Fomo prompts adventure racers to do epic journey

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Have you ever had so much Fomo (fear of missing out) that you have decided to tackle a 700km journey on a bicycle?

Well this is exactly what Plettenberg Bay's adventure racing duo Petrus Maree and Jeanette Wiley are planning.

Not having done an expedition-length adventure race - a gruelling multi-discipline endurance race - since Expedition Africa Rodriquez 2019, and missing out on this year's expedition race in Lesotho, Maree and Wiley have decided to do their own race.

"We've decided to do our own little mission for the simple reason of Fomo, but also because there's just something about adventure racing," the duo said.

"Yes, it's a challenge and you push yourself outside your comfort zone, but somewhere there is this unseen force that pulls you back and back and back again.

"There is not one race where you don't think: 'What am I doing here?', but then all the pain and hardship falls away and just the good stuff stays in your mind and that unexplainable force. So, yes, we are doing an unassisted mountain bike trip with some maps, food, a tent, and no plan!"

The two are planning on starting their journey in Carnarvon in the Northern Cape and finishing about 700km later in their home town of Plettenberg Bay.

"It might not be the longest, hardest, toughest thing, but we are doing it because we can, to explore our beautiful South Africa. And the main reason is that we want to."

They have started the rough plotting of the route and will keep followers updated on developments.

Petrus Maree and Jeanette Wiley of the Plett Adventure Racing team during one of their epic journeys.