FAQs

Why are you doing this?

My home city of Glasgow is hosting the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games and spending millions of pounds on hosting the event for the nations of the commonwealth. Basically i want to do my bit to help out.

I worked at Glasgow Life the department of Glasgow City Council that is supplying the majority of the games venues, for nearly four years and have been kept involved with the games from the bid attempt until the start of the challenge. There has always been this feeling of excitement with the games that I have enjoyed.

It was during my last expedition Half Ass the Himalayas that the idea for the challenge orginates. I refer to this as the Himalayan Dream as this is how the idea came to me.

When I returned home I started wondering who the commonwealth actually where? What was the commonwealth? I wanted to find out more about all the nations that will be coming to Glasgow in 2014.

So the himalayan dream became a plan and I would venture out to the commonwealth nations and visit them. 

Are you doing this alone?

Yes and no. I will predominantly be completing the expeditions alone but hope to meet many different people along the way. A main aim of the world cycle expedition is to form the largest cycling team in the world. I am hoping to have 10,500 people from around the world join me for a five mile cycle to achieve this goal! See TEAM CHALLENGE FIVE for more details.

Also i'm also looking to take part in different sporting challenges along the way. So come and challenge me to a game or a race.

If you would be interested in joining me along the way to either come along for the adventure or to guide me in your country then your most welcome. Please contact me.

How long will it take?

Visiting the 72 nations of the commonwealth is going to be a time consuming task due to the commonwealths spread of locations throughout the globe. The Commonwealth of Nation is located on 6 continents.

Each of the four expeditions is planned to take an average of 10 months. Each expedition will begin and finish in Glasgow. The time inbetween will be used to prepare for the next one. So it should work out as an expedition a year between now and the start of the 2014 games.

What is your budget for this trip?

For the World Cycle and Cycle Africa expeditions I will be self funding the majority of the expeditions costs, other than sponsors on the site. This however does mean my budget for both these journeys will be low. But that is all part of the challenge!

Sponsorship shall be sought to help assist with the costs of the last two expeditions.

Have you attempted anything like this before?

Yes I have completed many smaller cycle expeditions before. But I have never done a major trip like this. I have completed many smaller trips such as Edinburgh to Barcelona in 2007 and New Delhi to Kathmandu in 2009. I have also completed trips with the cycling for charity team. For more details about those trips can be found here.