Hot, dry weather is Khairil Aslan's challenge of solo ride

The hot, dry weather faced by Khairil Aslan Ab Rasid - Malaysia's's solo mountaineer who conquered three Himalayan peaks during winter in 2015 - in his solo bicycle ride, 'Dari Masjid Ku Menjelajah' was a challenge on the 28th day of his tour Friday.

The 42-year-old who continued the ride from the Melaka Chinese Mosque in Krubong, Melaka to the Masjid Kariah Bagan Pinang here - a distance of 76.5km - said other than the weather, the hilly and narrow roads were also among the challenges he had to encounter.

"The southern coastal area is hot and extremely dry compared to the east coast areas (Kelantan) which, despite being dry, still have some humidity. In addition, the old road to Port Dickson too, is narrow and I had to be more alert.

"In addition, I have not experienced rain for 25 days except on the Tanjung Piai - Muar (Johor) route and from Muar to Melaka, where I rode in the rain...there is no rain today," he told Bernama on Friday.

He said in the 28 days on the road, the Tanjung Piai - Muar route was his longest in the expedition, involving a distance of 175.3km.

"I have pedalled 2,700km to date, and it is important for me to test my maximum mental strength in rather extreme weather.

"Mental strength plays an important role because in order to achieve anything, we must be mentally strong..many are incapable..but to me, regardless of what I want to do, mental strength must be there for us to achieve something extraordinary," he said.

In the meantime, the Perak-born who is keen on extreme sports said he had also almost completed reading the Quran on the tour.

"When I rest, I read the Quran (with the interpretations) ..I'll complete reading the whole Quran in three days," he said, adding that he had stopped by at almost 200 mosques during the expedition.

In the meantime, he also visited the Bagan Pinang Community-Based Rehabilitation Centre (PDK) Permata Hati which had 19 trainees.

Khairil Aslan is scheduled to ride from Bagan Pinang to Sepang, Selangor on Saturday before ending his trip in Bangi, Selangor on Sunday.

The accomplished mountaineer has conquered three Himalaya peaks, namely, Maru Peak, Lobuche and Island in 32 days from Nov 26, 2015.

He also created a record as among Asia's solo climbers who scaled the three peaks in winter. - Bernama