Antonio Vigueras is preparing to travel alone and without a support vehicle more than 1,000 kilometers from Santiago de Compostela to Abanilla. A Path in reverse converted into a solidarity challenge to support the fight against cancer.
There are trips in which getting to Santiago is the goal. in which he prepares Antonio Vigueras, the Galician capital will be precisely the starting point.
This athlete from Abanilla, in Murcia, will face a challenge of more than 1,000 kilometers by bicycle from Santiago de Compostela to his hometown, with a peculiarity that considerably increases the difficulty: it aims to complete it in a week, alone and without external assistance.
There will be no support car following in your footsteps. Vigueras will travel with his bicycle and his own luggage, facing days of more than one hundred kilometers and turning the journey into an initiative aimed at raising funds and giving visibility to the fight against cancer.
A motivation that comes from your own family
Behind the sporting challenge there is a personal story. Antonio Vigueras' father suffered from cancer and managed to overcome the disease. That experience led the athlete to look for a cause to which he could link a challenge that he had initially also conceived as a way to motivate himself personally.
The project ended up growing and has the support of the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) and Abanilla institutions. Contributions will be made directly through the association's solidarity challenges platform, where Vigueras' initiative is registered under the name “I get on the bike because of cancer”, with a fundraising goal of 3,000 euros.
More than a hundred kilometers every day
Vigueras is mainly used to mountain races, but in recent weeks he has intensified his preparation on the bike.
The plan includes stages that will exceed the 100 and 115 kilometers, some with significant unevenness. The final day will be even more demanding and is planned with more than 200 kilometers before reaching Abanilla.
In addition, those who want to accompany you remotely will be able to follow the evolution of the trip through their social networks, where they plan to show the different stages and facilitate monitoring of their position during the journey.
A Camino de Santiago in the opposite direction
The image is especially striking for those who know the Jacobean routes. Every year thousands of people advance towards Santiago de Compostela seeking to reach the Plaza del Obradoiro. Antonio will do just the opposite: will leave Santiago to move away from the city kilometer by kilometer.
But the direction of this trip will not be in the direction of the yellow arrows.
For more than a thousand kilometers, each pedal stroke will aim to draw attention to those facing cancer, their families and the work of organizations dedicated to support and research.
A different Camino, traveled backwards on the map, but with one of the ideas that best represents the spirit of the Jacobean routes: convert personal effort into something that can help others.
