Seven years ago, a French couple set off from their home country on bicycles, visiting 53 countries over a journey of more than 120,000 kilometers. A month ago, they arrived in Xishuangbanna; recently, they cycled to Kunming to promote environmental protection and peace.
Used to work 80 hours a week
Yesterday, at a vegetarian restaurant in Kunming, reporters met this couple who have been cycling for over seven years. The husband, Richard, is 42 years old and from France; his wife, Staney, is 44 and from the UK.
When asked why they wanted to cycle around the world, Richard said: "We wanted to see the world with our own eyes, hear the birdsong with our own ears, and witness the beautiful things on Earth. 'Although we often hear about other countries on TV and radio, it’s all selected by others and not the full picture.' So, seven years ago, the couple set off on a global cycling journey."
Richard took out two notebooks and several maps from his bag. One notebook contains the flags of all the countries they’ve cycled through, with small icons of the 53 national flags and the dates they arrived in each country noted.
Staney said that during the time they were preparing to realize their dream, they worked almost 80 hours a week, and Richard even held two jobs to save up for the trip.
They practice environmental protection
During their journey, they witnessed deforested areas, polluted rivers, and wars. They began to realize how important environmental protection and peace are, and they lead by example in practicing sustainability. In one of their writings, they said: "We also saw many places in the world that were breathtakingly beautiful, but these places have been damaged by human pollution and indifference. The world is so beautiful, and we should take good care of it."
Will share experiences with students
After staying in Kunming for a few days, they will go to Hong Kong to renew their visas. Staney said: "There are more than 200 countries in the world, and we’ve only been to 53. There are still many we haven’t visited, and we plan to keep going. If you have a dream, you should strive to achieve it."
"You can do things freely, as long as you don’t harm others or animals," they said. "We suggest everyone practice conservation, like not letting the tap run while brushing your teeth, and reusing eco-friendly shopping bags when shopping."
During their time in Kunming, they will also visit universities such as Kunming University of Science and Technology and Dianchi College of Yunnan University to share their experiences and reflections from the past seven years on the road.