About us
☾ ○ ☆ -- Our Core Values -- ☆ ○ ☾
We aim to live sustainably not only at home but also when travelling. Although we are aware that individual actions have a relatively low impact at the global scale, we try to do our bit for the environment. In particular, we buy second hand as much as possible, don't own a car, are vegetarian and travel overwhelmingly by train, ferry or bike. Cycling is not only how we commute, but it is also our way to enjoy time together as a family during weekends and holidays. It is just the right pace for us, not to slow that you can actually see a lot of different landscapes, villages and people but not too fast so we can smile, say "Hi", enjoy the view and stop whenever we want. (See 'Why we cycle as a family'). Finally, we thing that environment issues cannot be entangled from social inequalities issues. We believe that universal education, and girls education in particular, is one of the keys to a fairer and greener world.(See 'Charities we support').
☾Melanie
(by Adrien)
Mel discovered the joy of cycling much later than I did, but caught the travel bug long before me 🐞. We met in secondary school at the bottom of a climbing wall and quickly became very good friends. Then, each of us went a different way in University and we lost contact for a while until we met again 5 years later, and stuck together for good that time. By that time she travelled to 3 different continents and had a passport full of fancy stamps, while I barely left France. Mel is way more compassionate and empathetic than I will probably ever be and she deeply cares about social injustice, in particular in developing countries. During Medical School, she was involved in setting up Song Tabaa a charity encouraging prevention and helping to develop healthcare infrastructure in Burkina Faso rural communities. After she graduated as a psychiatrist, she organised for us to work as volunteers in a school in Nepal for 2 months, a truly humbling and memorable experience. Moving to England, was a much harder task for her than it was for me. Doctors in France don't get to learn a lot of English. Psychiatry in particular can be pretty tough when it is not your native language. But she bravely took on the challenge, and before we knew she was a consultant at the NHS, which at 30 is actually quite an achievement. In 2018, she gave us a beautiful little boy; Oscar. She is a loving and caring Mum, accompanying Oscar every step of the way to build empathy, creativity and curiosity at home and on the road.
○ Adrien
(by Melanie)
I would never thank enough Adrien for pushing me to embrace cycling in my daily life. It is such a great way of moving and travelling. It was not an easy task as I was more of a walker but Adrien can be very convincing. There are many qualities I like in Adrien, such as his honesty, curiosity and openness to new ideas (even though it takes some well crafted arguments). He is ready to stand up and act for important causes, in particular climate change. He is the practical and realistic side of the couple, which is sometimes annoying, but overall I must admit is quite reassuring and comforting. Always optimistic, with plan B (and C, and D), which is very useful while on the road where mishaps are bound to happen. His almost perfect sense of direction is also very helpful, although sometimes it fails spectacularly (like when we were trapped in a steep sided river in remote Nepal at dusk without lights ...). He is an amazing Dad to our little one. Oscar is very lucky to have a daddy who teaches him tricks (and mischief) and is not afraid of trusting him to try new things, helping him to be confident in his abilities and aware of his limits.
☆ Oscar
(by Mummy and Daddy)
Our little boy has been travelling on wheels every day pretty much since he was born. He is super enthusiastic and easy-going during our trips. It is such a fantastic journey to follow him as he is growing and becoming confident, clever and curious but also funny and mischievous. We dream to live a big cycle adventure as a family and we would like Oscar to be fully involved in the journey, so we will still have to wait a few more years. We can buy lots of things in life, but as far as we know we cannot buy time, and time with Oscar is gold. While we are on the road for short or longer trips, we want to share our love for Nature with him and to foster his curiosity and confidence. Now that he has started to cycle by himself, there will be new lessons to learn such as patience and perseverance ...
