Adventure: Charity drive
Three men travelling 9,000 kilometres from Paris to Dubai through 13 countries on motorbikes – isn’t that adventure? When Hassan Al Redha, Jean-Pierre Labry and Christophe Renaund embark on the trip on April 25, they also do it for a cause: Medecins Sans Frontieres. Rajeev Nair writes
Photographs: Mohammed Rasheed
HOW we take everyday truths for granted! Three UAE residents remind us, in their own unique way, that for all the clean water we drain down the sewerage out of sheer carelessness, there are a billion people out there who would die to have a mouthful.
For these thirty-plus energy-bundles, though, water conservation is not another PowerPoint presentation. Nor is it a data-packed lecture. It is a message they will disseminate for Medecins Sans Frontieres, a non-profit humanitarian organistion which has made access to clean water the cornerstone of many of its mission.
And to do so, Hassan Al Redha, Jean-Pierre Labry and Christophe Renaund will ride down 9,000 kilometres of untested terrain spread over 13 countries on motorbikes. Adventure, charity and a passion for a pastime – that sums up the trip to be flagged off on April 25 from Paris.
Five years back, the three were total strangers. Redha, a banker with the Commercial Bank of Dubai, had already accumulated 12 years of motorbike expertise. Labry and Renaund, both French, hadn’t as yet met at the Sharjah Traffic Department to convert their driving licences to valid UAE ones, but both had many years of biking to their credit.
Biking indeed was their common link. Some months after Labry, commercial manager with Verger et Delporte UAE Ltd, and Renaund, regional business manager of Alstom, met and started biking together, a friend referred Redha to Renaund for some motorcycle spare parts. “I served as the link between Jean-Pierre and Hassan,” recalls Renaund.
Significantly, the camaraderie the three built through on-road and often off-road biking adventures passed on to their families. “Our wives get along very well,” says Renaund. “We meet over weekends and at social events.”
It is these women who, they proudly say, have put up a rock-solid support for a venture, which snowballed from simple biking associations. The adventurous three had earlier participated in the Swim Burj Al Arab Challenge organised by Medecins Sans Frontieres.
This time the challenge is bigger. It is fraught with risk, their plans already having had to be redrawn following the Iraq crisis. They were to pass through Kurd territory as per their initial plan. They have altered the route now.
There, however, is more. To cross nearly 1,500 kilometres over Saudi Arabia in just 48 hours is only one. The month-long trip that will take them through France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and finally to Dubai, will also test the bonds they have nurtured between themselves since the last five years.
“We know that during the three-and-a-half weeks, day and night together, there will be issues cropping up. But we are all mature enough, and we like each other. We get along together very well. We know the difficult issues and we know how to handle them,” says Redha.
“We want to have fun,” adds Labry. “We know each other, and we want to keep it that way.”
A sort of idea that builds among friends with similar tastes, the Paris-to-Dubai adventure was conceived in September 2002. Since then the three have been working tirelessly to obtain visas and road permits. They had, however, planned to take up the challenge in April, and despite the slight variations in travel plans, they are mostly on-track, and hope to formally hand over the amount collected through the event to MSF in May.
“We don’t want to disclose the amount,” says Redha. The funds are raised through sponsors, sales of t-shirts and individual contributions. Additionally, they will auction the Honda 650 XR bike, which will take them through the ride, and contribute the money to MSF.
All three have been riding different motorcycles earlier – Renaund had as many as 20 in the past few years – and the choice of the Honda 650 XR was more in the nature of local availability and the support given by the dealer here, they say. They have done considerable modifications to the bikes adding a larger petrol tank that will take them a cool 500 kilometres, front windscreen, backside support for luggage and special tyres. “The total expense for the trip has been estimated at Dhs190, 000,” explains Redha.
The trio had initially planned to take the trip as a sort of vacation adventure, observes Renaund. “But it seemed a little selfish,” he says. They tied it with a cause, and “now with lot of people involved it is more fun.”
They have been preparing for the journey, and recently, they rode down to Fujairah with the brand new bikes readied for the journey. There has been much delegation of responsibility amongst the three. “Jean-Pierre is the IT guy. He put up the website, www.msf-parisdubai.com, which will be updated during the course of our journey,” says Redha, who in turn is the mechanics man. They will carry the smaller tools, and are equipped to handle minor troubles.
They are cautious. They are avoiding night rides for safety reasons but they haven’t finalised the nitty-gritty of the travel. “We will sit together and decide which city to rest for the night,” says Redha.
Notwithstanding the hurdles, whatever they be, the three are confident their sense of humour will take them through it all. All three know how to share a good laugh, and the warmth they share is perceptible. “I am not nervous,” says Redha. “I am looking forward to start the journey. I don’t want to push it any longer, and I want to make it happen now.”
Labry believes the trip will be “one of the best experiences” in his life. “We know there are risks and probably crises to face. We have already changed our route. But we are well-equipped to handle them all.”
The greatest risk, Redha says, would be fatigue. “Once you get tired, your concentration drops. That is tricky.”
To travel with minimal luggage, but taking care to include some winter-jackets for Europe and summer-wear for the Arabian part of the ride, the three strike a philosophical mode as they say: “We expect the best and prepare for the worst.”
For all the enormity of the adventure that lays ahead, Redha, Labry and Renaund have a very down-to-earth approach to their objective: “To do something useful for others.”
It could be as simple as a glass of clean water for a refugee being tended to in an MSF camp in a strife-affected area. But that glass of clean water would never have been there hadn’t it been for the volunteering people like Redha, Labry and Renaund undertake.
And in doing so, they are also building bridges of trust – between the Middle East and Europe.
