In his university days he left his bike aside and picked up a backpack where he traveled solo in Thailand for most of his holidays. There was this particular semester where he with great initiative declared some time off for himself to be on the road longer. He felt a little remorseful (really?) and sent a postcard to his project supervisor.

In 2000, Alex together with Isobel Cook (British) cycled the Friendship Highway. The 950km mountain road (also known as The Longest Downhill In The World) links Tibet to Nepal. He remembers his body freezing up under the snow on the highest pass, Gyatsola (5220m). The 2 of them were taken in by a pair of nomads that night.

To push his limits further, Alex subsequently cycled Vietnam solo for 3weeks in 2002. He remembers the 71km of mud, potholes, incessant honking of cars and rain that led him into the ancient city of Hue, Vietnam. Checking into a hotel to the music of “Two less lonely people in the world” by Air Supply, he thought of his lonely bike and himself and told himself to reconsider solo cycling.

All to no avail as he stubbornly went solo riding in Laos for 10days in 2002. He has always been self supported without any backup vehicles or helpers and intends to keep it that way.

Alex was working at the Pasir Ris and East Coast Sea Sports Club for almost 3 years before leaving in March 2003 to achieve his London-NZ dream. He smiles too much for people not to call him crazy.

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Johann Annuar, 29, is an old hand at expeditions, being the Communications Officer of the 1st Singapore Mt Everest Expedition in 1998 with their communications needs. He is a 10-year veteran of multi-day cycling trips (he brought Alex out on his first one back in 1994, and fondly remembers Alex huffing and puffing on the hillclimbs) and was on one of his own on the west coast of the United States when he was rudely interrupted to join Alex on this expedition ?

Johann is a Partner in a Video Production and IT consultancy firm and brings with him not only the vitality and drive of an adventurer high on life, but also his contacts and abilities in the media and publicity aspect of the expedition. He was the Technical Producer of Singapore’s first digital movie back in 2000 and has appeared countlessly on television and radio (admittedly on game shows and sitcoms as much as on interviews) and has had his own article published in The New Paper.

An emulation of the new, gung-ho Singaporean, Johann is an avid outdoorsman who rockclimbs regularly and mountain climbs on occasion, but is a technogeek to whom all his friends look to for advice on electronic products from computers to digital video cameras. He designs websites on occasion and likes to think he’s a mean pool player. Not.

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A: Zero. Nada. Zip. Kosong. The whole point of our trip, washed away in a sea of apathy. So sad.

A: Yup. As far as humanly, environmentally, and politically possible. Some countries buay song with other countries so they close their borders, some high mountains may be too inhospitable to pass in the winter... But we hope to self-power our bicycles all the way home. Then its on to Indonesia, Australia and NZ, but those will take a bit of ferry and airplane-hopping.

Q: how did you send all your emails when you are travelling in the remote parts of Turkey? Do you have a satellite connection or something?

A: The world isnt as backward as our romantic ideals seem to imagine. In the small towns the 5yr old kids play counterstrike. Net cafes are everywhere, albeit with telephone lines apparently made from candy floss and 20 pple sharing the 56k connection that is more unstable than a woman on bad PMS...

Of course we don't get connection when we're on the road, or in the desert, or camping... But when in a half-decent town (there's one every hundred km or so) we log in. I think the only place we'll have problems with the 'net will be southern China and maybe parts of Laos.

Q: If you're sleeping in a cave, then what's the tent for??

A: Bugs. 'nuff sed.

Q: Are you crazy?

A: Yes.

Q: Does your butt hurt?

A: Yes.