Kiki Rodenburg (28) from Tilburg is cycling through Europe alone on her bike. Rome, Paris, Copenhagen and Switzerland: she cycled to every one of them. 'I feel so free', she tells BN De Stem.
Cycling was in her blood early on. 'The car was for practical things, the bike was the starting point. Trips with my mother, family holidays; all on two wheels.' The whole family went on cycling holidays, complete with an entire tent camp. 'People did look at that. As a child I thought it was completely normal', she laughs.
After her eighteenth birthday her life was turned upside down: her mother died during a cycling holiday. 'Those were very unreal years afterwards.' Her father told her to mainly do what you enjoy. She studied social work and worked as a social worker, but she knew there was more in her.
During corona the bike slowly came back. She cycled to her acupuncturist in Bladel herself. 'Just on my creaky old grandmother's bike. Outside in the sun all day. I liked that so much and it set something in motion.' Then came her first solo cycling holiday in the Netherlands — confronting, because her cycling memories were cosy and sociable, together.
Since her relationship ended in September 2025 she has been cycling abroad. First to Copenhagen, where she also learned to patch a tube: 'That is how I discovered that all distances really are cycleable.' Switzerland, Italy, France and Spain followed, always without a set plan. On the way she takes photos and videos that she shares as little diaries.
Her Instagram account fietsenisleven grew to more than 100,000 followers in a year. Where her next trip will go is always the question: sometimes she posts a poll and her followers get to decide. 'The beautiful thing about fietsenisleven is that I notice how much people like to help and how kind they are. And I find it such a wonderful feeling that my legs can carry me this far.'
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