In 2006 he became the first person to cycle around the entire perimeter of Africa in a 2 year journey, pedalling a mammoth 37 000km through 34 countries, some of which were war-zones.
In 2009, alone and unaided, Riaan again set a world first when he became the first person to circumnavigate the world's fourth largest island of Madagascar by kayak. And two years later, together with partner, Dan Skinstad who has mild cerebral palsy, he paddled 2 300km in five months in a double kayak, to circumnavigate Iceland.
Manser is now onto his fourth major adventure, this time on home turf, with KFC's Add Hope campaign to help feed South Africa's hungry children. During September and October he will embark on the Journey of Hope, an epic cycling adventure of the country that will see him spread the message of hope to those who need it most.
On the fifth leg of this 2 month tour he stopped over in George, having left Cape Town on 14 September ... a mere 600km of the planned 4 100km completed. Speaking to the George Herald, Manser said two things stand out vividly so far: he is constantly hungry and constantly tired.
He tries to average 130km each day and only rests one day per week. He survives on 2 000 calories daily, although the ideal intake for this trip is around 6 000 calories per day.
He has already lost 3.5kg in five days. Breakfast, for instance, would consist of 2 small yogurts, 60 grams of oats and two cups of coffee.
"I've already got a fair idea of how a hungry child would feel. So I can really relate to that."
Riaan says he owes KFC a debt of gratitude for giving him this opportunity in South Africa for a chance to do something for a worthy cause. "If it wasn't for them, I would probably be doing something outrageous outside our borders.
It's really an honour to be involved with KFC's Add Hope campaign."
He says this campaign has made him realise how easy it is to do good for others. "We don't blink an eye when we walk into a KFC and spoil ourselves with a food order of more than a R100, and we won't give a second thought to donating an extra R2 to this worthy cause."
Over the past four years, KFC has helped to drive home awareness of hunger issues across South Africa through its Add Hope Campaign, which encourages customers to "add hope" by donating R2 to feed a hungry child. So far they have raised more than R6-million which will feed 3 million children.
Manser urged the public to donate R2 every time they walk into KFC to order a meal. "Help us to spread the message of hope to those who need it most. And remember, every cent of the R2 donation will go towards the Add Hope campaign."
KFC is sponsoring Manser's daily expenses for the duration of the Journey of Hope.
Hopefully Manser's trip will inspire thousands of South Africans to become involved and help to make a sustainable difference in the lives of the less fortunate.
South African Extreme Adventurer Riaan Manser arrives to a hero's welcome from KFC staff in George, on the fifth day of his 4 100km Journey of Hope cycling trip across South Africa. This is part of KFC's Add Hope campaign to help feed South Africa's hungry children.
PHOTOS: CHRISTO VERMAAK, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
