Audrey’s cycling trip with friends

How did you hatch this project?

The three of us are friends who care deeply about the issues of the handicapped and childhood illnesses. Handicaps are a matter close to my heart, as I’ve made my career in the field. L’Odyssée de Lola is an association that helps assist one handicapped child. As she grows up, the equipment she requires has to be adapted to her needs. Sadly, that involves considerable expense, what with the costs of a specially adapted car and physiotherapy, plus equine therapy. I wanted to play my part to support this association, making my contribution. As to Melissa, she’d been mulling over the idea of contributing to a charity for some three years. She chose to support the association Vivre l’espoir, which looks after children and adolescents suffering from childhood cancers. The money we collected was to contribute to the purchase of specialist equipment for Poitiers Hospital. We chose to demonstrate our commitment to these charities by cycling along La Flow Vélo cycle route as all three of us like sports, and cycling in particular. Setting up a joint fund-raising account marked the beginning of our adventure. We did a lot to raise awareness via social media before and during our trip. 

Did your project meet your expectations?

Absolutely, in fact it went beyond what we’d hoped for. Our messaging worked its effect. Along the way, we met other cycling tourists who’d ask us about what we were doing, curious because of the charity T-shirts we were wearing, or because they’d read about our initiative on La Flow Vélo’s Facebook page. This is a very family-friendly cycle route, and people along it are very warm. Some made a donation directly to us, on the spot, and shared their life experiences with us. Such outpourings of solidarity were really touching. We managed to raise almost €1,500, what with the money given via our fund-raising account and the contributions we were given en route. We’re very grateful.

What can you tell us about La Flow Vélo ?

It’s a shaded route that’s well maintained as well as being very pretty. You never get bored along the way. First there’s the countryside, then the towns, plus we discovered a good number of villages that we didn’t know about and which we wouldn’t have considered without taking on this adventure!

In the Dordogne, we stopped at Brantôme. In Charente, we wandered through the town of Angoulême, while in Charente-Maritime, we visited the Corderie Royale in Rochefort. Beyond discovering little surprises in the very region where we grew up, we returned to our home turf, which was quite nostalgic. On the third day, we took photos in front of our former secondary school that in some way sum up our charity cycling trip! 

Any little anecdotes to share from your cycling trip?

We got into the habit of taking photos each time we saw a sign that read ‘‘At your own risk’’.  When we got back on our bikes, on a few occasions, we had the odd memorable fall.

What did you feel riding along La Flow Vélo?

A great feeling of freedom. And it all seemed to have a purpose. Out in the countryside, we felt reconnected with the world. We could travel along in our bubble, empty our minds, meet the challenges. Reaching the end of our trip, we felt very proud of ourselves and of having accomplished the ride together, conquering the difficulty it seemed at the outset, of tackling so many kilometres. Of course we’ve got back into our daily routines since then, but the adventure made us very close. We really bonded over this project that we cared about so much. That’s a strong sensation.