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Pedal Power around the world

While we talk about gender equality over a cup of coffee, Cristina Spinola is cycling around the world and taking the issue to another level. She opens up to NANDINI SANAN on her African India adventures

Spanish triathelete and ardent surfer Cristina Spinola has a strong connection with the cycle. She has taken it upon herself to prove that women are equal, if not stronger than men and that impossible is truly nothing.

With a compact muscular frame and a strong will to match, she looks every inch the intrepid cyclist. Even three bouts of malaria in Africa did not deter her from getting back in the saddle and onto the road!

Ten years ago, she did a similar cycling tour around the Canary Islands, where she also lives. A meeting with her leaves you inspired, refreshed and with a richer perspective on living life on your own terms.

She is currently cycling through India and heading towards Nepal. Excerpts from the interview

Why gender equality?

As a child I was sexually abused by someone familiar but ended up keeping quiet. I don’t know why I didn’t tell anyone about it. It was much later while presenting a show on violence for a Spanish news channel, that I realised most of the victims were women.

Spain tops among the European countries for violence against women. So 10 years ago I cycled 3,000kms around the Canary Islands to draw the government’s attention to the issue. I won’t say there has been a drastic change since then but it’s certainly better. Earlier women were fired from their jobs if they got pregnant!

Wouldn’t motorcycling around the world be easier than cycling?

Motorcycling is not challenging enough. On a bike you go slow and have time to soak in the surroundings. A motorcycle may be easier but it isolates you. Besides, I wanted to show everyone that a woman can do this. I think we are stronger than men. Can all men do this?

How did you plan for such a long trip? The routes, the stay, the food?

I actually didn’t plan much. It’s just like life where if you plan too much, you miss the opportunities. I learnt this in Africa where inspite of having nothing to look forward to, people still smile. I had malaria there three times already. I was down for 20 days in a tent in Malawi and it was really difficult to get back to cycling. So this trip is more like two years of adventure.

Of course I have a GPS but there are times when that doesn’t help. And then I ask somebody for help, like I did in Ethiopia. It took me several questions to figure out their way of saying yes, which is a funny hiccupping sound .

The food is another matter though. I tried to avoid eating the local food in Africa and almost starved. The shops there are almost bare with no packaged food and they eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the end though, I ate just that to survive. The first thing I did on arriving in Mumbai was to go to a good restaurant and just eat!

How was Africa?

It was tough. Africa is another world where people survive from one meal to the next. Many of them couldn’t even understand what I was talking about. They sell their daughters for cows and 13-year-olds are forced to marry. The government is totally corrupt and its almost impossible to do anything. People live like they did probably 300 years ago.

Malawi is the most beautiful place in East Africa. In Ethiopia though, the women did understand and believe in gender equality which I think is the first step to development.

I don’t believe in the UN or that they are doing much in Africa. The ones really making a difference are individuals who have left everything behind and are using their own money to do so.

Alone on a bike in the middle of Africa or anywhere new must be scary. What about your safety? Is your bike specially equipped or something?

I do carry weapons and show them if needed and sometimes I pretend I know karate! I also make sure I reach my destination before sundown. The bike is actually a medium type and not a top of the line as it becomes difficult then to get spare parts. It has a good, sturdy frame though, and I carry 35kgs on it, including my guitar.

And India?

The only early impression of Indians I had was of some mean businessmen so it came as a pleasant shock to experience so much hospitality here. The people are really very friendly! A shop in Mumbai changed my bike seat for free. On the other hand, it’s too stressful to ride a bike in India with the crazy truck drivers on the roads. Actually till now it’s the worst place for a trip like this. But the Indian people are the best so it probably balances out!

Compared to Africa, India is a developed nation but still behind Europe when it comes to gender equality. The educated Indian men say India has arrived and the women are doing fine. But I have stayed with people from different social strata here and seen what goes on in their homes. The man watches TV while the women run around!

Who is funding this trip?

I’ve funded most of it myself with some help from sportswear brands. I also got financial help from the people who changed my bike seat in Mumbai and now I have contacts in UNICEF. But many people, especially men, are skeptical when I tell them about my cause or about my trip. They probably don’t believe I can do it!

It must be getting lonely at times. Why didn’t you get a friend along with you? Or perhaps even family? Do you come from a family of athletes?

No, no (laughs). My family is actually quite lazy. And nobody from the islands actually ventures out. I might be the only woman actually. My mother tells me I am crazy. I didn’t tell them about this trip till I was in Africa and then they couldn’t do anything.

When it gets lonely and there are long periods when I have no one to talk with, I take out my guitar and strum. I had stopped believing when I was 19 but on this trip I have felt a closeness with nature like never before. I have started talking to God.

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