Motorcycle Tour Voyages of A Lifetime for The Iron Horsemen
I met Dallan through work and he mentioned that his dad Frankie Cheah is on a motorcycle tour of a lifetime with some old friends.
“Would you like to do a story about the ride?”
That was the story behind the story and when I heard that Frankie is a cancer survivor and the road trip he took involved riding up to ten hours a day in all kinds of weather on his old beat up motorcycle.
A kapchai no less. 125cc of power on a road less travelled.
I was intrigued.
Frankie Cheah
“How young is Frankie,” I asked.
“Twenty. Fifty years ago,” came the cheeky reply.
This tour ride is about the indomitable spirit of man that refuses to give up. The dudes kept on pushing mile after mile after mile. Their steely eyes focused with only one destination in sight.
Downing Street, London.
Starting point, Downing Street, Penang.
Distance between the two points on earth. 38,000KM.
Time log: Four months, 11 days, eight hours and 45 minutes.
Dallan would update me periodically when he dropped by my office. Sometimes he would WhatsApp. I followed the dudes on their FB posting.
“This was a voyage by land fraught with many adventures and not to be recorded as mere miles covered or the RON of petrol they pumped,” Dallan had complained bitterly to me one day after reading a news item.
“Let’s wait until the dudes are back, and let me get the story,” I assured him.
Frankie got sick and was hospitalized in Turkey. Dallan got his bro to accompany Frankie home.
He was hospitalized in Penang.
We waited for Frankie to heal. And the rest of the team to come home.
The Interview
Finally Dallan set up the interview at a little mom and pop café called the #BigBeans in downtown Madras Lane, where I knew everyone would be comfortable chatting.
Walking to the café, I spied the roadside for parked superbikes; there was none, safe for a Kapchai.
The dudes were in good spirit, chatted amiably and with plenty of laughs. I don’t see grandpa here but adventurers who lived to tell the tale.
Wonders never cease. I am humbled and bowled over by their achievement.
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt.
This is it.
The dudes show me that everything IS possible. Age is a case of mind over matter. Salute!
The story is featured in Malay Mail on 5 March 2016.
The dudes have become what we used to call in old school, centrefolds!
Yes, Dory is cheeky too!
Eric Lim
Farewell Eric Lim. Now you get to see the galaxies with Astro Boy.
Eric Lim was one of the three motorbikers who rode their Kapchai from Downing Street, Penang to Downing Street, London.
The other team members are Captain BK Lim, Timothy Wooi and Frankie Cheah.
These Ironhorsemen lived their dreams and had an adventure of a lifetime!
We celebrate LIFE with them and are inspired.
For more photos, do view their FB page
