KUALA TERENGGANU: They are neither Grumpy Old Men or guys who want to settle The Bucket List.
Instead, lecturer Sofian Mohd, 55, and two of his businessmen friends Datuk Mohd Kepli Ahmad, 62, and Harmy Yusuf, 45, just want to help promote Malaysian hospitality by cycling 30,000km in 485 days covering countries from Laos to Uzbekistan.
“We will cycle 80km a day for six days in a week. We want to spread the message of peace and harmony.
“We will play a role as ambassadors to promote Malaysia to the world,” said Sofian at the Class of 78 reunion at SMK Tengku Bariah on Saturday.
The three men are now training daily for their gruelling journey.
“We cycle at least 100km to get ourselves ready for the longest bicycle journey of our lifetime,” said Sofian, who is a father of two.
The journey will start on Aug 1 at SMK Tengku Bariah as the flag off venue.
They will head to Thailand followed by Laos, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Greece and other European countries before stopping in London to flyto Canada.
They will then continue their journey to New York, Florida, and Los Angeles before taking a flight to Tokyo.
From there they will continue their trip to South Korea, China and Vietnam before flying to Sabah where from where they will continue cycling to Brunei, Kuching before finally heading back to Kuala Terengganu.
Sofian said they would equip themselves with essential items such as a tent, stove and other tools. Each bike will weigh about 130kg.
As a child, he said, he used to cycle 15km to school.
“Kids these days are too pampered. They would not want to walk or cycle if the place is far,” he said.
“The word far did not exist in our vocabulary back then. No matter how far our school was, we would still walk or cycle,” he said, adding that they hoped to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Both his children were exposed to outdoor activities at a young age to toughen them up, he said.
Asked about his health secrets, Sofian said he did not keep to any special diet.
“Just stay active. You are what you eat. Do not eat to much. Everything has to be in moderation,” he said.-thestar
