Peter Yoong, 56, wants to cycle solo around the world and raise RM80,000 for the World Vision Malaysia Education Fund for children. Photo: Peter Yoong
AVID cyclist Peter Yoong wants to cycle solo around the world – a journey charting 30,000km – in two years. The 56-year-old is self-funding his ride on a budget of RM40,000.
In his cycling tour, he also wants to raise RM80,000 for the World Vision Malaysia Education Fund for local underprivileged children. He hopes the money raised can be used for the purchase of books or to build new schools in remote areas.
Founded in 1950, World Vision works with children and families to overcome extreme poverty and injustice and it has helped more than 100 million people globally.
Yoong will start his tour in December and hopes to complete it by the same month of 2019. The world cycling tour will be in four stages.
Stage 1 (covering 6,500km) is from Kuala Lumpur to Thailand, Myanmar, India and Nepal, ending back at Amritsar, India.
In Stage 2, Yoong will ride through Pakistan into China (via the Karakoram highway) before heading to Pamir, Tajikistan. He will cycle through central Asia then Europe before ending his tour in Britain after a journey of 10,500km.
Stage 3 – a 4,000km route – will begin from Vermont across the United States and end in Seattle.
Last but not least, there’s Stage 4, which covers over 8,000km.
“I will fly to Tokyo, Japan and make my way to Fukuoka, take a ferry to Busan, South Korea and another ferry from Incheon to Tianjin, China. I will visit Beijing before hopping on a train to Xian, from which I will cycle my way to Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and finally back to Malaysia,” said Yoong.
According to Yoong, embarking on a solo world cycling tour would be “difficult” 10 years ago but “not a big deal” nowadays.
“With digital maps, easy access to travel information and mobile devices, we can literally sail through any foreign land without much problem,” he explained.
“I have done my homework and a trial run, and I have set my heart towards this moment for some time now. The time has come and it’s do or die. I learned from many experienced cyclists and I believe I have what it takes to do this tour,” enthused Yoong.
To save costs, he will be camping along the way and hosted by members of Warmshowers (online hosting organisation). He will also perform chores (via HelpX) in exchange for food and accommodation. He has also worked out several fundraising methods:
> Donate by kilometer (e.g. 1km = RM1/US$1)
Individual and corporate sponsors commit to donate a fixed amount per kilometer cycled. If you commit for the whole two-year journey, your corporate branding will be added to Yoong’s bicycle gear and featured in his presentations during the charity world tour.
> Ride with Yoong
Individuals or cycling groups are welcomed to join Yoong for a short period of time (up to a week) during his charity world tour. The individual can contribute a sum to World Vision Malaysia for each day of cycling. All meals, accommodation and flights will be at their own expense.
> Bicycle touring workshops
Yoong will be giving talks to schools or corporate companies about his world tour titled With Love I Ride. For individuals and corporate groups interested to learn more about bicycle touring, workshops can be organised. A small fee will be collected.
For more details, contact World Vision Malaysia at 03-7880 6414.
