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roundtheworldbybike

In my previous entry, "Show Them They're Special" , I mentioned Alastair Humphreys and his epic quest to bicycle alone and unsupported around the world to raise money for charity. I'd like to devote yet another entry to his worthy cause.

I've recently begun emailing news agencies from around the world on his behalf. Mitchell asked me why I was getting involved. I suppose it's because I'm in awe someone could leave their front door in England and then peddle to Cape Horn in Africa...and still not be even half way through his journey. From the +50c Sudanese desert to the -40c Siberian winters, from the bandits in the Peruvian Andes to his description of Chinese drivers, I find it all very fascinating. Here's a press release he sent me. Maybe you'll find him fascinating too.



Alastair Humphreys, 28, left England on August 25th 2001 to cycle around the planet. His solo, unsupported journey will cross 55 countries and 5 continents and is expected to take 4½ years with a total budget of just $11,000. It will benefit Hope and Homes for Children (Charity). He is now in China having cycled 57,000km across 47 countries in the past 3.5 years.

Alastair is a 28-year-old graduate of the Universities of Edinburgh and Oxford. The first carefully planned stage of the epic expedition would have seen Alastair cycling from Europe through Afghanistan en route for Australia. However, the events of September 11th 2001 forced him into a drastic change of route whilst on the road. Instead of Australia, Alastair found himself cycling through Africa to Cape Town, South Africa. In January 2003 he sailed on a yacht to South America in the famous ’Cape-to-Rio’ race. He rode from Ushuaia at the southernmost tip of South America to the Arctic Ocean in northern Alaska. He is now riding from Magadan, Russia across Asia and back home to England.

The project is also raising funds for the charity Hope and Homes for Children (HHC, Reg No. 1040534), an international charity dedicated to providing a family and future for children orphaned through war, disaster or AIDS. The traumatic after-effects of conflict are felt all over the world and HHC work to alleviate some of the suffering. Alastair has given more than 100 presentations at schools during his journey, found national media coverage in most nations and visited some of HHC’s homes in the Sudan.

The solo expedition has currently covered 57,000km and 47 countries in 3.5 years. Across Europe Alastair followed the river Danube, witnessing the confused emotions of Eastern Europe in the aftermath of September 11th. An arduous desert crossing in Sudan, in temperatures of 45C involved 3 weeks of pushing his heavy bicycle (known as ‘Beryl’), laden with water supplies, through deep sand. Conditions were such that even the frame of his bike snapped. In Ethiopia Alastair experienced the fallout from foreign aid handouts in the form of stonings, relentless begging and extreme poverty. Emotionally it was the hardest month of the journey. Traveling alone has added to the challenge and adventure of cycling around the world. However, it has also led to extreme loneliness and the need to be utterly self-reliant. Famine in Malawi, the ugly threat of landmines in Mozambique and dictatorial Zimbabwe have ensured that Alastair’s expedition has been constantly topically relevant, insightful and challenging. Arriving in Cape Town, the end of Africa, after 14 months on the road was a special moment. 24 days racing across the Atlantic Ocean aboard the famous yacht ‘Maiden’ provided a very different challenge to those of Africa. Months riding through the harsh wilderness of Patagonia were physically challenging yet spectacular. He has since ridden through the world’s driest desert, where he had to carry 18 litres of water, and across the surreal expanses of Bolivia’s salt lakes and mountain passes as high as 5000m. Alastair crossed the equator for the second time in Ecuador before facing his toughest decision yet: whether or not to risk trying to cycle through Colombia. In fact Colombia proved to be a wonderful positive experience. He then sailed by yacht around the impenetrable Darien Gap and through the Panama Canal. The nations of Central America provided endless variety en route to Mexico. The ride up the west coast of the USA was an intriguing insight into the world’s most influential nation. After the beautiful wilds of Canada and Alaska Alastair crossed the Pacific Ocean on a cargo ship. He began riding again in Magadan, enduring camping in temperatures of -40C as he rode through the Siberian winter. He rode the length of Japan before arriving in China at Qingdao. Alastair is now following the fabled Silk Road through China and Central Asia back home to England.

Alastair’s experiences have been entertainingly and movingly recounted on the expedition website. To help cope with the extremes of the journey Alastair has had kit kindly donated by, amongst others, Olympus, Bell, The Bike Gallery, Karrimor, Brooks, Ark, Rough Guides, Scarpa, Bluedome, Specialized, Thorlo, Rohan, Coleman, Leatherman and Edinburgh Bicycle.

Alastair is currently riding through China. He must also seek more publicity for HHC (through interviews and slide-shows) as well as further sponsorship for the expedition itself in the form of equipment and funds: he had to cross Africa on a daily living budget of just $1 per day, South America on $2, and North America on just $3

Alastair needs the support of press and public alike to make this fund-raising venture a success. If you would like feature information, photographs, or regular updates please email: [e-mail] or visit the website which has full accounts of the journey and is updated regularly.








Photos: Alastair in Siberia, Alastair cycling in the desert of Sudan, Alastair on the Bolivian salt lakes


I didn't get to see his photos either. In case you're interested here's a link to his website again...


http://www.roundtheworldbybike.com/reports_planning.asp

He's also a funny and captivating writer. (Anyone who quotes Dr Evil..."It's frickin' cold here Mr Wigglesworth" is my kinda writer)

May God bless him and may Alastair continue his travels safely.


See ya

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