A British man has raced into the Guinness Book of Records after becoming the fastest person to cycle around the world.
Super-fit Vin Cox, 34, circumnavigated the globe in just 163 days, six hours and 58 minutes – the quickest time ever.
He travelled 18,225 miles in six months – averaging 112 miles a day – to smash the previous record held by Scotsman Mark Beaumont by over a month.
Starting from Greenwich on February 7 this year, Vin, travelled through France, across Northern Africa and parts of the Middle East.
He then pedalled through India and South East Asia before long hauls across Australia, New Zealand and America.
Vin, of Par, near St Austell in Cornwall, then travelled up through Portugal, Spain and France then taking a final leg from Plymouth to London, arriving back on August 1.
He said: ”My route was special. Not only did I plan to break the record, I wanted to have a proper adventure.
”I wanted to be the first record holder who’s visited Africa and South America on the journey. The only continent I didn’t visit is Antarctica because it’s got no roads and is a bit cold.”
The epic journey involved 12 boat and plane transfers and took him through five different continents and across 17 countries.
Vin said he encountered temperatures as low as -7°C and as high as 50°C, as well as battling leeches in Malaysia, diarrhoea in Libya and run-ins with erratic drivers along the way.
He said: ”Events, people, and places were exciting all the way; from the depths of dysentery in Libya and being detained by police in Indonesia, to the highs of receiving random acts of kindness or seeing the sea after thousands of miles in-land.”
Since arriving back he has been waiting for Guinness World Records experts to confirm his attempt had met their strict guidelines.
While there is no set route for circumnavigation record attempts, rules specify that contenders must starting and finish in the same place, travel at least 18,000 miles and not back-track.
The record has now been confirmed after 11 days 23 hours and 21 minutes spent waiting for international border transfers was deducted.
Vin, a cycling instructor and IT consultant, said: ”It’s a massive, massive relief.
”I knew that I’d understood and complied with all the rules for the record while I was having the adventure, but as the ride came to an end, an inner tension developed.
”I was full of doubts about my evidence and how Guinness World Records would interpret it. Delays in the assessment process built up that tension too.
”Now I know that it’s recognised I can relax on that issue and start driving my life forward.”
Vin took on the challenge to raise funds the Geoff Thomas Foundation, which works with the blood cancer charity Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.
