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Going out to explore the world was not encouraged within the Pakistani community

Imran Mughal was the first British-Pakistani to cycle round the world. Over a delicious curry cooked by his mum, the proud Yorkshireman told me how going out to explore the world was not encouraged within the Pakistani community. But the decline in health of his dad was a wake-up call to Imran that good health is not a given, nor does it last for ever. That, combined with redundancy, spurred him into action.
Imran didn’t tell his family he was going to cycle round the world, only that “I’ll be gone for a few months, then I’ll be back…”!
The similarities and the differences between Imran’s story of cycling around the world and my own fascinated me.Going round the world, says Imran, is an education. It halts time. You learn more on a journey like that than you will in the rest of your life. A bicycle helped take Imran away from his problems, away from the challenges in the local area such as drugs and hanging around with a bad crowd. Nowadays Imran feels that all he needs in life is God, family and a bicycle…

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THIS PODCAST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY KOMOOT

Komoot is a route planning and navigation app that inspires and enables great outdoor experiences and you can see my ride’s route on komoot here.
Your very own outdoor experiences are waiting for you. Go explore more with komoot. Use the voucher code ADVENTUROUS to claim your free region maps bundle.
The personalised planning and navigation tools ensure you plan the adventure that’s perfect for you. Komoot is Europe’s number 1 outdoor app, with route planning and navigation functionality, and strong community-driven inspirational features in the form of recommended Highlights and inspirational route Collections. It is used by nearly 10 million adventurers worldwide. Komoot is becoming the app of choice for cyclists and hikers the world over, with rapid community growth in the UK, the US and other parts of Europe.

SHOW NOTES

  • If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a coffee here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
  • Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/more/subscribe
  • Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
  • Watch Imran’s videos on YouTube.
  • Imran thinks Yorkshire is the best place in the world to live, better even than California.
  • The solitude and peace of the mosque five times a day
  • The unification of cultures
  • We have so much on our doorstep that you don’t necessarily need to go on a massive global journey to experience great places.
  • You hear of people who have been to the other side of the world but have not experienced Cornwall or the North Coast 500 or the Lakes.
  • Britain is one of the best cultures of the world: The variety, the amalgamation of cultures and all the foods in Britain.
  • Redundancy committed him to action
  • The decline in health of his father was a wake-up call to Imran that good health is not a given, nor does it last for ever.
  • Going out to explore the world was not encouraged within the Pakistani community so this was an additional layer of ‘barrier’ that Imran faced
  • Imran didn’t tell his Mum he was going to cycle round the world, just “I’ll be gone for a few months, then I’ll be back…”!
  • “I had the intention to cycle round the world, but I didn’t believe that I would do it.”
  • Going round the world is an education. It halts time. You learn more in it than you will in the rest of your life.
  • When he got home everyone’s attitude had changed and they were very proud of what he had done.
  • Praying is like ‘hitting the reset button’
  • A bicycle helped take Imran away from his problems, away from the bad stuff in the area such as drugs and hanging around with a bad crowd.
  • God, family and a bicycle…

 

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