Meet the New Zealand Man Who Biked Around the World in 123 Days

Andrew Nicholson is a like a modern-day Ferdinand Magellan...on a bicycle.

On August 12, the 45-year-old New Zealand resident embarked on a quest to circumnavigate the globe astride his trusty two-wheeler. He recently completed the trip in a history-making 123 days. If verified by Guinness World Records, his journey will beat the current world record set by Englishman Alan Bate in 2010 by two whole days.

Nicholson started out in Auckland, and traveled through America, Canada, Europe, India, southeast Asia, and Australia. In all, he covered 18,131 miles. Along the way, Nicholson stayed with other cyclists, who provided him with meals and a place to sleep.

When Nicholson wasn’t on a bike, he was on a plane. (Guinness World Records allows record-seekers to cross barriers like oceans via public transport, and to skip over potentially dangerous countries.) During the journey, the cyclist burned through four sets of tires and three bike chains. By the time he finally reached Australia, Nicholson said was “emotionally and physically exhausted,” but pushed himself towards his final destination. 

“Lots of times I felt like giving up because towards the end it was becoming too much,” Nicholson told The Guardian. “But I was always in a position where I didn’t have a good enough excuse to give up. Yes you’re tired and yes your legs are sore but you can still get on that bike and ride.”

Learn more about Nicholson’s excursion (he rode to raise money and awareness for cancer research) via his Facebook page and blog, or check out a route map of his trip below. 

Photo courtesy of Andrew Nicholson

[h/t The Guardian]