On September 19, 2009, British cyclist James Bowthorpe rolled into London and climbed off his bike for the first sustained period in six months. The 32-year-old had just smashed the record for circling the globe on a bicycle: His 174-day, 18,000-mile journey was a ridiculous 20 days faster than the previous record. Along the way, he raised $100,000 for Parkinson’s research, was chased by thugs in Iran, and found that Turkey and Kentucky are rivals for friendliest spots on Earth. The Adventure Life caught up with Bowthorpe as he was recovering in London—after six months in the saddle, he still can’t stand longer than a half hour at a time.

£1.8 million was an optimistic fundraising goal. Where did that number come from? Are you happy with what you did raise?
£1.8m represents the money required for one of five research projects that the Parkinson’s disease clinic I volunteer for has lined up. It’s this work that inspired me to take on the challenge. I set out to break the record, raise 1.8 million pounds, and raise the profile of What’s Driving Parkinson’s. The way I see it, two out of three isn’t bad and I can now carry on with the fundraising.

What was the genesis of the ride? How did you decide to tackle the record?
I was looking for something I thought would match the fundraising challenge. I knew it would have to be something tough to get enough attention to raise that kind of figure. I noticed that Mark Beaumont had just smashed Steve Strange’s record for circumnavigation by bicycle; everyone was saying that this new record was unbreakable, so I knew that this was the challenge I needed. I decided then and there that I could do it, it was just a question of preparing my body for what was ahead (it’s best not to let the body know all the details for something like this).

What was your longest ride before this?
Anchorage to Los Angeles in 1998. I toured around the Himalayas. In 1996 I toured BC.

What were the worst conditions you rode in?
I encountered everything. Snow, freezing rain, wind-blown grit, extreme cold and extreme heat. I just pedaled through it all.

What was the most exciting day?
Getting to Sydney, Australia. It was just over the halfway point and I knew the hardest bits were behind me. I realized then that I could finish in my desired time. Plus the terrain in Australia was so much more predictable, and I had a tailwind across much of the desert.

Scariest moment?
It was in Iran when a carload of young men was driving alongside me and threatening me. They were trying to nudge me with the car. I’ve never been so scared in my life. Maybe they wanted to rob me. They made all sorts of threatening gestures, running their fingers across their throats.

How did that resolve itself?
I was escorted to a “secure” hotel by the police. There had just been a wedding at the hotel and everyone was slowly leaving. What a complete turnaround from the highway hijacking! I was fed baclava, rice and lamb until I couldn’t move and all the people that I spoke to were sorry for what had happened to me, apologizing for and ashamed of the actions of the people in the Samand. The owner of the hotel had pretty good English and we chatted for a while; everyone else was mainly interested in which football (soccer) team I supported. This all helped to calm me down a bit.

The aftermath at home was a quite different story. I spoke to my girlfriend about two days later; she was at a wedding at the time and ended up telling some friends what had happened to me, you know, between speeches, over champagne, etc. These friends passed the story round the wedding guests, including a friend of a friend of a friend who works for a TV news company. She rang the British Embassy in Iran to check that I was okay and thanks to more Chinese whispers my brother was phoned the following day by the UK Foreign Office, asking him to confirm whether I had been kidnapped in Iran or not. All this unbeknownst to me, happily peddling my way east across one of the friendliest countries I have ever been in (apart from those 5 people in the car).

How many hours a day did you ride?
12-14 on an average day. My longest day was 16 hours, I cycled 174 miles.

How much weight did you carry in gear?
It was bare bones, 33 pounds plus food and water. In Australia I had to carry five gallons of water crossing the desert. I slept in a Golite one-man shelter and a Golite down sleeping bag.

You used a chainless setup on your Santos bike—a Gates carbon belt drive with Rohloff internally geared hub. How’d that work out?
When Santos approached me about using one of their bikes, they asked if I’d like to try the Gates belt drive. I said ‘yes’ and I’m really glad I did. I didn’t have to lubricate it or do any maintenance. I didn’t alter the tension on the belt for the whole 18,000 miles.

It got a lot of looks everywhere I went. When I was in India there were groups of men who would stand around and check it out and ask lots of questions. People are so used to seeing chains. Everyone was really curious.

Hub gearing makes sense for people who don’t want to spend hours on maintenance and the belt drive is a logical step because chains are designed for derailleurs. I reckon belts are the future. Anything that makes cycling easier and simpler is a great innovation.

Any major technicals or repairs?
My crank snapped in Kentucky. I emailed the nearest bike shops and one got back to me right away—Bull Moose Brothers. They donated a new crank. Really nice guys. I experienced friendliness like that all over the place. Turkey and Iran and the USA were really friendly. Restaurants picked up the tab for my meals. People invited me to stay with them. In Iran I slept in roadside mosques. Aside from that one incident the Iranians were very generous and friendly.

What was your secret weapon?
Being self-sufficient on power so that I didn’t have to stay in a hotel to charge up. That’s why a dynamo mounted on the bike was great. It kept my batteries charged. To stay sane while spending 14 hours a day in the saddle and averaging 100 miles per day I listened to a lot of music and also had quite a few books downloaded: Homer’s Odyssey, Henry David Thoreau. I’m a student of English literature. When I really needed a push I would listen to Demon Days by the Gorillaz.

How many rest days, and did you take any sick days?
I had six rest days and seven days when I was too ill to ride. I got food poisoning in India and lost 20 percent of my body weight. Pedaling across North America I did seven weeks without rest.

How much did you weigh at the beginning of the ride? The end?
From 187 pounds down to 154.

Any injuries?
I have tendonitis in both ankles. The left knee bothered me for a bit. I would also get a pain between my shoulders after 10 hours on the bike. I’m in rehab now, getting used to walking again. There are certain muscles that you use for walking and standing. I can’t stand up for more than half an hour.

How’s the bum? Do you still ride on the same saddle?
I used a Brooks leather saddle (specifically a B17 Champion Narrow) which I have had for almost 10 years. It has been on lots of different bikes but always with my bum sitting on it, so it has formed to the shape of my sit bones over time. Its like having a tailored suit. This, coupled with the four-hour bike fitting that I had for my Santos Travelmaster, meant that I had very few problems in the seat department. At the end of everyday, regardless of how tired I was, I also made sure that my nether regions were clean (wet wipes) and dry (Gold Bond medicated talc). This is my recipe for bike comfort, and yes I still use the same saddle!

Weirdest thing you ate?
I did menu lottery sometimes in Asia where you just point at an item on the menu because you can’t read it. I seemed to always end up with entrails.

Will anybody ever beat your record?
No doubt. Other Brits are embarking on it due to all the publicity. I’ve been getting emails from other cyclists who want to beat me. The race is on. I think it’s great.

Is there a “next”? What is it?
My next challenge is to take on the RAAM. From my experience over the last year I realize that to make a big impact in fundraising I will need to have TV coverage in the form of a documentary, so I am making contacts in this field. For 2011 I have a more local project planned; its top secret at the moment but I can say that it hasn’t been attempted before and it’s nigh on impossible. But then, there’s be no point if it was easy!

All photos by James Bowthorpe.

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Tagged as: cycling