Finnish duo reach Singapore after cycling more than 245 days
A Finnish duo travelled more than 15,000 km from Finland to Singapore just on a bicycle.
Beginning their journey in June last year, they arrived here on Friday (17 Feb), traversing Europe, Central Asia, India, and Southeast Asia in the process.
The pair gained much attention after Valtteri Heinila, one of the two cyclists, shared a post on LinkedIn on Monday (20 Feb).
Mr Heinila undertook the journey with his buddy Alvaro Poikola, who had previously made a journey from Helsinki to France. They decided to challenge themselves further, and decided on Singapore as their next destination.
“Singapore seemed like a nice peninsula at the very end of continental Asia,” Heinila said in his post.
Writing about their motivation, he shared: “We wanted to break daily routines, to do some house cleaning of our minds, to slow time down, to rid ourselves of living for the future, to challenge ourselves both physically and mentally. And we did just that!"
The pair concluded their trip with a visit to the residence of the Finnish Ambassador Antti Vanska.
According to the Finnish Embassy’s Instagram post on Tuesday (21 Feb), Mr Heinila and Mr Poikola faced several difficulties along the way, including having to battle with dengue fever, suffering punctured tyres, and getting stranded on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Despite encountering these challenges, they said: “But when you see the mountains of Pakistan, and you feel like you´re living an adventurous lifestyle - that's what's most memorable.”
On a shared Instagram account, the duo revealed they will be producing a documentary on their journey upon their return to Finland.
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