Côte-d'Or: “I'm going by bike to Tataouine!”

He only has a month left to prepare. Aurélie Gonnet will leave December 1st Dijon by bike to reach Tataouine, a city located in the south-east of Tunisia. A route of several thousand kilometers passing through Spain, Morocco, then Algeria. This 38-year-old biographer and photographer is not her first attempt. In 2019, she has already covered 7,200 km by bike from Dijon to Beijing in 8 months. A journey which then made it possible to raise 15,000 euros in favor of the fight against lung cancer. In 2021, in the wake of the Covid crisis, she completed “The Tour of Knowledge” in Burgundy: 2 weeks meeting researchers to understand and popularize their scientific work throughout the journey.

Why leave again? “I believe that curiosity is stronger than anything. The world is big, there are still many places to discover and people to meet. More than physical performance or cycling itself, travel m “allowed me to meet people and understand their vision of the world which is not necessarily mine. That's what interests me.” smiles Aurélie Gonnet.

Meet a teenager who dreams of following in her footsteps

“This trip is an opportunity to meet a young Tunisian girl called Aya and who lives in Sfax. She contacted me through Instagram saying “I followed your trip to Beijing. Since then, I asked my mom to buy me a bike. I dream of crossing the world by bike and I invite you to Tunisia. If you come by, I’d like to meet you.”

“Tunisia also makes me think of my grandfather because when I was little, he always said “go to Tataouine!” it was the expression which meant going very far. And later I discovered that Tataouine was really a city in Tunisia which is very marked by its architecture. It is a city which is known by Star Wars fans because there is a link with the history of Star Wars (The. planet Tatooine, which appears in the first film of the original trilogy and where Luke Skywalker is located, central hero of this saga -editor's note-). More recently, I inquired and in fact it is a city which also has a link. with France's colonial past and which says things about the relations that France maintains with the Maghreb. So for all these reasons, at the crossroads of all these paths, I find this point of arrival interesting. underlines Aurélie Gonnet.

A prize pool to equip Raymond and Aurélie

Next December 1st, Aurélie will leave Dijon riding the same bike that allowed her to win Beijing almost 6 years ago now. A sturdy black steel mountain bike. “It’s always the same” smiles our adventurer. “His name is Raymond. It's the first name of my grandfather who lived in Pluvet, between Genlis and Auxonne. He was someone who was really very robust, very solid and so in homage to him, I chose to call my bike Raymond Like him It is robust and solid and even withstood an accident in Azerbaijan I could have changed bikes, taken a lighter machine, safer in terms of gear shifting, less annoying. in terms of brakes. He is imperfect. But I want to continue the adventure with him.”

“I opened a fund on the Ulule website to finance this trip” specifies Aurélie Gonnet. “I still need to buy equipment for the bike, equipment for the bivouac since mine is still very worn. I also need a little bit of equipment for the cold, because when I'm going to be in the top of the Atlas, it's going to be very, very cold. I need some technical equipment for the very hot because when I go to the desert, there will be extreme temperatures and then there are. Also a lot of costs When you go on a bike trip for example, you need international insurance. There are costs for visas. I have saved up and I have a good part of my personal contribution. daily. When traveling by bike, I go wild camping, I sleep with locals, but I also sleep in a youth hostel when I am in big cities. There, I think the trip will last almost six months. You're welcome, it still represents a daily cost.”

The money collected via this kitty (2,000 euros) will be a boost to help me finance part of the project:

• 900 euros of cycling equipment, clothing & bivouac
• 600 euros in administrative costs (travel insurance, visa, mail forwarding, etc.)
• 500 euros of audiovisual equipment

“This project is also an opportunity to give visibility and support the association of a mother for her daughter: Rett crazy about Zoe . An action will be launched on the day of departure of the trip and I will present them to you very quickly” adds Aurélie Gonnet. We will also find her on France Bleu Bourgogne on the eve of her departure.