Both men had experience of cycling in Africa and across the world, but had never cycled this far.
Hutchinson, who grew up in Uganda and now lives in Framlingham, said he had always dreamed about cycling across Uganda, but wanted to do a “bigger journey”.
He presented his idea to Wheeler in the pub, and he immediately agreed.
For Wheeler, who lives in Kenton near Framlingham, it was an opportunity to honour his brother, Ali, who died 12 years ago at the age of 24 from a rare sarcoma.
It also allowed him to give back to the hospice and its “superhuman” staff who had looked after Ali in his final days.
When starting out, they had only planned their flight and the first few days of cycling.
Hutchinson said “beyond that, we didn’t really have a plan” and “just made sure we had bicycles”.