Champion cyclist Mark Beaumont is on track to complete his record-breaking ride across Africa despite cycling for more than 1,000 miles on a broken bike and being fuelled almost entirely by biscuits.
The Perthshire adventurer is more than halfway through his epic 6,200 mile journey from Cairo to Cape Town.
The 32-year-old former Dundee High School pupil hopes to finish the challenge in just 50 days. The record stands at 59 days and eight hours.
Now 31 days into his adventure, Mark has cycled just over 4,200 miles and is averaging about 150 miles each day.He set off on April 10 and has already cycled through Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania, before reaching Zambia at the weekend.
The father-of-one, who broke the round-the-world cycling record in 2008, said: “The northern parts of Zambia have been some of the most dangerous roads. I’ve been forced off the road two or three times each day.
“It’s been really, really dangerous and not for the faint hearted.”
He added: “It’s very remote in northern Zambia and it’s been some of the toughest stretches for food, water and supplies.“I’ve never had to go without, but I’m eating a lot of packet biscuits. That’s pretty much been my staple.”
Mark added that he had received new kit to fix his bike.
“I’ve ridden about 1,000 miles with broken gears,” he said. “I’m hoping (the new chain and gears) will make the hills much easier. ”
The record bid has raised more than £30,000 for Orkidstudio, a Glasgow-based humanitarian design group of which Mark is patron.