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Dubai – A British cyclist, Paula Ralph, is set to pedal her way from the southernmost tip of South Africa to northern Norway in a bid to complete a record-breaking 20,000-kilometer journey.
During her trip, Ralph is looking forward to Africa in particular, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya as her top three top places.
United Araba Emirates reported that Dubai resident, Paula Ralph, had set herself the target of becoming the first female to cycle from Cape Point, in Cape Town, to Norway’s North Cape, in under 100 days.
The sports therapist, who specialised in pre-habilitation, is tackling the challenge after seeing a meme online showing someone walking thousands of kilometres on a single road.
Inspired by the distance, Ralph decided to set herself her own challenge and cycle a version of the route herself.
“I saw a meme talking about the longest walkable road in the world, from South Africa to Russia, and I said to a friend of mine it would be amazing to do, and they suggested cycling it instead of walking and I thought it was a good idea, so I went and bought a bike.
“I did amend the route slightly so I’m going to veer into Türkiye from Iraq, go up through Europe and finish in Norway,” she told Gulf News.
Ralph’s journey would see her, and her two-man support crew, travel through 19 different countries from start to finish.
Faced with hours alone on the bike, Ralph explained it was the thrill of the changing landscapes that she believed would keep her mind busy and the journey exciting.
“I am most looking forward to the different scenery to keep me from getting bored. I have learnt along the way that you have to go into things with a positive mindset.
“It is a case of having a laugh and a joke while seeing the whole world from bottom to top and letting my eyes feast on what I see. I am looking forward to Africa in particular. Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia are my three top places and Austria is going to be a real challenge because of the mountains.”
The trip, labelled The Long Ride C2C, is funded by sponsors who would also be providing nutritious snacks that Ralph would have with her on her bike throughout the journey, as she expected to burn anywhere between 700 to 1,500 calories a day and had already dropped 10kg in weight by training for the challenge.
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