Jonathan B. Roy lives the fantasy of many globetrotters: to be paid to travel for a year. Indeed, the one we got to know during his bike trips all over the planet was chosen by Airbnb to promote teleworking internationally. His profile was selected from 314,000 applications!
Returned to Quebec at the start of the pandemic, the author of the book Stories about sleeping outside was busy replanting his roots in the territory that gave birth to him when he learned Airbnb was looking for 12 travelers to highlight its program Live Anywhere. Not muscular and tanned influencers whose Instagram accounts are full of followers, but individuals from all walks of life who would stay at least 28 days in each of their destinations.
In exchange for a sum covering their expenses and accommodation credits, the lucky 12 must complete two tasks: answer questions about their experience at the beginning, middle and end of each stay, and accept that the multinational shares some of their travel photos.
To Jonathan B. Roy, it seemed too good to be true! “I was convinced that it was a scam, a bit like the calls telling us that we have just won a cruise,” he explains by videoconference live from Marrakech. “I told myself that there was no way that would happen, but that I could still take 10 minutes to fill out the form…”
Then, everything collapsed. He interviewed, learned that he had been chosen and received money in his account. “At that moment, I said to myself that maybe I should think about my suitcase! ”
(Re) go on a trip
IMAGE PROVIDED BY VÉLO QUÉBEC
Stories about sleeping outside, by Jonathan B. Roy, Vélo Québec, 264 pages
Do not think that the frequent traveler was waiting for the first opportunity to leave the country. “People often put us in a box,” he says. When I was a lawyer, I was only the lawyer. During my bike trips, I was the cyclist who always went on trips. Yet we are all much more than our work or just one aspect of our personality. I am capable of doing something other than cycling at the end of the world. ”
He also specifies that his main motivation has always been curiosity, and not the number of kilometers swallowed or countries visited.
I wanted to see how people live elsewhere, what the climate and the landscapes look like, discover the little history of the inhabitants and the great history of their country. After years of living like this, I thought I had done the trick.
Jonathan B. Roy
After four years of pedaling, he was slowed down by the pandemic, two months before the end of his project. “It wasn’t as shocking as if I was at the start of an adventure that I had been planning for years. I had almost completed what I had planned. ”
His return to Quebec was even softened by the pandemic, which forced everyone to adjust to a new way of life. “I know travelers who returned home after long stays, before the pandemic, and who realized that nothing had changed, when they were no longer the same. That is hard to live with. ”
Do not count on him to complain about the isolation due to sanitary measures either. “When I traveled by bicycle, I was alone most of the time. Sometimes I would rather stay in my tent than stay in hotels that were too ugly. So the fact of coming back to Quebec and being able to appreciate a mattress, a shower and nature, it was only positive. ”
Nomad again
For nearly a year and a half, he enjoyed his life in Quebec alongside his girlfriend, Gabrielle, with whom he made offers to purchase a few houses. Bad luck, the frenzied real estate market screwed up their plans. Unless it was fate that wanted them to travel together.
On September 30, they flew to Morocco, where they rent an apartment for several weeks. On site, the Quebec traveler writes articles and the second volume of his cycling adventures, in addition to discovering the land of the distant sunset.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY JONATHAN B. ROY
Jonathan B. Roy and his girlfriend, Gabrielle, in front of a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco
As soon as he arrived, he was struck by the chaotic character of the capital, the strong presence of the desert, the ocher color that lines his eyes and… the pleasure of being elsewhere. “I realized that I missed traveling. It feels good to be a little lost and not knowing what to do. I like to be here. I would even say that a month is not enough. ”
Yet this is the agreement with Airbnb: from four to six weeks per city and presto! we start again elsewhere. Next stops: Albania, Slovenia and Italy. “When we packed our bags, we had to think about what we needed for almost a year, but it’s difficult to know where we can go depending on the pandemic and the vaccines. ”
Lovers have nevertheless chosen to forgo bicycles, which are very expensive and complex to transport on a regular basis. Instead, they rack their brains to choose countries and places to stay. “In some countries, Airbnb credits could allow us to rent parliament! ”
What were we saying already? Ah! yes, he is paid to travel.
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