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19-year-old cyclist spends gap year aiming to be youngest person to ride around the world

Tom Davies from London currently two thirds of the way through 18,000-mile journey

A 19-year-old cyclist from London who is off to university in September is spending his gap year in the saddle and is well on his way to become the youngest person to ride around the world unsupported.

So far, since setting out on 17 January, Tom Davies has travelled through 17 countries and ridden 12,000 miles and raised more than £35,000 for the charities Sohana Research Fund, Prostate Cancer UK and Carney’s Community.

While his ride, which he is aiming to complete in around 200 days, complies with Guinness World Records rules, including passing through two antipodal points, he won’t make it into the record books since they don’t encourage “youngest to do … “ type records.

Currently Tom, who is riding a steel-framed Condor Fratello, is 125 days into his trip and riding through Oregon as he heads across North America before catching a plane from Boston to Lisbon to start the final leg of his journey back to London.

With the odd rest day factored in, he’s averaging around 100 miles a day and is blogging about his journey here as well as providing updates on Facebook and Twitter – his Virgin Money Giving page is here, and you can also follow his ride on Strava.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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6 comments

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J90 | 9 years ago
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How do people afford to do this?

It would be amazing to do. Great effort by Tom.

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hoski | 9 years ago
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A Condor Fratello? That adds some serious style to a RTW trip!

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clayfit | 9 years ago
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Brilliant! Makes me want to walk out of the office now, get on my bike and never look back. I know I won't but I wish I would.

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alansmurphy | 9 years ago
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Catching a plane?

Cheat!

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Beatnik69 replied to alansmurphy | 9 years ago
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alansmurphy wrote:

Catching a plane?

Cheat!

Yes, surely he should be overinflating his tyres before pedalling across the Atlantic. Pfff...  4

But seriously, well done fella!

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CygnusX1 | 9 years ago
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Chapeau!  41

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