It’s official, Manivelle will take part in the Concours de Machines 2022, which will take place from June 23 to 26 in Roubaix. We are very happy to introduce you to our pilot, Caroline Klein, interviewed and taken in portrait a few days ago by Silvin.
“Can you start by introducing yourself? (as you wish and as much as you wish)
My name is Caroline, I’m 29, I’m a carpenter.
Sensitive to local issues, I seek to invest in a constructive way of thinking adapted to our local, human and material resources. With Gris Bois, the company that I created with Guillaume Colinmaire, we practice a form of participatory architecture, the social analysis of the place of intervention and its resources being essential for us in order to think and bring about a synergy between object, use and locality.
I am therefore a craftswoman, convinced of the value and meaning that tailor-made craftsmanship brings. And then, it turns out that I am passionate about cycling. A rather ideal combination to knock on the door of your workshop!
When and how did you start using a bicycle?
I don’t really know, I learned very quickly how to use a bicycle, but my real passion showed up during a bicycle trip with a friend, who one day challenged me to help her move by bike. So we crossed France, from Strasbourg to Montpellier. At the time I had bought a very basic bike to do this trip and on returning I decided to ride my first touring bike.
It seems to me that you have practiced bike polo a lot. Can you tell us more about what this sport has brought you?
I started bike polo right after my cycling trip, I was in a phase where I wanted to learn everything about cycling and about the people who formed a community through different practices. I found the polo great because it combines sport, team spirit, technique, resourcefulness, and good humor. Moreover, in Strasbourg, many of my friends practiced this sport, so I started with them.
You have more recently immersed yourself in bikepacking, how did it come to you? Can you tell us about an adventure that comes to your mind?
I’m really passionate about temporality, mainly through travel and roaming. I find that the bike, in addition to being a responsible means of transport, allows me to move forward while keeping the possibility of contemplating.
Thus, I can feel a little more poetic, meditate while watching the landscape scroll by, and feel biologically in tune with what surrounds me. It’s really a concept that has followed me since this first crossing of France.
I then continued my adventures in the Vosges, Ardèche, etc.. The bike accompanies me to move when I travel but also for all daily activities. The autonomy that bikepacking gives me, with all the equipment I can carry, is just great!
We are ready to go a long way together, by embarking on this 2022 Machine Competition. Why did the idea of this project motivate you at the start, and why, now that it is precise, still motivates you?
I am super motivated by the idea of living this human experience rocked by our common values, in particular our relationship to craftsmanship and cycling. Besides, I’ve always loved watching the bikes in the Concours des Machines. I feel so honored to be here with you now for this bike. “
Would you like to learn more about the specifications of the CDM22? It’s this way!
