Of course we thought of a sunny September, with warm afternoons and cool nights, clear starry skies and poetic mists, when we chose to spend a holiday in the Vosges, more specifically in Gerardmer, where we made our first trip together in 1970.
What a miscalculation: from the first day it rained. Not nonstop, there were dry moments, but it always threatened, and a cynical north wind blew; everything grey as far as the eye could see, the beautiful lake of Gerardmer (say: gerardmee), the terraces, the streets, the hills, the endless pine forests.
We grumbled a bit, looked for a thick sweater, walked with umbrellas at the ready and avoided the puddles, visited all the available churches, castles, museums and shopping streets. It soon became noticeable on the way that, despite everything, there was a lot of cycling in the Vosges, by cycling tourists of all ages and all genders. On Friday hundreds rode over the Vosges cols, they nearly caused traffic problems on the narrow roads. At first we thought of the Vosgiens themselves, then of tourists, until we noticed that almost all those cyclists had a card with the same logo on their bike: it said 'Climbing for Life'. Climbing for your life?
In our best-polished French we spoke to a cycling tourist, and what you had long suspected turned out to be true: he was a Fleming. He told us that some three thousand cycling tourists, mostly but not exclusively Flemish, had gathered in and around Gerardmer to conquer the famous cols over three days, and not only for their own pleasure, but also as part of a campaign to help people with diabetes. They, sympathizers but also people with diabetes, did this every year.
Now I already mentioned the weather: the next day, Saturday, the weather was typical, cold, wet, the clouds hung like a tablecloth over the treetops. I have some experience with such conditions myself: in similar weather I once cycled through the Swiss landscape on my way to Rome, arriving more dead than alive in Liechtenstein; you wouldn't wish that on your worst enemy. So we took our hats off to those three thousand brave cyclists.
The sporting element, the challenge of those Vosges cols, probably plays an important role in participation, but the commitment to and sponsorship of the fight against diabetes is no less important. Working on your health, preventing illness or fighting against it is not only a matter of self-interest, but serves the whole community. Seeing those people struggling against gravity, which for some was very much to be feared, and against the elements, made your faith in humanity grow a little. You could just as well have been lying in a tropical pool all weekend.
Our country is simply good at this, because we don't forget that 'Climbing for Life' is not the only such initiative, there is also Ventourist by Sporta and many other cycling actions by groups and individuals that combine care for their own health with solidarity. I still think of that one lady, of retirement age, full-figured, who had dismounted halfway up the slope and, leaning heavily on her bike, pushed on up, no doubt utterly exhausted, but who looked at us, the passing motorists, with a proud look: I have given what I have, go and do likewise.