From "Le Renouveau" Wednesday, 29 October 1997

The "Renouveau" is the paper of the Constitutional Democratic Union party

Translation of the article "Vélo pour tous," or "Bikes for All" is as follows:

They are a group of five inseparable friends: four Americans - Anthony Ziemkhe, Corinne Whitney, Ethan Gelber, Padraic Kennedy - and one Austrian - Andrea Siegl. These five compose BikeAbout, a group that, using the Internet, promotes open cultural exchange between the countries of the Mediterranean Basin and the United States. Their cultural mission, which began in Morocco, is currently in Tunisia.

We caught up with them in Nabeul, during the "Circuit vélo pour tous," organized by the United Nations Information Center of Tunis. Ethan Gelber, the group leader, openly expressed his pleasure at being in Tunisia.

"We have been welcomed like kings. Many young people in Tunisia had shown a keen curiosity about and solid understanding of subjects like preservation of the environment, open international exchange, and even American lifestyles. We have succeeded in capturing photographic and sound records of meetings with young people and made it available using the Internet. We hope that our work will allow for more open exchange between American and Tunisian youth."

Ethan Gelber and his friends will spend the next nine months completing their bicycle trip around the Mediterranean Sea. By the strength of their legs - and with the significant support available by using the Internet - we are confident that they will have the courage to complete their monumental American-Mediterranean cultural operation.

Just looking at the eagerness in the eyes of these five adventurers leaves no room for doubt.