When James Bowthorpe (left) arrives in London on his belt-driven Santos Travelmaster bike on Saturday, he'll set a new world record — around the world by bike in 175 days.
Last year Scotsman Mark Beaumont set the record for bicycling around the world in 194 days. Who would have guessed that mark would be broken the following year?
With one day to go, the 31-year-old Londoner has traveled 17,877 miles (and counting) on his unsupported bike tour — 103 miles a day.
That's an amazing feat considering not just the bad weather, terrain and illness he had to deal with crossing four continents, but also the time spent at border crossings and taking care of other essentials.
To reach that goal, he traveled for weeks on end without a break. For instance, he didn't take a day off the bike the entire time he pedaled from Vancouver to New York City via the Pacific Coast and TransAmerica bike routes.
Lonely road
You can get an idea of the toll that the incessant pace was taking on him in a YouTube video shot in Australia.
the surface, really. I've got no time to do anything that people are
recommending I do because I'm on the bike for 14 or more hours a day.”
“Saying
that, I'd say I am seeing things that I wouldn't see as a tourist. And
I've met people, just because I'm on the bike, really, because it's a
good conversation starter.”
He said that was good to be in a more populated part of Australia because there were some lonely days that he'd only to talk to one person.
Charity
Bowthorpe undertook the around-the-world challenge to raise money for Parkinson's disease research. So far he's raised $81,600 and doesn't plan to stop the fund-raising until he reaches his goal of about $2.9 million.
He decided to raise money for Parkinson's after volunteering at a research clinic in London and understanding the dire need for funding.
GlobeCycle online
In addition to the YouTube Globe Cycle Guy videos, Bowthorpe has been chronicling his adventures at the Globe Cycle blog. Although the posts have been sporadic in recent weeks, he's been leaving messages on Twitter at GlobeCycle.
The Where in the World is James website has mapped his progess around the world by GPS.
Bowthorpe started by crossing the English Channel to Belgium then biked through Holland, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey,
Iran, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand,
Canada and the US. He finished up by bicycling from through Portugal, Spain and France.
Next he crosses the English Channel and is expected in London on Saturday. Here's his bike route on Saturday for anyone who might be able to join up.
Check here to read about his Santos Travelmaster bike.
Times headline: “James Bowthorpe becomes the fastest cyclist to circle the globe” Sept. 19, 2009
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