People / Travel
Bristol teenager completes record-breaking around-the-world cycle ride
Charlie Condell returned to Bristol to a hero’s welcome on Monday afternoon as he became the youngest ever Briton to cycle across the globe completely unsupervised.
During his epic 18,000-mile journey across four continents and 20 countries, 18-year-old Charlie had his bike stolen, was knocked over by a car and was mugged.
“All my friends said that I was going to die,” Charlie joked soon after crossing the Clifton Suspension Bridge at the end of his nine-month trip.
is needed now More than ever
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Charlie begun his adventure in July 2018 soon after finishing his last A-Level exam at Clifton College.
Just nine days shy of his 19th birthday, Charlie, who lives in Clifton, was welcomed home by the cheers of family and friends. He has taken the record from Londoner Tom Davies, who was 19 by the time he arrived home after the completion of his round trip.
Charlie travelled through California’s infamous Death Valley and cycled through plummeting temperatures in the Grand Canyon. Australia was also pretty gruelling, he said, where he faced big winds and sweltering temperatures that reached as high as 45 degrees.
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Rather than deterring him, the mugging, car crash and bike theft actually drove Charlie forwards out of anger.
“If I’d stopped just because of those people, that would have been letting them win,” Charlie told Bristol24/7.
“The bike theft was never going to stop me. The car – yeah, it hurts – but I wasn’t broken and the bike was fine. The rest of it is all in your head.”
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