A Kamloops man is daring to go where few men have gone before, as he is planning to bike ride the height of Mount Everest this weekend in support of the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation.
Lennard Pretorius, a physician at Thompson Rivers Medical Clinic, hopes to climb Highland Drive 65 times in a row, a feat which measures out to 215 km of riding. If everything goes as planned, Pretorius would start his trek on April 13th and finish it on the 14th, a ride spanning over 20 hours.
Pretorius explained he was eager and excited to conquer the height of the world's tallest mountain.
"We're on the countdown, the final few days, and I can't wait to get out there," said Pretorius. "It's going to be interesting to see if we can pull it off."
Pretorius adds that he has ridden half the distance before in practice, but has no clue on whether he'll be able to complete this monster challenge.
"It's difficult to say, you can't do that type of ride as a practice ride because it is just too much time and effort. I've sort of done half of it and didn't feel too bad after that, so I am hoping I can finish it, but more than half the people who do take it on don't manage to pull it off."
"I'm not overly confident, but I will give it my best shot."
Pretorius mentioned that in order for him to complete the climb, almost everything needs to go right.
"Nothing needs to break down, that includes the bike, but especially the body. I think after about 10 or 15 hours it is more of a mind over matter thing... As long as you're physically able to keep going and just keep pushing ahead, you should be able to pull it off."
The community has come together to support Pretorius, with many residents saying they would be there or come ride with him. Pretorius' goal was to raise $1,000 for the RIH Foundation, but thanks to all his supporters, he has already seen over $3,000 in donations.
"I work in the medical field in Kamloops so it is just sort of an extension of that. It's supporting the hospital with the funds and equipment that they need. If we live long enough in Kamloops, each one of us is going to need the services of RIH... So it just makes sense to give the great people up there the tools and the means to help us."
"If you don't have a cause, and you don't have people supporting you, it would be easy to call it quits at like two in the morning, but with it being a fundraiser, having a specific goal, and having the community supporting me, it's added motivation that one needs to just push on."
Base camp for the event will be at the parking lot at the bottom of Highland Drive next to the entrance of the bike park for residents interested in attending. Pretorius' ride starts at noon on Saturday.
