Aina and Jùlia (paraplegic) are two friends who have devoted their lives to Olympic and Paralympic swimming. They met in 2009 while training at the High Performance Sports Centre (CAR) in Sant Cugat and have dreamed of travelling the world and facing new challenges out of the pool ever since.
This summer, they finally had the chance to make this dream come true. The result of their first experience travelling the world is Bategant sobre rodes – una aventura rodada (Heartbeat on wheels – a rolling adventure). For this project, they did five routes around Brittany with their bike and BATEC HYBRID handbike in just one week.
Over the years, they've realised that there is a serious lack of travel guides for people with reduced mobility and with Bategant sobre rodes they want to bring together a community of travellers to create a truly useful guide to travelling in a wheelchair: with friends, children, etc.
With the results of this experience, they've created a highly detailed, well-designed website with practical infographics on each stage: kilometres, accessible campgrounds, type of terrain, hours on the road and useful observations for people in a wheelchair.
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"We planned out the stages by kilometres (between 50 and 65 kilometres per day), taking into account the interesting places nearby and making sure they were stable routes that we could change if something unexpected came up," explains Aina. "We really enjoyed all of them and were lucky that they were each very different. The hardest was the third day, because it was the longest of all, but it was also the most satisfying once we were finished."
Júlia, paraplegic, chose a BATEC HYBRID handbike for this first adventure. "The fact that it is an add-on for wheelchairs allowed me to travel without having to worry about having something to carry my wheelchair. It's something I'd always wanted to do but had never found an adapted bicycle that would make it feasible." She also says she felt "very safe being able to use the battery on the BATEC HYBRID handbike when things got tough and keep up with Aina." In order to make the battery last, she took advantage of the easier sections to work her arms and only used it at difficult points.
Finally, Júlia explains that, as a wheelchair user, she knows the world isn't 100% adapted. On a trip like this, good planning is key to overcoming complicated situations that may arise as comfortably as possible and enjoying the experience to the maximum.