THE desire to push himself to the limit blossomed in S.R. Nithy at an early age.

Luckily, that passion is tied to his goal of making the world a better place.

In 1986, at the age of 19, Nithy kicked off his first expedition when he cycled from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore and back on a mission to educate people on the dangers of drug abuse.

A year later, he joined a group of 10 cyclists on a journey from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan where he met youth groups and continued his crusade against drug abuse.

In 1988, Nithy and two friends cycled non-stop from Penang to Klang.
"It was a crazy idea but we managed to collect RM17,000 for a school for the mentally-challenged in the Klang Valley.

"It was a proud moment."

It was in 1990 that the scope of his expeditions grew expansively. Along with several other Malaysians, Nithy participated in the first-ever cycling expedition across Southeast Asia.

"We cycled from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok and then flew to Manila, Brunei, Jakarta and Singapore before returning to Kuala Lumpur," he said.

Later that year, while in the United States on a 12-month Twin Cities International Programme, Nithy cycled from San Francisco to Washington state.

He then stayed on in the US to complete his degree course in Social Work at the St John's University in Minnesota.

In 1994, Nithy cycled across the whole of Western Europe.

Next came his most gruelling expedition -- cycling from Argentina to Minnesota. It was also his most rewarding undertaking though, as, for the first time, he was "followed" on his journey by 10,000 Minnesota school-children via public radio in a specially-designed curriculum.

Finally, in 1999, Nithy cycled 32,000km from Egypt to South Africa on the "Expedition Africa" mission to underscore the value of friendship.

He took a break in 2000 to concentrate on his career as a Lone Star College System district director (international programmes and services) in Texas.

Nithy married P. Prema from Subang Jaya three years ago. The couple now lives in Houston.