Two cyclists ride to India to fund Senegal kindergarten

Two men from Vorarlberg have begun a year-long bicycle journey from Austria to India to raise €100,000 for an education project in Senegal, ORF reported.

Johannes Lins from Frastanz and Samuel Summer from Feldkirch, both 24, are raising the money with the Dornbirn-based association Wissen macht Stark. The funds will support the construction of a kindergarten and playgroup in M’Balling, a village for people affected by leprosy.

The two cyclists said the project was intended as an equal partnership rather than assistance imposed from outside. In 2023, they volunteered locally for the association and Leprahilfe Senegal.

Lins and Summer said they were financing the journey themselves. They plan to sleep mostly in tents and cook with a camping stove. They stressed that all donations would go directly to the education project in Senegal.

During the journey, they also plan to cook Vorarlberg cheese spaetzle using local ingredients in as many countries as possible within a year. That could include variations made with goat cheese if they cannot find suitable cheese along the route.

The Spätzle Tour began in Frastanz on September 6. The cyclists expect to cover about 15,000 kilometres and 85,000 metres of elevation while crossing around 18 countries.

The route is not yet final and will depend on the geopolitical situation and which borders are open. The planned route leads through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Greece and Turkey, followed by Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. They plan to reach Dharamsala in July 2027.