Technology
People
Cycling 447km to celebrate SLB’s centennial, and for a cause
Published: 11/04/2026
Featured:
Steve
- Technology Center Sustaining Manager
France, United Kingdom
In early 2026, Steve, Center Sustaining Manager at SLB’s Stonehouse Technology Center, was cycling into work with a colleague when small talk turned to how they could celebrate SLB’s 100-year anniversary.
The idea took shape on the road: ride from France, the birth country of SLB, to Stonehouse, where they work today.
What could have stayed a passing thought instead grew fast. Steve wanted to share the challenge with colleagues from both sides of the Channel, and quickly, twenty-two colleagues signed up for the 447-kilometer route from Clamart to Stonehouse, and two others came forward to act as the riders’ logistical help from support vans.
Then they raised the stakes. Every kilometer would support Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)/Doctors Without Borders. For this team, commemorating SLB centennial milestone by tackling this challenge was not only to celebrate, but also a way to give back to communities around the world.
Travelling over four days, the team mapped out a route across sprawling countryside, passing landmarks such as the Palace of Versailles, the Schlumberger museum at Château de Crèvecoeur that celebrates SLB’s early story, and Stonehenge. The two colleagues in support vans handling the logistics along the way made the ride a team effort well beyond the saddle.
"Over four days we built friendships, shared challenges, supported one another and created memories that will last a long time. The camaraderie between colleagues from Clamart and Stonehouse was incredible and perfectly reflected the spirit of the event."
Coincidentally, their departure date coincided with our Clamart Tech Centers’ SLB centennial employee celebration. This meant that hundreds of colleagues were there to give the riders a fitting ‘bon voyage’. Four days later, colleagues at the Stonehouse Technology Center welcomed them with a celebration of their own.
It wasn’t an easy ride. The first puncture came just 1 kilometer from the start. Then one of the two support vans got a flat tire, leaving 22 bikes to fit into a single van built to fit 10 to get across the Channel. But, with a little engineering ingenuity and creative problem-solving, the group made it work.
Through donations from SLB colleagues, friends, and family, the team has raised over €13,000 for Médecins Sans Frontières, and donations are still coming in. The ride marked 100 years, but the impulse behind it runs deeper than any anniversary. It’s the testament of a shared purpose: people whose appetite for challenge serves the benefit of all.
