Sheffield man sets off on bike ride from South Yorkshire to New Zealand for Sheffield Children’s Hospital

 While many dream of jetsetting across the world to New Zealand, one local Sheffield man is getting there by other means – on his bike...and it could take him two years to get there.

Daniel Leon, aged 24, set off from his home in Sheffield on August 5 in a bid to raise £5,000 for Sheffield Children’s Hospital by cycling all the way down under to New Zealand.

Dan said he feels like it is the perfect opportunity to help give back to his community and help a city he is so proud to be from, supporting children to have the chance to grow up and have their own adventure.

After suffering from anxiety in his late teens, Dan recognised the power of pushing your own personal limits after going to university and studying in Brisbane, Australia for a year;

“I think the more you throw yourself into the deep end and the more you expose yourself to things outside of your comfort zone, the better your mind becomes and the more confidence you gain within yourself," he said.

“I’ve always wanted to go on an adventure and do something I can tell the grandkids about, and when I saw a journey like this was possible, I thought it was my time to shine.”

But Dan is not doing the challenge completely alone, he also has Theo the Sheffield Children’s Charity bear with him along for the ride, featuring in many of Dan’s videos and Instagram posts, admitting he has become rather attached to the bear already.

Crossing 28 countries, Dan is expecting the journey to take anywhere between 18 months and two years.

The 24-year-old has already travelled through France, Austria and Bosnia, with plans to continue the journey through Greece, Turkey and Georgia, before flying to India to continue his journey.

From there, he will complete the Vietnam coast and then head to Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia before cycling the Australian East Coast ahead of his final destination.

Dan said: “I think one of the hardest parts about planning such a journey was trying to figure out which point to enter each country at and what kind of visa I will need, along with the logistics of insurance, that was a hassle but is all sorted now.

“I will also be cycling through some extremely rural areas like in Montenegro, as well as some more chaotic ones, like the roads of India.”

Having worked in a non-clinical role for the NHS prior to setting off, Dan is most looking forward to the unpredictability that comes with travelling;

“I’m excited by the idea of not knowing where I’m sleeping the next night and exploring parts of world I would never get to see if I was travelling by car or train.

“I’m also excited to see how culturally and architecturally places change as I progress, along with the variety of food I will get to try.”

Having cycled from Budapest to Vienna in 2025, Dan admitted he hasn’t had the opportunity to train for his journey as much as he would have liked;

“The good thing about doing it alone means I can take it day by day and have a rest if I need to.

“It wouldn’t be a challenge if I was a pro athlete though now, would it?”

You can follow Dan’s journey on his Instagram, Tiktok and Youtube @danoutofoffice

And donate to Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/daniel-leon-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

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