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The following article appeared in The Ottawa Citizen, Tuesday, May 1, 2001 Rome presents a last chance to make technical repairsMike
Nemesvary Mike Nemesvary, a former champion freestyle skier, is attempting to become the first quadriplegic to drive around the world - a 40,000 kilometer trek to raise funds for spinal cord injury research and rehabilitation. Since leaving Britain at Easter, it has been a whirlwind.... France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Italy. Ten countries and 6,536 kilometres in less than one month! And up to now, remarkably, we’ve been on schedule. We are enjoying a brief rest in Rome, Italy, some of it planned and some of it not. The technology issues continue; this time a problem with the wheelchair lift in the truck. From here on, truck and wheelchair repairs will be difficult to come by so we’re praying this is the final technical setback, at least until Australia. After taking the Chunnel into France, we learned a lesson about booking accommodations at the last minute during Easter. Every hotel we tried was full. One sympathetic front desk clerk actually offered us the lobby with blankets and pillows...we considered it but decided to grin and bear it and drive another hour and a half to the next hotel. And, voilà, in the town of Dijon, a room! At 3:00 a.m., the three of us tucked into the world’s smallest hotel room; just enough space to walk/wheel in and crawl into our beds which were lined up side to side, no space between. We moved on quickly, eagerly anticipating Switzerland and a visit with my old friend and former ski coach, Mike Abson. Mike was my first freestyle coach when I was learning the sport on the Gatineau Hills ski slopes as a daredevil 12-year old. Mike had planned several events for us including a social gathering with many past and present freestyle skiers as well as an event at a Zurich rehabilitation centre. This centre is one of the best in Europe and we were given a spectacular reception. We received generous donations to the cause and a bonus - they took care of my damaged footplate (duct tape, begone). It was then on to Munich, Germany - a cultural city with so much to see and explore, but, alas, no time to enjoy. We had a date with Rome and so, once again, to sleep at 2:30 a.m., up at 6:30. The following day greeted us with that white stuff which we thought we’d seen the last of back in Halifax. As a former skier, you might think that I love the snow and, in many ways I still do. But now, it is also something I do battle with back home. Although Ottawa is a fairly accessible city, the snow often keeps me cooped up, unable to negotiate heavy snow or ice on the streets, even with my powerful electric wheelchair. But back to Europe. We drove through a beautiful snowy Austria, cruising through the Brindisi Pass in the mountains. Then, suddenly, we were in northern Italy. We marvel at how small Europe compared to Canada; from one country to another in the space of hours. The hills of Italy are beautiful; churches and cathedrals absolutely everywhere. The snow disappears as we cruise over bridges, streams and brooks, eventually into the lowlands where we are greeted by the Mediterranean sun. We all breathe a collective sigh of appreciation. Despite driving along at a healthy clip, we were repeatedly being passed by Porsche, Audi, Ferrari and BMW sports cars; the Europeans love their cars and their fast Autobahns. From Verona we headed east to Venezia. Cruising in around 7:30 p.m. we located an accessible parking spot on the mainland and hopped (wheeled) onto a water-bus to the famous St. Marco Square. Despite a slight chill in the air, it was a magical ride through Venice, the city on water. We were all enchanted by the experience of the lights, the boats and the architecture. The next day, we headed south through Bologna before taking a break at one of the many roadside service stations. Upon finishing our lunch, three strangers strolled up to our table with an incredulous "We found you"! David Hamilton had just flown over from Canada, met with friends in Germany and was driving to meet up with us in Rome. We’d both pulled off at the same service station, on the same autoroute, at the same time -- it is a small world. The dynamics of the Challenge road team are about to change yet again. Since Britain, it has been just me, my partner Christine Gundlack and George Swinimer. In Rome, we are joined not only by David and friends but also by Roger Greenberg who has just flown in from Ottawa with our photographer, his assistant and a driver. They will be doing some work for the planned documentary. So, from here to Istanbul our little threesome becomes a tensome. Tomorrow, we hope to leave Rome for Brindisi on the southeast coast of Italy where the overnight ferry will take us to Igoumenitsa on the southwest coast of Greece. Four months, eight more countries and 33,464 kilometres to go
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