Chennai: Many Indians who work overseas often long to pay a visit to their family living here. Some are reluctant due to airfare expense while others are busy with their work, yet hoping to visit one day.
Then there is Lionel Jaya who cycled all the way from Paris to Chennai. Jaya, who works at the National Railway Company in Paris for the past 12 years, decided to take a break and visit his grandfather in Chennai and other relatives at Puducherry. Jaya cycled all the way from Paris, covering over 7920 km.
“It was my dream to take a long bicycle trip,” he says, speaking about his incredible feat.
“The most difficult part of my trip was actually getting permission for a long period of absence. I wanted to return to my work once I completed my travel.”
Once he got the go, Jaya invested good money to buy a strong cycle. “I spent nearly a month’s worth of my salary on this cycle,” he says. He carried clothes, tool kits, a sleeping bag, cooking equipment, laptop, tent and six liters of water.
Jaya prepared himself by first making a short trip for a week. “I wanted to know if I could mentally handle the journey,” he says. He started cycling on 30 April and reached Chennai on 20 September, taking nearly six months. “I cycled for 88 days and took rest the other days or else I was occupied with visa work as I passed several countries,” he explains.
Jaya used his phone and a map to navigate, often planning a day or two ahead before cycling. “I covered about 88 km a day on an average,” he recalls. “Sometimes if the region was flat, I even covered 130 km.”
Jaya then speaks about the difficulties he faced. “It was tough to travel through Turkey as it was a hilly region and it was also hot. It was a bit challenging in the beginning as I had to cover over 2000 km in the first month.” He cooked his food while traveling through Europe. “I usually made pastas,” smiles Lionel. “But when I was in Turkey I ate at small restaurants.”
He also speaks about the people he met during his journey. “I really enjoyed cycling through Iran. They are extremely warm people and always welcome travellers,” he says. “Even in Turkey, when you stop on road, people reach out to help or offer food.”
Jaya expressed his joy when he entered Tamilnadu, “As I know Tamil and the place marked the end of my journey, I felt very happy,” he says. “I felt the same when I was in Mumbai. I loved the food there.”
Cycling for five months is quite a big task. So what kept Jaya to stay focused? “Remembering my grandfather’s home always motivated me,” he says. “I wanted to spend a good time with my family here.”