Betty Moleya
Pretoria - Adam Nunn of the Pretoria Boys High School Old Boys Association has started an epic 45 000km cycling journey that will end in 2023.
His journey is to raise funds for ChildFund Rugby and various sports for development programmes supported by the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Although he is already on his way, the official starting point will be in Tokyo, where the Springboks won the 2019 World Cup. The end point will be at the 2023 showpiece in France.
“We now are doing some logistics in trying to find the safest and easiest way into Japan to start one of the two main events.
“It looks like we need to quarantine in Tanzania for two weeks and then fly into Japan for another 10 days hotel quarantine. Thereafter we will cycle from Tokyo to Auckland,” said Nunn.
The cycling journey will last for approximately 20 months, and they will cycle through countries on six continents.
“We left for the warm up on January 15 and would ultimately arrive at the opening game of the 2023 World Cup on September 8, 2023,” said Nunn.
The warm up trip was a 1 579km ride from Cape Town to Windhoek in Namibia.
On the long-distance journey he is to be accompanied by Ron Rutland, a seasoned adventurer, who has been cycling between world cup events since 2013.
“The warm-up from Cape Town to Namibia is being used to test our gear and give time for South East Asia to open up a little more, to have us embark on the proper campaign ’Race To Rugby World Cup 2021’,” said Nunn.
“That leg will see us cycle from Tokyo to Auckland, which will roughly be about 16 000km to 20 000km,” said Nunn.
Then, following that trip, the duo will be heading to Santiago and cycle up the Americas towards Paris for “Race To Rugby World Cup 2023”.
The estimated 20-month long trip is Nunn’s first adventure in cycling a long distance, but he is glad he is doing it now in his twenties.
“This is my first adventure like this. Most of the blogs and books you read, you see people having a mid-life crisis and only embarking on trips like this post their twenties. So I am grateful to be ’awakened’ and take the risk of taking on this trip,” he said.
In total, the duo will be cycling through around 41 countries as it stands. This includes Laos, Singapore, Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Paraguay, Belize, US, Iceland and the UK to name a few.
His reasons for embarking on this journey are not only to raise funds, but to enjoy his youth days and to take care of his mental health.
“Being stuck in the rat race could be my obvious and most simple answer. I thought while I am young and without too many responsibilities, agreeing to something like this is a no-brainer.
“I have done a stint in corporate South Africa, dabbled at a smaller business, but ultimately doing something crazy like this still sat on top of mind and the only thing stopping me was saying yes.
“Mental health is a real thing and the best way to overcome it, is to take control of your own life. Cycling around the world is my solution.”
Pretoria News