how far would one paddle for water by august riders theo rohfritsch and simon valdenaire would have traversed 25000 km between france and new zealand for the sake of clean water in kolkata this week and halfway through their epic journey the duo was surprised to see the extent of pollution air and water in the dominique lapierres city of joy cutting through the smog we realize that kolkata is vulnerable to climate changeinduced disasters are the people aware of the looming crisis asks theo who was the only french student selected for the international antarctic expedition 2012 bringing together people from across the globe to debate discuss and determine firsthand effects of climate change fellow cyclist simon echoes cycling through delhi was terrible but kolkata is as bad we are happy to have covered a city which is one of the worst regions in the world fighting pollution we have also found out that water is as scarce in the land of the ganga as elsewhere in the world they also caught the city in its myriad mood their camera has even framed a monkey riding pillion on a cycle in kolkata and we have also learnt about kolkata police clamping and then partlifting the cycle ban from roads after the media raised a hue and cry says theo were not professional cyclists but love the idea of pedaling across the world for clean water this project combines my interest in climate change with a passion to make a positive impact on humanitarian issues i made our bespoke bamboo bikes by hand at bamboo bicycle club in east london so my bikes are as unique as the journey says theo aboard their bamboo bike simon and theo will have covered 21 countries inspired by the original 30000km cycle for water ride from north to south which raised 56000 in 201012 starting in toulouse france on 27 july they crossed the french alps sliding into italy continuing across the rocky terrain through austrias lush green landscapes biking up north through europe and then cycling across asia through kyrgyzstan on their route to cross the continent they headed south into the himalayas through china tibet delhi and kolkata they have crossed 11 countries so far their next stop is myanmar we believe that everyone on this planet has the right to a basic and sustainable source of drinking water it is the first step out of poverty water is life literally and figuratively says theo sharing notes from his antartica expedition when he met the original cycle for water netherlands duo michael roodenburg and joost notenboom who cycled almost 30000km on sustainable bamboo bicycles from the arctic to the antarctic for clean drinking water i wanted to do this from west to east and mooted the idea to simon the unique project has evoked a lot of interest in the consul general of france in kolkata damien syed this is a humanitarian project completely in line with the french