Think of the poetic beauty of the Italian Lake Como, then imagine the overwhelming vastness of Mongolia. What do they have in common? A project dreamt and created by a brave and enthusiastic Italian couple.

Tommaso Cazzaniga was born in Lake Como, Italy in September 1980. He holds a degree in Economy from the University Luigi Bocconi in Milan, Italy and a Master of Business Administration degree from SDA Bocconi, also in Milan. In 2009, Tommaso moved to Geneva, Switzerland where he worked for five years.

He puts the office world behind every chance he gets, by putting a few things in a backpack and takes off to discover the world. After visiting China, North Africa, Europe, Canada, Panama, Costa Rica, Peru, and parts of the USA, he travelled back to Lake Como where he established a base camp for future journeys. This time, the trip will be with his fiancé, Francesca.

Francesca Bresciani was born in Lake Como, Italy in July of 1984. She has obtained a degree in law from Lake Como, and a Master’s degree in International Law at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, and Harvard Law School.

Tommaso and Francesca are both globetrotters. They met when in Geneva, Switzerland when Tommaso was working for a multinational and Francesca was back from one of her humanitarian missions. They fell in love and it forever changed their lives.

Years after, if you ask them about that time, they just laugh. He abandoned his career-oriented way of life and she became fond of motorbikes.

On June, 28th 2014 they will start their journey on a Honda Africa Twin 750, a 61 horsepower, 450 pound, 742cc dual sport motorbike. The Africa Twin was produced by Honda between 1989 and 2003 and was developed from the NXR-750; a four-time winner of the Dakar Rally during the 80’s. 1993 is when the bike had the most important changes that turned it into a cult bike for ‘round-the-world' travelers. Tommaso and Francesca chose a 1994 Twin for this adventure.

Everything is ready, including the freeze-dried soups, essential for a vegetarian and a vegan during the trip. Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia are the eighteen countries of this incredible adventure, for a total of 16,000 miles.

From the enchantment of Mongolian nature to the history of ancient Persia and everything in between, they look forward to meeting different peoples and listening to songs played in unknown languages. The itinerary of this journey is a treasure chest, revealing the many wonders of the most mysterious areas on our planet.

What to expect? Sometimes reality overcomes fantasy: this is exactly the case. Tommaso and Francesca want to relish every moment, gain every mile and feel the empathy with the people along the way. Slowly reaching extreme destinations, slowly leaving it behind, to go… Beyond!

Beyond The Road is about wonder, more than discovery. The wonder is in their families’ and friends’ eyes, but especially the surprise that will accompany Tommaso and Francesca all over the trip.

If you want to travel with them, simply add them as a friend on: Facebook.com/TFOltreLaStrada or follow their weekly updates at BeyondTheRoad.it