Here we report the translation from Italian of a short interview made to the three cyclists by EoIpso, our partner as press office we want to thank.
Paolo Ferraris, Alessandro Ferraris and Arturo Giustina are the protagonists of RIDE TO MOSCOW, the charity project organized by GEOforCHILDREN Association, that, from the 29th of July to the 14th of August, will make them ride for more than 2500 km from the Northeast of Italy to the Red Square in Moscow. The purpose is to promote the fund “A door for Life” in favour of young orphan boys and girls living in very difficult conditions.
Paolo Ferraris, 53-year-old entrepreneur and president of GEOforCHILDREN, Alessandro Ferraris, 50-year-old scientific representative and Arturo Giustina, 55-year-old entrepreneur in the fitness and wellness field, are all passionate about sport and travel and become now testimonials and exporters of solidarity.
What did motivate you to..ride this project? «A huge curiosity to see how much such a challenging sport adventure with a charity purpose can inspire and sensitise people», Paolo Ferraris says. For Alessandro Ferraris, the challenge «does not consist merely in repeating the great adventure and emotion experienced in 1994, when I rode my bike up to Paris on my own, but above all in contributing with my own effort to the project and GEOforCHILDREN». A new motivation also for Arturo Giustina: «The project does not have a sport purpose, but an humanitarian one. I practiced a lot of sport during my life and always aimed to get good results; now I am very happy to do what I love to help people who are less fortunate than me».
2520 km by bike is a big distance: what does concern you most? «Unforeseen events and physical problems» Ferraris brothers say. «We are concerned about everything that could stop us and prevent us to ride». What worries Arturo Giustina the most are roads: «With more than 150 km to ride every day, every unforeseen event would slow us down and reduce recovery time». To ride such a big distance you need to get ready both physically and mentally. Giustina did prepare a training schedule and a well-balanced diet program, Paolo Ferraris set the target of riding around 9-10000 km within the 29th of July.
What is your message for Russian people? «Social pain needs concrete help and does not need political or religious barriers, borders or sanctions”, Paolo Ferraris says. His word are echoed by Alessandro: «Everyone of us can do something good for others, even for unknown people living more than 2500 km far». Their message is universal: «Solidarity does not know borders”, they say and, in fact, they want to spread the joy of gift. «We should not forget the purpose of the project: every donation will be used to help Russian children», Paolo Ferraris points out. A little help because «everyone of us can help better the lives of people in need», Giustina says. Alessandro Ferraris suggests: «When we celebrate the birthday of a family member, let’s make two gifts: one for the celebrated person and one for GEOforCHILDREN».
