Lanzhou, or the way back to Europe via the Silk Road for the electric Odyssey, 80 years after the Yellow Cruise

It all started in Paris, during one of those long winter evenings when Xavier and Antonin, roommates living their early professional years, had to remake the world. "And if we take advantage of this moment of freedom in our lives, our studies and therefore before starting a family, to see the world? "They said suddenly.

Electric car! To prove to everyone that if they can go around the world, anyone can use it well for the daily needs, take the kids to school, going to work, play sports, shopping ...

Electric car also because it will be an excuse to meet people on the road. We will have to recharge it: find an outlet, ask someone. This is an opportunity to discuss and share around an electrical outlet.

Thus, there is one and a half, and Antonin Xavier traced a gray route on Google Maps, which connects Strasbourg to Strasbourg ... (one of their partners), via Brussels, Rotterdam, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Tokyo, Fukuoka, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hanoi, Kunming, Chengdu, Lanzhou, Urumqi, Karaganda, Astana, Kostanay, Chelyabinsk, Kazan, Moscow, Kiev, Rivne, Lviv, Rzeszow, Krakow, Katowice, Prague, Plzen , Nuremberg, Stuttgart and some other ...

Through a contact at the Antonine AVERE  who opened his address book, this project has become more concrete each day, until the arrival of the car, a Citroen Czéro , nice nod to the Yellow Cruise , there are exactly 80 years!

With their glove box the famous The use of the World  by Nicolas Bouvier (the Bible of the traveler Ed), they left in the cold of February, to Fessenheim (EDF is another partner). Then came the first meetings with the network pluggers  (represented by black jacks on the map) which is over the course of registering on their site, and their actual route follows slowly the gray wire which runs Google Maps.

And today, 25 July 2012, here in Lanzhou , capital of Gansu Province, in the middle of the Middle Kingdom, on the banks of the Yellow River, to celebrate 29 years of Antonin! Happy Birthday! Lanzhou gives them, with its two thousand year history, the way back to Europe via the Silk Road.

This is an opportunity, after more than half of the trip, to make a first assessment. The Electric Car? It works!Even in extreme conditions, with the battery that goes largely into the water through the ponds, or when the early morning after a big storm, we find the power cable under the water until! And the range of 150 km promised by the manufacturer? This is verified on the road. Initially it was very cold, which is not favorable for batteries, and two companions were betting on a range of 120 km, but the performance improved with temperature and 150 km have been achieved or exceeded , when it's hot with a flat road and sensible driving. Thus the days often start with a step of 100 km to 150 km, then a pause of 2 to 3 hours to perform a partial charge which recovers the order of 70 km of autonomy to carry the stage of the day to about 200 km in total. When the road goes up, the crew includes 10 km within each 100 m of depth. For now it works!

Their greatest memory so far? Xavier told me yesterday on the phone (Orange is one of their partners) a special day and unexpectedly, in western Nebraska, USA. At the end of their stage in the morning, the boys stop at a farm giant, lost in the middle of nowhere. They advise a man who is working to re-shoe a horse. Xavier is in his discussion to ask if he can plug his car somewhere when he suddenly becomes aware of the animals in the pen right behind him: bison! With that, the rancher arrives, the car is plugged in and benefit the Boys of the charge time to discover the area. The owner then called the cowboy that it takes Antonin Xavier and see the rest of the herd. This is now the cowboy who arrives on horseback. Imagine the head of our two Parisians! In fact it was a woman cowboy! Here they soon left for pick up (we do not take three on the horse!) To see and mark those calves born recently by a kind of ear piercing. Xavier observed the work of the cowgirl, impressed, until he heard "the next, it's you who does! "And here, the tool in hand, chasing the beast as the black eye of his mother! Bison steaks in the evening were well deserved.

Dear readers, today China, Kazakhstan in August, then Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech and German, it is also for you to meet Xavier and Antonin went around the world.

You can register on their site (see above) to come and recharge their cars at home.

We also offer you to watch them through your region, to relay this message in the local media ( eg Chinese ), and its a warm welcome. (Xavier told me yesterday that the hospitality of people is extraordinary).

Finally, we open the pages of BLOGaL, interactive blog in essence, let us introduce you to your area and make it more alive world tour for all followers of Xavier and Antoninus, and they are many, the BLOGaL. Send us an email using the "contact" link at the bottom of this page, or post as a comment via "Write comment" just below the article. Do not forget to mention your city, we will issue you pile on the day of passage of the Czéro down to you. And above all share, use social networks: Kaixin , facebook , Douban , Renren , QQ , Sina Weibo  and of course twitter , pinterest  and why not viadeo  or linkedin .

Thanks to googletrad, find this article in all languages ​​spoken in the countries where Xavier and Antonin or they will cross by the end of September: Chinese, Kazakh, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, German and French.

Take advantage of our app Google translate, at the bottom (left) of each blog post. Choose your language and find all items of BLOGaL on electric cars, football and other topics.