Cyclists on last leg of round-world trip

TWO CYCLISTS arrived back in Ireland yesterday on the final leg of the first Irish circumnavigation of the world by bicycle.

Simon Evans and Fearghal Ó Nualláin have cycled some 30,000km through 26 countries since they left Greystones, Co Wicklow, 18 months ago.

The friends were in great form as they boarded the ferry from Stranraer to Larne yesterday, said Simon’s father Pete, who has helped to co-ordinate their travels.

They will stay in the Drogheda region tonight before cycling to Dublin tomorrow and arriving into Greystones on Saturday.

Their longest single cycle was 210km through a salt plain in Bolivia, and they averaged some 140km a day on a journey tracked by satellite.

The official criteria for circumnavigation include cycling some 29,000km (and travelling more than 40,000km in total), crossing two points directly opposite each other (Buenos Aires and Shanghai), crossing the equator twice and crossing all longitudes.

Aside from most of western Europe, their travels took in Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Armenia and Georgia.

“They knew it would be spectacular but the main thing was the people, who were astounding around the world,” Mr Evans said.

They had a preconception that Iran would be difficult, but the Iranian people were the nicest and most welcoming of all, he said.

The cycle has so far raised €25,000 in aid of mental health charity Aware, and the hope is to double this with a homecoming cycle this weekend. The pair will leave Blackrock College with over 200 cyclists for Greystones at 3pm on Saturday. Details can be found at revolutioncycle.ie.