Vivez l'aventure, de la construction au voyage
It was with great emotion that Mickaël Joguet was greeted in Canton by the crowd waiting for him. He will have taken 50 days to travel the 12000 km separating Canton France. He arrives in 2nd position of the Solar Challenge, after Raf Van Hulle who took 45 days.
Visits: 71
Paul Baudry says: “I stop in Almaty but it's not a quitting, it's just that I'm in the category half marathon not marathon”.
Since his heart transplant in 2009, Paul has continued to push his limits. From the highest peaks of the Andes, to the burning steppes of Kazakhstan He traces a daring path of life. Today he will not go enquire Guangzhou (Canton), he stops in Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan. He will have travelled 9619 km, training included since this spring. It's to better prepare for his next adventure.
The organization of the Sun Trip sends him a huge thank you for all the efforts he has made.
Visits: 72
Eymeric has left after his repair which seems to hold for now. He even broke his record of distance in 1 day: 241km today! Having recovered internet network, he makes us enjoy beautiful images.
Visits: 48
Mickaël Joguet will be the second to arrive at his destination, after Raf Van Hulle. He will have take 51 days to complete the route France-China. And Eric Morel will most likely be the third…
Visits: 59
Mickaël Joguet makes his last stop in the Guangdong mountains where it's cool, before he arrives in Guangzhou. By discovering his images, we understand that he qualifies her as "a Dream stage"!
Visits: 56
Visits: 51
Jack Butler made a detour to the Zhangye National Park to see the "Rainbow Mountains". He makes us share these amazing imagee he took with his drone. Thanks Jack!
Visits: 58
Here is the interview of several Suntripers when they finished their crossing of Kazakhstan and were going to enter China: Romain Neauport, Daniel Jenni, Dirk Huyghe and Peter Helsen.
Visits: 61
For Gregory, the Sun trip is an experience, a journey through time… In the footsteps of Marco Polo, he follows the Silk Road, finds former forts of the Empire of Khorezm and dreams under the starry sky. It is the road that is its objective, not the destination.
Visits: 58
In northwestern Uzbekistan, François Médalle and Gilles Coural visit the town of Khiva and marvel at the discovery of its riches: its Medersa, its museum, its numerous mosques open to all that attest to a tolerant Islam, its minarets… It is a city surprisingly very ornate, thanks to irrigation with water from the Amu Darya. This river that once fueled the Aral Sea is today an overexploited resource for the cultivation of cotton, the consequence is the drying out of the Aral Sea.
Visits: 39
Lionel Serra decided to stop the Sun Trip for several reasons that he explains in this video. His bike is ready to be repatriated from Almaty by the organization.
Visits: 49
Excerpts from an interview with Raf van Hulle, carried out the day before his triumphant arrival in Guangzhou. The Belgian is relaxed, happy to have finished first, and almost without incidents. He says: “It didn’t seem difficult,” “I’m not exhausted like after the Sun Trip 2013”!
Visits: 53
Day 7-stage from Domfront-en-Poiraie to Houdan
In the morning departure for a long day that should lead us to the destination: we cross large forests very fresh, on roads that swallow hills and valleys, the Ferns accompany us along the Undergrowth. We lose our way, we sail through the grove on country roads. Soon, Daniele’s brakes are loosened, we need to tighten bolts hidden behind his wheels. It appeals to a resident of the small village that we pass through which fortunately to all the necessary tools. The afternoon takes place in a maze of small roads in the midst of large fields of wheat already harvested. The heat overwhelms us.
Day 8-stage from Houdan to St-Nom-la-Bretèche
We leave after a solid breakfast, very quietly because the stage is very short: 40km. Paul finds us on arrival with a paella and a surprise: he warned Francis, Suntripeur 2017, who joined us.
Day 9-stage from St-Nom-la-Bretèche to Sens
Today, back home. Almost 3 hours to get out of the parisian agglomeration, to forget its crowded boulevards, its intense traffic, its red lights, its bike paths along quasi motorways. I pass the Seine to Ris-Orangis and I think I finally find the countryside. The sun effectively recharges my battery but it makes the road burning and infernal. I have only one desire: to arrive in Sens and take an air-conditioned train!
Visits: 59
Day 5-stage from Ouistreham to Vierville-sur-Mer
This day allows to test the proper maintenance of the repair. Between the villages with high streets, the roads are straight, the asphalt smooth, the sun loads full, my bike gives all satisfaction, we go… At Arromanches, we stop at the memorial, tourists flocking around our bikes. With a lot of enthusiasm, Daniele gives everyone the explanations they want, while I visit the site and take pictures. Later, we visit the American Cemetery. Emotions.
Day 6-stage from Vierville-sur-Mer to Domfront-en-Poiraie
It’s the beginning of the return. We leave early but the heat catches up quickly. We lose our way several times, which allows us to discover a splendid abbey, charming villages but leads us on chaotic roads.
Visits: 55
Day 3-stage from Honfleur to Honfleur
The rain requires us to spend two nights in our municipal campsite. We take advantage of this day of rest to better visit Honfleur, its alleys with old houses, discover the museum Eugène Boudin, visit the art galleries…
Day 4-stage from Honfleur to Ouistreham
We meet Arsène, an alsatian guy who has just made 4500 km by bicycle with electric assistance and who is interested in our solar panels. The morning makes us cross landscapes of Bocage, all along the road scattering old houses in bricks, we imagine the guest rooms very cosy. That day we had to reach the Cotentin but a technical incident decided otherwise: Daniele breaks a support of solar panels. We have to divert to Caen to find a DIY store and try a repair. In the evening, at the campsite of Ouistreham, we get acquainted with J-B and his father, well equipped with tools, which will help Daniele to complete his repair.
Visits: 61
Day 1-stage from St-Nom-la-Bretèche to Dieppe
The first part of the course crosses villages with charming romanesque churches, along the parks of large properties, small castles, travels through the undulating plains of harvested wheat, crosses woods. Then we go on to the departmental with a certain traffic, our solar bikes trace the road but the atmosphere is less friendly. Fortunately the last 50 km are pure happiness, on an old railroad track transformed into a bike path.
Day 2-stage from Dieppe to Honfleur
Beautiful itinerary that alternates rolling sections and small seaside roads that go up beyond the cliffs and then descend to the beaches: Veulettes-sur-Mer, Fécamp, Étretat… On the other hand, the crossing of Le Havre is a part of pleasure. And what about the passage of the Pont de Normandie, where the bike path is a skinny strip along the main track where trucks drive at 90 km/h! All we have to do is pray not to be caught. After, I regretted not having dared to use the pedestrian path, which is protected by a small wall. Fortunately, the discovery of Honfleur makes us forget these inconveniences.
Visits: 72
With Daniele, who met at the Sun Trip 2017, we planned a journey of more than 1000 km in Normandy. It was for me the opportunity to discover a beautiful region and to test my new solar bike. The day before departure, surprise : Paul, suntriper 2015 and 2017, came to have dinner with us! The planned route included steps between 120 and 200 km, with low or moderate gradients. But a contingency decided otherwise: we had to adapt our itinerary to avoid the chaotic roads and to abandon the tour of Cotentin. As it was the first trip with my new solar bike (new engine and new trailer) I was very thrifty at first with electrical assistance. I had to experiment, depending on the sunshine, how fast my battery would recharge with the 200 WC of exposed panels by rolling and the 100 WC of the additional panel usable only during breaks.
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Visits: 49
After Raf Van Hulle arrived, it was Mickaël Joguet the next. He only has a few days left to reach Guangzhou but on this video he appears a little tired. Let's wish him to hold on to the end to keep his second place!
Visits: 106
The Glue brothers had to abandon their solar tandem due to big technical worries. They no longer participate in the sun trip but they decided to continue their journey without the help of the sun, with normal bikes without assistance. Congratulations to these two courageous participants! Here they are with Jack Butler:
Visits: 57
RAF Van Hulle arrived yesterday in Guangzhou, today he stopped pedaling as he did relentlessly for 45 days. Let's not forget those who are still on the road, who will pedal for days, weeks… Follow their day to day progression on this map: http://race.thesuntrip.com/
Visits: 55
Raf Van Hulle has crossed the finish line today. It will have taken 45 days to rally Guangzhou (Canton) since its departure from France, on a solar bike. What a great proof of the effectiveness of this mode of sustainable mobility!
A Belgian cyclist finished a 12,000-km journey from France to China on sun-powered bike. Click to see what he says about the tough challenge #SunTrip2018 pic.twitter.com/nYlLS4dsHl
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) 4 août 2018
Visits: 76
Technical problems can sometimes defeat the most stubborn participants: while they were in third position, the Colle brothers encountered great technical difficulties with their rear wheel since Turfan. They did everything to try to fix it without being able to find the specific parts needed. They still decided to try the crossing of the Gobi Desert. Arriving in the town of Yumen, they finally made the decision to give up, their wheel no longer supported the weight of their tandem. Their engine was also failing. Their bike was dismantled for a shipment to Guangzhou.
Visits: 69
After a pass at 2500 m, bad weather does not allow Stéphane to properly charge his battery: he rolls with only 70 W of assistance for 180 km. It is under the rain, with a gray sky, that he discovers here vestiges of the Great Wall of China.
He remains a philosopher: “It’s okay, I think it’s my best day because, friends, I just touched with my eyes and my hand a piece of the history of humanity, one of the most older ones of the great wall! ”
Visits: 81
After 65 km of very bad road, François and Gilles find the bitumen. They made 162 km and Jean-Claude Viguier, who now rides without Alain, joined them shortly before arriving at the hotel where they will step. They meet truck drivers leading an exceptional convoy.
Visits: 61
Raf Van Hulle is only 60 km from the centre of Guangzhou, he will soon cross the finish line, 44 days after his departure from France.
Bravo for this amazing demonstration of the efficiency of the solar bike!
Visits: 63
