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A British teenager has completed an “amazing” 30,000-kilometer around-the-world cycling journey that also took him to India while raising around 60,000 pounds, a trip believed to make him the youngest person to achieve this feat.
Tom Davies, 19, completed the final leg in Dorset, UK on Sunday after six months on the road.
He was cheered home by about 100 family members, friends and others who had followed updates on his blog which he updated daily.
“I've just cycled around the world. It's the best feeling,” Davies said.
“It's been a lot of pain, a lot of suffering, so it's amazing to finish,” the Guardian quoted him as saying.
“Up to the 5 hour mark, the ride was fantastic. Unfortunately, it went slightly downhill after that. A headwind picked up out of nowhere. It wasn't as bad as Europe but it was enough to annoy me. The road also went bad for about 500m, and in that time a screw on my pannier rack fell out,” Davies wrote in his blog, explaining his experience on riding in Goa.
“Today started off pretty well. I knew I would hit Kanyakumari at mile 34 so I set that as a target for my first stop. I made it without trouble and would have been fine to carry on had I not needed to refill water and get some food. The town itself was actually very busy,” Davies wrote on the 37th day of his journey when he was in India.
He pedalled about 100 kilometres a day at an average speed of about 27 kilometres per hour.
“The trip has been amazing, but I didn't really know what to expect heading into it,” Davies said.
“It has been incredible to see the countries and experience the different cultures in this way, while also pushing myself harder than I ever thought possible,” he added.
Davies discovered cycling was his passion at the age of 15 after being inspired by his father, with whom he cycled from London to Chamonix in the Alps.
The trip raised money for charities including Prostate Cancer UK; Carney's Community, which works with disadvantaged young people.