2500 KM to Meditate

The project - The expedition:

2500km.  In bicycle.
To raise 2500 euros to help the creation of the Open Centre, a meditation centre.

From Leipzig (Germany) to Catalunya, Spain, while passing by Switzerland, Lichtenstein and France.
From June to August 2007.
In solo.

With my laptop and a solar panel.  With my tent, to permit me to sleep, at home, where my legs will stop.  With a little camping stove to cook something to fill and nourish my stomach.  With the Sun, the rain, the wind, the plains and the mountains around me.  With the stars and the silence to whisper in my ears during the night.

What is the Open Centre, the meditation centre for which I am raising these funds, and what is Open Dharma, the organization which is creating this center?  All details here.

The challenges:

1- To ride these 2500 kilometers.  To cross the Alps, going up to the source of the Rhine and going down following the Rhône, then to cross the Oriental Pyrenees, while climbing up to 2000 meters (6500 feet) altitude 3 times.  (I could have taken another route to get round the Alps by the North-East, but it’s much more fun - and much more beautiful - to go straight through it!)

To do so with my financial and material means which are not unlimited.  To manage with what I have.  I purchased my bicycle 50$ (second had, of course) and it will do the trip.
I know, there’s nothing so special about making 2500 km on a bicycle, a lot of people do that, some cross the whole Canada (5000 km) or go from Alaska to the Tierra del Fuego by bicycle and others go up to the North Pole with skis.  That’s true.  But there’s always some difference between "knowing that something can be done" and doing it yourself.
I am not an athlete.  I just am who I am.  But I do not fear doing what I haven’t done before.

2- To manage to power up my laptop computer with solar energy.  My laptop, a Toshiba Satellite A70, is not among the lightest (3.6 kg / 7.9 lbs!) and is also taking a good amount of power.  (And no, I do not intend to stop in camping grounds or laundromats everyday to charge it!)
The first store I called to get info about solar panels for my laptop told me that it was not possible.  Well, it looks like I’ll have to manage on my own then…!
Obviously, with a few thousand dollars more, I could get a ultra-light laptop, taking 2 or 3 times less power, add some super-hi-tech equipement (with an satellite Internet connection, why not?), and there wouldn’t be any problem!  Well, then, I could simply give these few thousand dollars to the Open Centre, rent a car and get there in 30 hours instead of 30 days!

So, again, I’ll do with what I have.  And that’s where all the charm of the adventure lies…

3- To convince people and businesses to give, to raise these 2500 euros for the Open Centre.
That’s the hardest part…!

All spiritual traditions are putting emphasis on the importance of generosity, of the donation.  (Which religion said "Thou shall keep all for thyself and never share, ever."?)  Generosity is not only "material" or financial generosity, of course.  But the monetary aspect is still an important aspect, if not an essential one, for the success of many projects.

Buddha said "If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way."
I think that this makes really much sense.  That is what my own life told me, at least.

So I invite you to give to support the Open Centre project, any amount, even a simple 5$ would be wonderful!  That project truly deserves to be manifested and to realize itself, I think.

You will be able to follow my trip & adventures directly through this website….