Suffering from multiple sclerosis, Christophe, 37, from Indre, will pass through Nièvre during a thousand-kilometer bicycle journey to raise awareness of chronic illnesses.
Since Wednesday May 1, Christophe, a 37-year-old resident of Indre, suffering from multiple sclerosis, has taken up the challenge of crossing France by bike, from Grenoble (Isère) to Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine) via the Nièvre. Twenty-six daily stages of thirty to fifty kilometers await him to raise awareness about his degenerative disease and chronic illnesses in general. On the roads until Thursday May 30, he will make a stop in Decize, Friday 10; Fourchambault, Saturday 11?; La Charité-sur-Loire, Sunday 12
and Neuvy-sur-Loire, Tuesday 14.
In contact with the population
Christophe’s challenge is carried out and financially supported by a collective made up of the Aventure Hustive association, which helps patients and supports them in setting up and carrying out disabled challenges, and the Gard company Itesoft.
This collective allocates a grant to help projects like Christophe’s with the triple objective of helping to “lift mountains despite illness, show that everything is possible, convey positive values”. In this year of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, he also wants to share values of inclusiveness and mutual aid.
Vivien Laplane, deaf from birth, arrived in Nantes after hundreds of kilometers by bike along the Loire from Nevers
At each stage of his journey, the cyclist, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2010, contacts the population, schools and communities to discuss these diseases which affect more than twenty million French people and are, well, often invisible. Dozens of caregivers, volunteers and mental health trainers surround him during this trying ordeal.
“This adventure is full of emotion. It started almost a year ago. It’s a lot of work, preparation, self-sacrifice, with no certainty of success. The feat is within reach”, indicates the collective who wants “as many people as possible on his journey to encourage him, to accompany him in this adventure”. An adventure that he considers much more human than sporting.
At 11 a.m., shortly after his arrival in the Loire city, he will lead a disability awareness workshop on Quai Léopold-Sédar-Senghor.
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