Ultra cyclist pushes south aiming for Norway to Cape Town cycling record, fighting food poisoning, logistical nightmares and climates
- Jonas Deichmann is in Kenya, on track to smash the 105-day record as they aim for a 75-day target
With the endless sands of the Sahara simmering and shimmering on the immediate horizon, the German ultra cyclist Jonas Deichmann, 31, pedals his way slowly but surely through a severe bout of food poisoning in Egypt and on towards their epic transcontinental record-breaking goal. He began the adventure with and Philipp Hympendahl, 51, but in Egypt, he was in no state to continue due the food poisoning and left Deichmann to push on alone.
The pair set off on September 6 from Nordkapp at the northern tip of Norway on an 18,000km self-supported ride to Cape Town in South Africa. Their aim is to complete the journey in 75 days and shatter the record of 102 days, set in 2013 by Reza Pakravan and Steven Pawley.
Their route takes them through Norway and Russia to Iran, and then through Egypt, Sudan and the wilds of eastern and southern Africa, ending in Cape Town. They expect to pass through 15 countries. Deichmann is now in Kenya and well on target to take the record despite encountering civil unrest and food poisoning along the way.
Logistics, however, are among the biggest challenges.
“It was a logistical nightmare and it took us months to get all of the visas. We had to make a last-minute route change as we couldn’t get an Iraq visa,” Deichmann said.
