"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going"
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 10, 2014: What makes one wonder is that 29 year old Dr.Stevey Gonzales, a doctor working at the Thomas Hospital opposite the Parliament House of England, with a good, comfortable and secure life, left aside all his enjoyable assets to follow his heart in search of adventure and new challenges.

He has already toured almost 52 countries on a bicycle.

It's is no mean feat in today's fast packed world of jets and bullet trains where speed counts and time is money.

Somebody may call him nuts but we can hardly deny his extraordinary philosophy of optimism amidst materialistic criticism.

He symbolises endurance, faith, perseverance, optimism, mental strength and undying passion in every way.

He has the stamina to withstand the burning heat of Africa as well as the winter bite of minus 20 degrees of the Alps.

Having covered a total distance of 65000 km (1 & � times the world) and around 6 continents viz: Africa, Middle East, Europe, N America, S America and Australia on a gear cycle, he is lost, exhausted, lonely but nothing can stop him from still paddling.

It was not an easy decision when he left for his 'mission impossible' in the cold English winter of January 2010 but today, after 4 years of self exile, when he made it and learnt a bit about different parts of the world, he exclaimed with humour that he has no regrets.

The accessories he always carried along his lone journey included a tent, clothes, cooking stuffs, tool kit, medicine kit, books and ipods.

He had experienced the most bizarre circumstance when he had to paddle on the salt flakes in Bolivia on a full moon night.

He called it as one unforgettable moment in his whole life.

It was really a devastating situation in Syria when Stevey had to take a break from his current mission and rush back to England due to a 2cm broken left knee fracture.

Stucked up with the big problem, he used his presence of mind and presented himself as a volcano victim in order to get people's help and financial assistance.

During his Africa trip with his friend Leonne, he used to crawl under the roads to survive the unkind harsh scorching heat of the Sahara Desert.

"The evening time was a relief as the weather was pleasant", he narrated.

He found his journey tougher in Ethiopia where the landscape consisted of big mountains but seeing the big smiles of the children having fun and full of surprises calmed him.

The philosophy for Dr Stevey is when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

When there was no more road, it was the locals who helped him locate the map.

Situation sometimes got so critical for him when he came across the signboard which read Beware of Animals in Botswana.

He tried to immune himself with a strong mental power and conscience when lions were roaring about 50 miles from the forest or when spider and cobra attacked him inside his tent.

Things got so critical in Namibia when he passed by deadly boards like Trespassers will be shot and survivors will be shot again.

It was grit, courage and the never-say-die mental attitude of Stevey which made him survive and continue cycling against all odds on the way.

It was the amazing generosity of the people of Capetown who finally convinced him that it was the end of Africa.

At last , he felt the hard part was over.

In an awareness campaign recently organised by Pedal Atttack Associaton, Manipur at Maria Montessori School, Koirengei on the 8th August,2014 we got a rare chance to meet this amazing personality.

Lean and muscular built, he released an aura of infinite dynamism and energy.

He did not resemble Arnold Schwargenezer or Carl Lewis as we had earlier presumed.

When his narration of the world trip via power point presentations was over, we got into tete-a-tete with him.

In an exclusive interview with the Sangai Express, he told us that the main motive behind his mission was to get up-close and personal with nature and part of the landscape.

Tavelling the countries by cycle gave him a chance to learn and interact with new people face-to-face .

" I love the challenges, the adventure battling slowly and moving slowly above the big mountains of Andes(about 5200 km above sea level ),paddling along the salt flakes in Bolivia and Alaska in the summer time", he further added with a mischievious grin on his face.

He smiled calmly saying that cycling around the world is a big adventure setting that pushes all the boundaries and propels him to try difficult and different things.

He exclaimed with full of energy, "You can tell your family, friends and everyone that you are ambitious, excited and ready to know people and get their help." When he was confronted with financial constraints, he used every available resource left to him like-contributing to adventure travel magazines in Mexico, ppts in USA and Australia, selling photography, buy me some noddles website and of crowd funding and public donations.

Steve(33) reliving his adventure, said that it was sheer passion and optimism that motivated him to cross all boundaries and sail the world on a cycle surviving all odds.

Being in medicine profession himself, he wanted to convey the youths of Manipur that cycling is good for a better environment as it helps reduce loading of traffic and saves fuel cost apart from the health benefits like reducing the risks of cardio-vascular diseases, arthritis and diabetes.

Supporting Steve's mission, Vice-President of Pedal Attack Association, Manipur Rajeev told us that it was a great pleasure for him organising such campaign and has more plans in future.

The man and his machine, Dr.Stevey Gonzales has redefined the worth and application of cycle in this world is a global village age - too amazing and too shocking to believe, is n't it? Hard to take it but it is true! Where there is a will, there is a way.

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