London to Lagos: Kunle Adeyanju nearly died in the Sahara Desert on his bike ride

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) — Kunle Adeyanju is a self-confessed daredevil who has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro twice and cycled from Lagos to Accra over three days.

However it’s his newest journey that’s making a buzz after he efficiently accomplished a motorbike experience from London to Lagos.

The journey took 41 days as he traveled 13,000 kilometers (8,080 miles) by 11 nations and 31 cities.

“Polio is a private factor for me… as a boy, my finest buddy had polio and after we go swimming or play soccer, he might do none of these issues.. Sadly, my buddy handed away some years again. If he hadn’t had polio, he most likely will nonetheless be alive right now.”

The World Well being Group declared Nigeria free of untamed polio virus in 2020, however there are nonetheless some vaccine-derived circumstances within the nation.

Hair-raising moments

Adeyanju’s dizzying experience by among the world’s hardest terrains led to a couple hair-raising moments in Morocco, he instructed CNN.

“The expertise of driving the Tizi n’Tichka move, that is the trail that take you to the summit of the Atlas mountain. It is considered probably the most harmful highway in Africa. It is filled with adrenaline and it is a highway the place you are taking your eyes off the highway for one second or you possibly can go into the ravine…

“It takes about an hour half-hour to experience a mountain move. And I can inform you, it is without doubt one of the most troublesome one hour half-hour of my life.”

“However you understand, after going by all that strain, whenever you get to the height of the Atlas mountain… the reward of the view is greater than all of the strain you’ve got gone by to get there.”

After the fun of driving by the mountains, Adeyanju headed for the Sahara Desert, an expertise he says he was dreading due to the intense warmth.

“There was a time I checked the temperature once I was on the Mauritanian facet of the Sahara and the tarmac was 53 levels Celsius (127 F). I used to be pushing my bike at 150 kph and it was an accident ready to occur,” he mentioned.

Using 1,000 kilometers per day, it took him seven days to cross the desert.

“The Sahara is an unfriendly surroundings,” he mentioned. “It isn’t designed to help life. The Sahara is there to kill you. It would not forgive. You make a mistake and it’s possible you’ll not come again.”

Throughout what was the hardest stretch of the journey he skilled two sandstorms and almost ran out of water, Adeyanju mentioned.

“The Sahara on the Moroccan facet is completely completely different from the Sahara in Mauritania. On the Moroccan facet this can be very windy. I skilled a sandstorm twice which lasted for about 30 to 40 minutes. I needed to lay the bike down and lie face down for half-hour till the storm handed,” he recalled.

Kunle Adeyanju (C) arrives on the Ikeja Rotary membership in Lagos on Could 29, 2022, after a 41 day journey from London, by motorcycle, to lift funds and consciousness for the Finish Polio marketing campaign.

BENSON IBEABUCHI/AFP through Getty Pictures

After surviving the storms, he mentioned he almost did not make it out alive as a result of he ran out of water.

“I acquired carried away and I used to be ingesting as I used to be drained and by the point I noticed I had just one liter left in my hydration pack and I had round 450 kilometers nonetheless to go.”

Dehydrated, disorientated and compelled to experience slowly, he all of the sudden noticed a Land Rover parked within the desert.

“Nature spoke for me,” he mentioned. “Some guys had been doing a desert Safari. I drove to them and I could not converse… my speech was slurred… The man simply mentioned ‘do not speak, do not speak’. Then he went into his automobile and gave me two 1.5 liter bottles of water. If I did not see these guys, I do not know whether or not I will probably be right here right now.”

Adeyanju additionally skilled a number of spooky moments within the desert, when he all of the sudden began listening to voices, though nobody was round him — a phenomenon wherein atmospheric situations within the arid terrain can carry sound over lengthy distances.

“It brings the voice sound waves clearly to you… and also you hear voices throughout,” he mentioned. “Many individuals suppose it’s spirits nevertheless it’s simply science,” he added.

Rethinking Africa

Documenting his travels on social media, Adeyanju attracted many followers and well-wishers together with Rotary membership members and others from the biking group. He additionally picked up a number of high-profile followers, together with the prime minister of Mali, Choguel Kokalla Maiga, who requested to have a gathering with him, he mentioned.

Adeyanju, who has visited 75 nations, says probably the most stunning factor about his adventures was making an surprising discovery about Africa.

“Earlier than happening this experience, I learn lots in regards to the CIA World factbook on the nations I used to be going to journey to. For instance I knocked Burkina Faso off my journey due to what I examine Burkina Faso, however the second I stepped my foot on the African continent… I can inform you every part I learn in regards to the African individuals or the African nation is fake, he mentioned.

“Africa is gorgeous. It’s a land of range. It is a land of hospitality and individuals are pleasant and good… It was an enormous eye-opener for me to say that now we have been underselling Africa… and we have been we have not been saying the precise issues about ourselves. That is why I’ve launched a marketing campaign referred to as ‘Assume Africa.’ My subsequent trip, all of the issues I need to do is in Africa. There’s a lot to find on this continent.”

Prime picture credit score: BENSON IBEABUCHI/AFP through Getty Pictures