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If you would like to contact Paul please email him at Paul_Chew@hotmail.com Paul was born in the rocky mountains of Canada but misspent his youth in the English lake district, swimming (County, Cumberland and Westmoreland) sailing, riding, and playing rugby league (County: Cumbria). Upon moving to London played rugby union, playing for Guy’s Hospital (the oldest rugby club in the world) and later gaining international honours for Norway. Paul’s adventures started at an early age at of 8, when he was horse riding in Wales with his sister. They continued through his teens persuading friends to hitch to Paris to sleep under the bridges on the Seine in April, hitched to Saint Tropez for their summer holidays at the age of 16, and euro railed across Europe. During his 20’s saw him working on the Oil rigs in the North Sea, as a pipe worker in the Middle East, a welder in Germany, and a lumber jack in Canada and the obvious bar tender in Spain. Getting the taste for travel and adventure he was spotted on Spanish national television sumersaulting in the bull ring in Pamplona. Upon completion of his degree he travelled to Borneo, visiting Kotakinabalu and Bandar Seri Begawan where he rode up the Brunei River in a dug out canoe and while trekking to a waterfall came face to face with a 12ft snake.
His 30’s saw him become a family man, his 1st daughter was born just a month after he received international honours for Norway where he was working and living. Immediately after Norway came a year on the east coast of Canada follow by another daughter and a move to Kent countryside and suburbia. An education into the world of adventure came almost immediately for Georgina as at the age of 4yrs she was to go swimming with the basking sharks off the Isle of Man. Unfortunately she became ill and couldn’t understand why she could not play with the “fishy” as her Daddy had promised.  During his 40’s adventures became bigger and better, a race across the North Sea in the Great North Sea race started up an old love affair with sailing. 2002 saw him and two others sail across the Atlantic Ocean. Starting from the Cape Verde Islands they sailed to Fernando de Noronha “the most beautiful place in the world” and then on to mainland Brazil. Paul has recounted the story of a breaching adolescent whale while in mid Atlantic and of a pirate container ship.  2003 Tobago: During a week one trip with his wife to celebrate her birthday. Paul was enticed away from the beautiful hotel facilities to “Hammer Head Ally”. Strangely he found himself in the water with not one but three of the biggest and most feared sharks in the oceans. 2005 Paul first on the left with friends on an iceberg in Iceland followed by an unforgettable meeting with Vikings, which involved copious amounts of beer, a 30ft leather whip and a chorus of “Heads, shoulders, knees and toes” and very few clothes.
 New year 2007 saw over 30 teams participating in the inaugural Rickshaw Rally, 4,000km trip in 150cc tricycles from the southern tip of India to Darjeeling in the north. Paul and a friend Simon completed the trip in 13 days. During the trip he lost over a stone in weight, faced some of the worst roads in the world to say nothing of a general strike where they were chased by a mob with clubs. A full account can be found at www.cochintiger.blogspot.com or video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXPKEG4641s
2008 The English Channel: 24 miles of the cold sea. The dangers speak for themselves: besides hypothermia and the risk of cramp, which can strike the fittest athlete at any time, there are external horrors to contemplate such as jellyfish and raw sewage. Then there are the 600 commercial ship movements and 80 to 100 ferry crossings between Dover and Calais every day to avoid. The weather is another problem - no matter what the local forecast says the conditions are going to be, they can change very quickly, even if the prediction is correct to begin with. Paul with four friends successfully completed the challenge as a relay in 13 hours and 7 minutes, without the benefit of goose grease. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=155259546899&subj=626301899 
2009 A 1,000km horse race across Mongolia. Paul has spent 7wks in South Africa. (in SA not content with riding horses for 9hrs a day he caged dived with the Great Whites Sharks) in training for the inaugural Mongolian Derby a 1,000km horse race that is been billed as the longest and toughest horse race in the world http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QAiVaU_VpA  The Mongol Derby The Mongol Derby saw him tackle the challenge of semi-wild horses and surviving alone in the wild steppes of Mongolia. This was horse racing on a whole new scale. He change steed every 40 km so the horses were fresh. Bleeding kidneys, broken limbs, open sores, sun stroke, moon stroke and a list of dangers longer than your arm stand between the him and victory. The Longest Horse Race in The World During the race Paul had four unofficial dismounts, became dehydrated, lost the feeling in three toes through hyperthermia, attended a Mongolian wedding performed "head, shoulders, knees and toes" drank copeous amounts of vodka and still managed to come third as hes say "Not bad ofr a fat old bloke!" The Cape Epic: After the toughest horse race in the world Paul teamed up with Simon once again to race in whats is billed as the toughest mountain bike race in the world. An 800km mountain bike race call the Cape Epic in South Africa. The race is a stage race over 8 days, and while 800km may seem a long way its not the distance which makes it the toughest race in the world its the climbs, ove the 8 days each contestent will climb the equiverlant of Mount Everest .... twice! Have a look what TransWorldSport have to say on the matter! 
The photo was on the morning of the start of the Cape Epic, an 800km mountain bike race billed as the toughest mountain bike race in the world. Unfortunately Paul and Simon’s race tactics of keeping at the back and out of the way back fired, and after 9.5hrs and 117km they missed the cut by 10mins. Paul say's "It was our own fault, we were very nervous and decided to keep out of the way during the first day. We signed autographs shook hand with spectators and generally had a very nice time." Paul and Simon both fell off their bikes three times, Paul broke a finger in the first 10km after somersaulting twice over the handlebars. Will Paul attempt this again? Watch this space? If you would like to contact Paul directly please email him at Paul_Chew@hotmail.com |
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