James Bowthorpe, aged 31, became the fastest man to cycle round the globe when he arrived at Hyde Park in London on September 19th 2009. It took him just 176 days to travel through 20 countries on his epic 18 000-mile (29 000 km) journey. James pedaled out of the English capital, his home town, carrying 30 kilos of gear which included a GPS tracking system, camera batteries and a phone; all powered by a dynamo connected to his bike. He was sponsored by a British newspaper and managed to raise over £ 58 000 for research into Parkinson’s disease.

He crossed mountains and deserts, rode along terrifying highways, battled against strong winds, collided with a wombat in Australia, broke his back brake and had to fix numerous punctures. In Thailand he was so ill that he lost a fifth of his body weight and had to spend 3 days in bed to recover. His other low points included being attacked by a gang of men (and then thankfully being rescued by a couple of teenagers).

Most of his encounters along the way were friendly and James was pleased to find that Lance Armstrong, the Tour de France winner was following his trip via Twitter. "For a couple of days I imagined him watching me with his arms folded, shaking his head at my technique," Bowthorpe says.

(Source: The Guardian)





1 Answer the following questions according to the text: (Total: 8 points)

a) How long was the journey?



b) What was James Bowthorpe famous for?



c) What adventures did James have while travelling?



d) What made James feel pleased about the journey?



​