Man Braves Chilly Weather Conditions To Cycle From London To Malaysia

BUKIT KAYU HITAM (Kedah, Malaysia), Dec 1 (Bernama) -- A normal flight from London to Kuala Lumpur takes about 16 odd hours but a German-Malaysian Institute graduate took 16 odd months to reach Malaysia from London - because he had decided to cycle the distance of 29,000 km. Muhammad Adib Mohamad Ali, 26, started his journey from London on Aug 1, 2014 with five friends and encountered various obstacles like weather, unfamiliar road terrains, geographical chances and logistics. According to Muhammad Adib, throughout his journey that covered 25 countries, including England, France, Belgium, Bosnia, Turkey, Italy, Russia, Vietnam and Thailand, he and his friends faced various challenges. The salesman (textile), said his most challenging moment was in Turkey when he nearly suffered frostbite (hand) due to the extremely cold weather conditions in Turkey. "Despite wearing winter cloths, my fingers were almost damaged by frostbite. Fortunately, every country that we passed through, there were people to help in providing food and place to sleep. "Most of them who did us such favours had been to Malaysia and enjoyed the hospitality of Malaysians," he said when met at the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration, Customs and Quarantine Complex (ICQ), Tuesday. Muhammad Adib from Masai, Johor said he cycled about 50km a day to arrive at the stopover spots that he had pre-planned. Second in a family of four siblings, Muhammad Adib said he had to trade his mountain bike that he had used to ride from London to Germany since it was not suitable for long distance and endurance. "I was offered a 50 percent discount to buy a touring bicycle to continue my treacherous journey from Germany. Fortunately, throughout the journey I only experienced a burst tyre once," he said. He said along the way, he was also able to collect US$331 (RM1,400) as donations for the children of Syria and had handed his collection to the responsible people. "Thank GOD, my family gave me a lot of encouragement and support. I always kept in touch through WhatsApp and Skype," he said. Muhammad Adib who had also set out on an expedition around Asian countries in 2013 said he would challenge himself to a destination that would be further than what he had accomplished now. Bukit Kayu Hitam is Kedah's main border town on the Malaysia-Thailand Border. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA