KUALA LUMPUR – It is a story of perseverance and determination, one that saw a private tuition teacher pulling off a massive feat of charity by cycling from Kuala Lumpur to the border of China in 39 days.
Avid bicyclist Pepper Lim rode through far-reaching Indochinese routes, completing a 3,800km journey across Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
The book writer pedalled far and wide on unknown trails with a heartwarming objective – to raise funds for the disabled community in Malaysia.
Sharing his experience with The Vibes on the first day of Chinese New Year, the author of four books said that it was a gruelling encounter and yet rewarding.
“Cycling for the cause to help the less fortunate in Malaysia – I can’t describe how I feel that I was able to finish it,” he said.
“The original target was to complete the mission in 60 days and I finished it in 39 days. It was indeed a surprise, for myself and everyone.
“The journey has been amazing. But it was a daunting task, a journey that I won’t forget. Cycling such a long distance is no joke as I had to overcome difficulties and challenges every day,” he reflected.
Armed with a seven-speed e-bike powered by 10,000mAh battery with 48 watts output, he had embarked the charity mission with a grand send-off by the Lions Club in front of the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on the afternoon of December 6 last year.
Lim stated that the mileage recorded was extensive with no specific routes planned in advance to navigate the five countries. He battled unpredictable terrain, sunburn, strong winds and stormy weather, among others.
Using a GPS smartphone and earbuds, he tracked the rural routes, old trunk roads, highways and town roads of the five nations using Google Maps.
Retrieving the mileage recorded on the travel app, the 55-year-old bicyclist reached the border entry points of Bukit Kayu Hitam (Malaysia-Thailand), Poi Pet (Thailand-Cambodia), Nong Nok Khiene (Cambodia-Laos), Nam Phao (Laos-Vietnam), and Lang Son (Vietnam-China).
“I set the app by using motorcycle and off-tolled highway mode,” he said.
“I pedalled between eight and ten hours a day. Started the day cycling at around 8am, occasionally stopping for brunch or lunch, and occasionally by 3pm or 4pm I would start looking for budget hotels.”
“For most of the accommodations I didn’t make a reservation because I had no idea where I would take a rest at the end of the day.”
Times of uncertainty, friendly strangers
After a tough day, Lim stressed, having a good rest and proper meals were key to productive and energetic days.
“Before I go to sleep at around 8pm, I will recharge the e-bicycle, two phones, camera and other devices. That is after I had an early dinner depending on availability of food outlets.
“But sometimes there were no eateries open in some quiet little town. So I had to rely on breads and titbits that I purchased from convenience stores along the way.
"I woke up normally at 4am but there were also some nights that I was wide awake at 1am or 2am and I couldn’t get back to sleep.”
At times, due to the lack of eateries, “I had to settle for a soda drink and bread for breakfast.”
Some of the most challenging times were when he did not know where he was and was unsure when the next proper meal would be.
He said that he applied a strict diet regime to avoid unnecessary medical conditions as he refused to take curry or chilli as part of a meal.
At the end of each day of the Indochina adventure, Lim always made it a point to post the daily journal on social media and personal blog to update his condition and whereabouts.
He narrated a story when he met a lady in hijab at a petrol station in Phnom Penh. "So, I greeted her with 'Assalamualaikum',” he said.
“Later, a man got out of a car and introduced himself as the imam of a mosque and he spoke to me in Malay and he thought I was a Muslim.
“The imam could see where I am from by looking at the Malaysia flag pasted on the front bag of my bicycle. Then, he invited me to hang out with him at the mosque nearby.”
One notable thing that Lim noticed was the broad-mindedness and tolerance shown by motorists in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.
“They include heavy vehicle drivers who always provide space to cyclists and motorcyclists – so much respect from them, better than road users in Malaysia.”
Harrowing experiences
Pepper Lim recounted the painful experience of overcoming backaches during the 3,800km solo ride.
“My butt hurts from sitting on the saddle seat,” said Lim. “Even though I had installed the biggest bicycle seat I could find before I started the long trip, my butt still hurt after eight to ten hours of cycling daily.”
“My legs and shoulders were sore at the end of every day pedalling. The end of my backbone also hurts from sitting such long hours. It still hurts today. However, I am confident it will heal over time. For now, I have to sit crookedly.”
Depending on the weather and road condition, Pepper travelled between 90km and 120km in a day.
He recalled cycling near Bangkok when he overshot the route by 10km.
“There was horrendous traffic which I couldn’t even sneak in between the cars and trucks. So I decided to stop and look for alternatives.”
Also, he cannot forget the nerve-wrecking moment 7km away from the border of China.
“There were dark clouds but the weather forecast said (there would be) only a 25% chance of rain. There was a strong wind blowing which made it hard and my fingers cold. I faced that a couple of times while cycling against strong wind and dusty roads, especially on gravel.
“On one occasion, because of the strong wind, all of a sudden I was in the path of an oncoming car. For nano-second, I thought that was it, eyes wide open facing head-on with a car. But fortunately, the oncoming car swerved and nothing happened.
Asked about the pedalling and cruising using the battery-powered on the tarmac and gravel paths, he said: “To conserve battery, I applied 60% pedalling and 40% on battery.”
“I think the toughest terrain was in Cambodia. I had to push the bicycle on foot as the mountainous road was too steep to climb even after I attempted using the electric mode.”
Remarkably, Lim did not encounter major tyre issues along the way except for one occasion, “perhaps because I used a smart tube sealant in my 28-inch tyre.”
“Once, I faced some problem with the rear derailleur gears of the e-bike and I managed to work it out with the bicycle mechanic in a small town in Cambodia despite the language barrier.”
Other than the language difficulties with the locals, Lim said that he utilised the translating app, “but it was still insufficient.”
He also recalled the difficulty in using cash since there were not many towns or businesses that used cashless.
“So I had to withdraw cash from ATMs in some small towns and sometimes it was also not sufficient because of the currency exchange and the volume of cash per withdrawal compared to Ringgit.”
Inspired by disabled community facing adversity
The idea of a long journey to China, Lim recalled, was mooted during the drab pandemic period three years ago.
“At the height of Covid-19 when everyone was locked up at home, I began to plan this ambitious cycling journey to China for charity and I made a calculation for the cost of the journey and the time it would take.”
Then he approached several companies to fund the journey and found one potential sponsor.
“Unfortunately, the company had a change of direction and could not sponsor me at the eleventh hour with the scheduled flag-off being four-day away! I was really in a lurch.”
“The Lions Club came to my rescue and donated a small amount that would get me across the border into Cambodia, I reckon.
“At that point of time, I decided that I would cycle as far as the money would last and then come home. Later a friend of mine, Dev, suggested that I approach a few friends for support,” he said.
After thinking about it deeply, Lim decided to proceed since the trip was for charity.
“Many friends stepped forward and helped me with RM100 each but it was still not enough to reach the China border. At that point of time, I planned to stick to my plan of coming home when the money ran out.”
Asked if he ever felt like giving up while enduring the lower back pain, he said: “I’d be lying if I say that quitting and packing halfway never entered my mind.”
“But whatever it is, it cannot be compared with the adversity of the disabled community. So I kept pedalling, thinking of the next pit stop where I could take a rest.”
Despite the difficulties before starting the journey in KL and sustaining pain while cycling across the countries, his motivation of helping the disabled in building their lives remained at the back of his head.
“The disabled community needs training for better jobs, wheelchairs including for senior citizens, seed funding to start an enterprise and assistance for their medical needs.
“After giving some thought, besides the contribution I received for the journey, I decided that I would dip into my own savings to complete the goal of reaching China.”
“I think I would regret it if I did not do it and complete the cycling,” said the writer of four books, with the first being a motivational one, followed by one for children, a comic book, and one on cycling.
Prior to the Indochina trip, the tutor already had some mileage in the bag.
He had clocked 1,100km travelling to all states in Peninsular Malaysia for 11 days in March last year.
Appreciation to well-wishers, Lions Club
Lim started cycling on a regular basis six years ago. “At first, I took up cycling and joined some friends during the weekend’s leisure trip to Batu Arang, Tasik Biru, Sungai Buloh and few other places in Selangor and it’s been enjoyable cycling on ‘kampung’ roads or trunk roads.”
After a long stint in the corporate scene as a general manager of sales and marketing and was laid off during the economic downturn in 2008, he took the opportunity to become a private tutor for Mathematics and Science for primary and secondary school students.
“I had to make ends meet by becoming a private tutor and since then I haven’t looked back,” he said, adding that the recent school holiday period was the right opportunity for him to cycle to China.
He reached Lang Son, a town on the Vietnam-China border on January 13. Despite his mission to reach China, Lim could not make the country as the sixth nation stamped on his passport in his long cycling journey.
“It was due to the Covid-19 situation in China and so I decided not to enter China. If I did that, it would have been another level of complexity since I did not want to go through quarantine and all the hassle.”
Lim returned home the next day and expressed appreciation to the well-wishers who donated to the disabled fund and supported his cycling adventure to China.
“If you have donated to the charity or supported me, thank you from the bottom of my heart. The Lions Club had decided to continue the fundraising till the end of March. Hopefully, we will collect a sizable amount,” said the resident of SS2 Petaling Jaya.
He has still yet to decide on his next cycling tour.
“Maybe I will think about it after I recover fully. For now, I still can’t forget the beautiful places that I saw along the way.
“Perhaps, I can visit those places for sightseeing in the future with my family since I didn’t have the luxury to do it while cycling to China because I was on a charity mission for the disabled,” he added. – The Vibes, January 24, 2023
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