Ex Thame pupil pushes off to cycle the world

A young Thame man, inspired by a school trip to the Gambia with Lord Williams’s School, and the Ultra athlete and author, Mark Beaumont (The Man Who Cycled The World), has set off on his own incredible endurance challenge, to cycle around the world too!

Alex Clark sets off from Thame, via Towersey, on July 22, on the first leg of his circumnavigation of the world on a bike – Photo courtesy of Nigel Pattinson

Alex Clark, 23, set off from Thame on July 22, to realise his dream, aiming to cycle 21,500 miles, and through sponsorship and donations, to give hundreds of children in both the UK and The Gambia an equal opportunity to realise their dreams.

Alex, who quit his job with a recruitment agency in London to take this trip, is aiming to raise £10,000 for two charities, The Thame-based Jack O’Donnell Foundation that supports children to achieve their full potential in the sport they love, and Sponsor A Gambian Child which provides funding for children in the Birkama area to attend school, through individual sponsorship.

Alex’s journey will be in stages, the first from Thame to Triest – a ride of 2,050 km. From then on the stages will be:

Stage 2: Trieste – Mumbai, 6,240 km
Stage 3: Mumbai – Perth, 10,295 km
Stage 4: Perth – Auckland, 6,404 km
Stage 5: San Diego – Lisbon, 7,575 km
Stage 6: Lisbon – Thame, 2,449 km

Sean Conway, another endurance athlete and adventurer, has also been key to Alex’s unfailing passion to realise his dream. In 2012 Sean was attempting to break the world record for solo and unsupported bicycle circumnavigation when he was hit by a pickup truck on his way to work. Despite this Sean managed to make it all the way around the world after several weeks recovering from serious injuries.

Alex’s previous sporting love has been football, and more recently triathlon, and it was the running and cycling element of the latter that Alex says made him realise that these skills were transferable in helping him to achieve his mammoth project.

If you would like to support Alex in raising funds for these two, extremely worthwhile causes, and help keep him motivated as he tackles the next thousands of kilometers of what will inevitably be a grueling test of character of fitness, visit his Prestige Worldwide page https://www.prestigeworldride.org/aboutthecyclist

You can find out more about Alex and his preperations for the trip, and donate by visiting Alex’s MyDonate page; https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/alexclark1709