An Inspiration: Man Bikes From London To Lagos, Nigeria To Raise Money For Polio
Kunle Adeyanju is an inspiration to us, reminding us that you can do whatever you put your mind to. He just successfully rode from London to Lagos, Nigeria, on a motorcycle.
His 8,000-mile journey through 11 countries and 31 cities took 41 days.
RELATED: How To Spend A Day In Black-Owned London
Adeyanju is quite the adventurer with a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro under his belt. He also completed a bike ride to Accra from Lagos in just three days.
But the ride from London is doing more than challenging his physical and mental abilities. He’s raising money to eradicate polio – something personal to him.
“As a boy, my best friend had polio. When we go swimming or play football, he could do none of those things,” he tells CNN. “Sadly, my friend passed away some years back. If he hadn’t had polio, he probably would still be alive today.”
A Turbulent Journey
Adeyanju says the journey was anything but easy. There were moments he didn’t think he would make it out alive such as biking through Morocco’s Tizi n’Tichka pass.
It’s regarded as the most dangerous road in Africa,” he says through the journey to the Atlas Mountain’s summit. “It’s packed with adrenaline and it’s a road where you take your eyes off the road for one second, or you can go into the ravine.”
Another scary moment? Biking through parts of The Sahara.
“The Sahara on the Moroccan side is totally different from the Sahara in Mauritania. On the Moroccan side, it is extremely windy. I experienced a sandstorm twice, which lasted for about 30 to 40 minutes,” he says.
Then, after surviving two sandstorms, he almost ran out of water.
“Some guys were doing a desert Safari. I drove to them, and I couldn’t speak… my speech was slurred […] The guy just said, ‘don’t talk, don’t talk.’ Then he went into his car and gave me two 1.5 liter bottles of water. If I didn’t see those guys, I don’t know whether I will be here today,” he says.
Adeyanju is the president-elect for the Rotary Club of the Ikoyi metro. He’s raising money for polio through the organization, according to his GoFundMe.
