KOCHI: Fayiz Ashraf Ali rode his bicycle to the twenty-third nation on his list on October 12. In order to reach the aim of 35 countries, he now needs to cross a dozen more borders. Fayis (36), an engineer from Kozhikode, has returned home during the break for his follow-up visa. His bicycle is in Hamburg, Germany. From there, he has to travel to London.

So far, Fayis has covered 20,670 km out of the target of 30,000 km. The tour started from Thiruvananthapuram on 15th August 2022 and is expected to be completed next July.

During the journey, he went to several campuses and embassies with the message of peace, health, drug-free and carbon-free. He is riding an American model 'Furley' bicycle. It was assembled by his friend Abraham after bringing the parts from abroad. His wife Azmin and his children Farzeen and Isin gave him a heartfelt farewell.

Fayiz travels up to 175 kilometres a day. In foreign cities, he lives with kind-hearted people, whereas in villages, he erects a tent and stays there. He eats only bread, dried fruits, etc. during the camping. He has five pairs of clothes in the bag.

In 2019, he had crossed six countries and reached Singapore. He became confident of setting out for a longer journey after he covered a distance of 8000 km in 104 days. Fayis, who was working in Saudi Arabia, left work due to his father's treatment. After that, he remained idle for three years. He then bought a bicycle to overcome disappointment through travelling. In the meantime, he wanted to do something that would be marked in history. That is the motivation for his world travel.