By IANS,
Kuala Lumpur : David Munusamy Reddie, a Malaysian Indian grandfather, has given himself 65 days to cycle to Beijing for the Olympics.
Reddie, 56, embarked on a 4,400-km solo bicycle tour from his home at Taman Minamah at Butterworth, The Star newspaper said Thursday.
Reddie took to cycling after a heart bypass in 2003.
Going on a shoestring budget of RM50 ($15 approx) a day, Reddie estimated that it would take him 65 days to reach Beijing after boarding a train in Padang Besar to Bangkok.
From there, he would cycle another 20 days through Laos to get to the border town of Mengla in China.
“From Mengla, I will cycle for about 3,000 km to Beijing. I hope to complete this stretch in 45 days,” he said.
“I am excited about this,” he said before starting his journey.
Reddie said he would cycle an average of about 100 km daily and take a one-day break for every three days on the road.
“On each of my off days, I will do some sightseeing,” he said.
Apart from a spare tyre and three tubes, David has taken along with him a set of tools, a pillow and a blanket, a sleeping bag, medication, a camera, a map, a torchlight, a speedometer and some clothes, the newspaper said.
It announced that a day-to-day account of Reddie’s progress would be made known through a tourism web site.