Epic cyclist hits fundraising target

4:44pm Friday 4th April 2008

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Round-the-world cyclist Alastair Humphreys has hit his target of raising one pound for each mile of his epic global journey.

The intrepid traveller set off on two wheels from his Airton home in August 2001 and arrived back four years later.

�My target was always to raise �1 for each mile and I am so pleased to have finally got there. It seemed quite a target but people have been very generous and I appreciate it."

Alastair Humphreys

He had covered five continents, 50 countries, 46,000 miles and gone through three Rockhopper mountain bikes.

He set up a website and invited donations from anyone who had heard of his challenge to help support his favourite charity, Hope and Homes for children.

The trip had been funded by himself after saving £7,000 from his university loans.

The charity he supports helps children in central and eastern Europe and Africa who have been orphaned or made homeless through war, poverty and sickness, including Aids.

"My target was always to raise £1 for each mile and I am so pleased to have finally got there. It seemed quite a target but people have been very generous and I appreciate it," said Alastair.

The total now stands at £46,687.95.

Almost £23,000 of this was raised online and a further £21,000 through donations made through his talks, donations from his books and gift aid.

"I am glad to be able to put that figure to bed now, though I will still be raising money for the charity as well as helping to raise its profile. The charity is something I know quite a lot about now and believe in," he added.

Alastair has written a number of books charting his epic ride. These detail virtually each spin of the wheel and describe some of the more unusual things he saw and did. For instance, in east Africa he witnessed Masai warriors wearing their customary red cloaks - but with Manchester United shirts underneath. He has eaten fried worms, scorpions and sheep's head, but balked at skewered mice in Malawi. He talked his way out of trouble with the Japanese police when spotted riding his bike naked, and more or less escaped injury until almost home, when he fell off his bike at a roundabout in Keighley.

What was even more poignant was that Sarah, the girl he left behind, was waiting for him on his return and they married late last year.

This week, Alastair, now 31, has been taking part in the gruelling Marathon Des Sables, a six-day, six marathon-length race across the Sahara.

He took his 28-year-old brother, Duncan - a sky-diving instructor - along with him and both said they were looking forward to the challenge.

When they return home, Alastair will have a few days to recover before taking part in the London Marathon next Sunday, April 13.

All this comes on the back of an equally gruelling 125-mile canoe race from Devizes to Westminster over the Easter weekend.

Canoe novices Alastair and his paddling partner Lucy had been less than honest about their training in order to be allowed to enter the event.

However, Alastair gave away their lack of skill by holding his paddle upside down at the start! Surprisingly the marshals allowed them to continue.

And the duo almost completed the distance but was disqualified after missing the cut-off time. They were more than 10 hours behind the winners.

"We were disappointed to have been disqualified after paddling for more than 27 hours but it was a small consolation that the organiser, who had been so sceptical at the start, was staggered to see that we were still going after all that time," said Alastair.

A future challenge is to walk to Antarctica in October. He will be going with fellow adventurer Ben Saunders. More information about Alastair's achievements can be found on the website roundtheworldbybike where there is still a chance to donate to Hope and Homes for Children.