MANY students take a break from their studies to go travelling around the world – but Paul Ashley-Unett plans on trying to break a world record while doing so.
Paul Ashley-Unett is taking on the challenge of cycling around the globe, while attempting to clock up 18,000 miles in just under five months.
The architecture student, from Ballwattleworth Estate, Peel, will set off on his challenge tomorrow (Wednesday) from Market Street in Douglas at 6pm.
After reaching France, he will then head west, travelling through 15 countries before returning to the island in mid-July.
Paul said this is the perfect time to be able to take a pause in his studies to attempt to break the world record.
The 29-year-old has always been interested in cycling and his first long-distance cycling attempt was when he was 16 around the TT Mountain Course, but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that he started to push himself to do longer distances.
The countries he will venture through are England, France, Spain, Portugal, USA, New Zealand, Australia, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands.
Paul believes that the challenge will probably be a lot tougher than he thinks at the moment.
‘When I actually get on the roads, then it will become a reality and everything will hopefully become natural,’ he said.
The challenge will be something that Paul will be doing alone. He will not be taking a support team with him, which means he will be carrying all his essentials on his bike.
By taking on the challenge, Paul is hoping to raise £29,000 for two charities.
These are the Manx Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which looks after animals which need rehoming or which are injured, and Article25, which fights for adequate shelter and housing around the world.
Paul hopes to beat the current world record, held by Bruce Gordon, who cycled around the world last year in 153 days.
He has a GPS tracker that will record his trip every day. He said: ‘The unknown is what I’m looking forward to the most. I think it is because it is such a big world and so many different countries that I’ll be passing through.
‘I don’t quite know what to expect each country will present its own challenges. I think sometimes you could “over plan” and think about exactly where you are going to stop each night, what you are going to do, etc. But you have to allow for that element of surprise and the unknown.’
On the trip Paul is looking forward to be able to eat as much as he likes in order to keep his energy levels up.
He said: ‘I think this is one of the best things, being able to eat absolutely anything and everything! A lot of people watch their diets, like pro athletes who have to have certain foods. But my diet is everything. As long as I have 12,000 calories per day that’s my requirement.’
• Follow Paul’s progress by visiting his website {http://www.paulcyclesworld.com.paulcyclesworld.com}.