The road out of the MA Center in Brombachtal was lined with flags. As AYUDH Europe’s 22nd youth summit, One Humanity, drew to a close, participants poured onto the street, waving the colours of dozens of nations and showering the road with petals as seven cyclists pedalled through the crowd.
Launched on stage during the youth movement’s annual European summit by Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri, the cyclists began their journey. Ahead of them lay 1,500 kilometres, three countries, and a single destination: Rome.
The project began, fittingly, with an invitation. In 2025, Dr Karen Darke MBE delivered a keynote address at AYUDH Europe’s 21st youth summit in Brombachtal. She is a British Paralympic athlete, handcyclist, and adventurer.
Karen left inspired, wanting to do more than just speak. The idea that took shape was to cycle: across borders, across terrain, and in time across the world — to show the bicycle as something more than transport — a medium for peace and connection.
For her, the project is deeply personal. A climbing accident in her twenties left her paralysed from the chest down. At the Paralympics, she went on to win in silver at London 2012 and gold at Rio 2016 in the Women’s Road Time Trial.
Karen has also handcycled, kayaked and skied across some of the world’s toughest landscapes. Few understand more intimately what it means to lose mobility — and the freedom it can bring when it is regained.
“There is nearly always a gap between where we are and where we want to be,” Karen explained. “So, it is good to remember that if we focus on what we can do, not on what we can’t do, and then put that into action, incredible shifts can happen.”
The six riders who joined Karen are not professional athletes. Hailingfrom Germany, Spain, United Kingdom and France, they simply wanted to turn their love of nature, sport and the world into change. This journey was a profund contribution.
For just over fifteen days, the team rode from the Odenwald through Munich and Innsbruck, over the Alps, and south through Verona, Rimini and Assisi before reaching Rome. The destination was chosen deliberately. Rome was where the bicycle was once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Italian radio presenters argued that a bicycle fuels no wars and has, time and again, served the cause of liberation.
They pointed to cycling champion Gino Bartali, who during the Second World War used his bicycle to carry counterfeit documents that helped save Jewish families. The history gave the journey a deeper meaning: the bicycle was not simply a means of getting from one place to another, but a symbol of freedom, courage and peace.
The riders chose the cause themselves. Funds raised will support people with disabilities who are patients at Amrita Hospital, Kochi. The money will go towards operations and mobility support — the chance to regain movement, independence and hope. It reflected the values that brought them together — compassion, service and unity — with Amma as their inspiration.
It was not only the riders who fundraised: youth and volunteers created and sold handmade crafts at a maker market. By the campaign’s close, the total sailed past the original target of €4500 to more than €6,000. Every euro will translate into surgery, equipment and care for someone who would otherwise go without.
The most fragile cargo on the ride was paper. Before departure, people from more than thirty countries wrote, by hand, messages for humanity. Those hundreds of notes travelled the full distance to Rome as a reminder of the hopes, wishes and prayers we all share.
If we focus on what we can do, not on what we can’t do, and then put that into action, incredible shifts can happen.
Dr Karen Darke, Paralympian
Crossing the finish line in Rome, Karen called her team “awesome and inspiring”, adding that it was one of the hardest trips she had ever done, but worth it. For rider Emmanuel Mondolfo, who rode alongside his brother Cyrille Mondolfo, it exceeded everything he had imagined.
“We all worked very well together,” he reflected. “It was totally different from my expectations and I loved every part of it. It’s been years since I came back from a trip feeling like it really brought something totally new.”
Chris Huck, from Germany, agreed, “It let me fulfil a long-cherished dream: crossing the Alps under my own muscle power. But it was more than that. It was a fascinating ride through three countries and all for a good cause.”
AYUDH Europe was an official sponsor, supporting the project and hosting its send-off and closing events as part of the Care4Youth initiative, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union. Precision Fuel & Hydration were the official fuelling and hydration partners, equipping riders with products and guidance. The Long Run Club provided much needed jerseys for the ride.
From a keynote speech to a handbike; from biking through Germany, France and Italy to funded operations in Kerala. A Cycle for Humanity is proof of what happens when inspiration is put into motion. As the project puts it, every kilometre can make a difference.
