind. But, with the communications technologies available (phone, e-mail, Skype), I will be able to keep them posted about my travels and them about their daily lives.

My first leg is to bike from Montreal to Chicago and then from Chicago to Santa Monica via route 66.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To meet people that live in the areas where I am passing thru, see how they live and know more about their little corners of the world. Share my story and listen to theirs and see how different life is from place to place.

And I'm traveling with only my bicycle and little to no money, I'm couchsurfing so that on cold nights, I don't freeze too much in my camping hammock and I do need to shower once in a while too ;-)

Interests

Biking, sightseeing, food, culture. But more than that, I'm not a big tourist so the normal local attractions and museums don't interest me that much, it's more the people that live in the area that interest me. Especially if they are not originally from that area, I want to know why they decided to move there, what was it that they liked about this place more than where they came from.

• culture
• dining
• traveling
• cycling
• camping
• sightseeing

Music, Movies, and Books

Favorite music type is Trance, followed by Techno and Progressive House. I love Sci-Fi movies, comedies and action of course.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I don't think I've done anything that is amazing, I did do interesting things like being on tour with Cirque du Soleil and Cavalia.

Teach, Learn, Share

Sharing of life stories is awesome. Learn about your culture and your history.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My personal history as I'm not shy about it and to share the stories of my travels so far.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Japan, Mexico, Russian Federation, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, United States