We were going down a dirt road and a squirrel crossed. “Look Yuri, a squirrel!”. He didn’t have time to see it… “I missed it!”. He made me think: experiences like these rekindle the desire to see things. That “I missed it” is not a usual phrase for him in the community, he often remains a little detached from things around him. Yuri is one of the people with disabilities from the Rainbow Community in Quarto Inferiore (Bologna), the second of the three arch entities present in Italy by seniority; Stefano, who narrates the episode, is one of the assistants. “The experience lived at The Arch, whether residential or laboratory, constantly puts people at the center: each of these- guest, operator or volunteer, none perfect, but unique and unrepeatable, with its history and its beginning here and now” – is “fundamental to build, day after day, and experience of hospitality and sharing, a catalyst for growth for everyone”.
A growth that is experienced in everyday adventures but also in some decidedly extraordinary ones: that of the second week of october is an example. The dirt road where Yuri lost the squirrel is a stretch of Francigena traveled in tandem by a group of the community: they left Bologna, destination Rome in 8 days to celebrate the twenty years of life of The Rainbow and reach the community of Chicco di Ciampino, the first Italian reality of the international association born in France.
There are many cliches, we see it when we ride in teams. Many are amazed: how many limits in our way of thinking
The “surreal idea” of a tandem holiday trip was born a couple years ago when Luca and his daughter Chiara, both part of the community, took part in a bike trip with other people with (more or less visible) disabilities: a ride Emilia Romagna on wheels (a hanf bike, assisted tandems and normal bikes) to the unusual discovery of interesting places, documented in the beautiful film Tanta Strada (directed by Lorenzo K. Stanzani, italian version available on Rai Play). The experience was so beautiful for both of them that Luca thought of extending it to part of the community. “We understood”- explains Errani in one of the moments filmed during the tour by Stanzani- “that some are not interested in the holiday and are happy where he is. But there are those who need something more and its is right to try to give it.”
Organizing the trip was not easy. Reconfigure the tandems with pedal assistance, train, involve partners sensitive to the project; plan the fundraiser to allow the caravan to move safely, accommodate around twenty people accompanied by Matteo, a guide specialized in bike trips (from Silvia Parente Foundation together with Davide), plan the individual stages and chose them according to each person’s possibilities. Sara, Steve, Antonia, Gianluca, Davide, Federico and Alessandra, Chiara and Yuri took turns in the individual stages so they wouldn’t get too tired. Some, from Quarto, joined the main group in one-day stages. Like Bianca who, in a wheelchair, followed her teammates in the final in Rome on a modified cargobike, made available by Aspassobike. Or the young Federico who, accompanied by his brother, lived for a day in tandem behind Stefano: It’s the first time he sleeps outside alone! Maybe he will sleep, we are a little more agitated. But it’s right that he also does his own things. A few years ago we wouldn’t have expected him to do something like this and instead it happened!
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Translation from Italian to English by Jenna DePasquale on the initiative of the “Italian 251: Composition & Conversation II” course taught by Nives Valli using the Service-Learning pedagogical approach at John Felice Rome Center della Loyola University Chicago.
