TWO CYCLISTS from Redditch are embarking on an around the world ride to raise awareness of men’s mental health and maintain their own.
Steven McGrady, aged 40, and Cameron Walker, aged 36, are part of ‘Off the Chain’ and plan to cycle to Japan, visiting 27 different countries on their ride which will take between six and eight years.
The pair struggled with their own mental health, were sick of the daily routine and were – in their words: ‘working all hours, just to be skint at the weekend’.
Steven said: “I was working 10-hour shifts to pay for a house I was not even in as I seemed to be working all the time.
“We were both tired of the sinking feelings we found around every corner.
“So we sat down and decided there had to be more to life.”
Their mental health was being massively impacted but, Steven added: “We were strong-minded enough to say ‘let’s just change the life we live instead of leaving it’.
“One night I came up with the plan to give everything up, sell all the stuff I had and and backpack the world, with no money in our pockets.
“I put the plan to Cam who then added nice touches, like the idea of cycling around the world to create channels for people to follow and get inspired.
“And that night ‘Off the Chain’ was created. We put every second into making this big dream an reality – everything was against us – laws, no go zones, visas, even people who said it could not be done.
“So to prove it, could be we set off across the Channel to France which we cycled for 52 days down to the Pyrenees mountains.
“The locals told us no-one could cycle up the roads to the top as it was too steep and impossible.”
The pair pushed their bikes and luggage the whole way in 15 hours of cold rain.
With little energy left they finally reached Andorra.
“We could have cried there and then. After two days in a hotel, we set of to take on Spain which we did with ease.”
The pair travelled back to the UK after proving to themselves that they were more resilient than they had first thought.
It was then, they planned their World tour which they began this week.
On Wednesday, they flew to Barcelona to pick up their bikes (from the last leg of their ride) and caught a coach to Italy, from there, they will be cycling to Japan, via Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Thailand, China and then Japan.
On the route home, they will ride through Russia, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and back to UK.
Steven added: “We have channels to follow us on, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, as we aim to inspire people with mental health.”
The pair are using their trip to ‘reboot their minds’ and to get themselves in a better place, both mentally and physically.
“Our message is: ‘if you’re not happy with your life don’t end it – just simply change it – from the bottom up.
“If u feel u having nothing to lose then you have everything to gain – one person can’t help everyone, but everyone can help one person.
“So for us it was ‘one day or day one’. We chose day one and two and three and haven’t looked back.
“We want to travel the world, meet new people, stay in amazing places, get closer to nature – all these things are important for your mental health.
“We will have no politics, no religion, no bills, no stress – we want nothing but beauty.”
Click here to check out Off the Chain’s channels and social media pages.
