By Charlie Fenton

A lad has completed a 25,000 km (approx 15,500 miles) cycle from the UK to Australia just like his dad did 40 years ago - using the same model bike.

Jamie Hargreaves, 23, travelled a year and seven months halfway around the world following the same route and on the same model bike - a Mercian - as his dad which he completed at the same age in 1984.

The keen adventurer started his epic cycle from Derby, England, in May 2024 and finished on December 13, 2025 travelling through 30 countries and three continents.

Throughout the journey Jamie, from Poynton, in Cheshire, has been recreating photos in the same locations his dad Phill, 63, once took on the route.

He also reconnected with some of the same people his Dad spoke to along the way too.

Jamie said: "I'm so proud of completing the journey.

"This trip was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I have no regrets.

"Looking back I'm so glad I did it.

"It was brutal at stages but magnificent at others.

"I like to think I have four lifetimes of memories spaced into almost two years of travel - it is a fever dream."

Jamie began his massive trip in Derby which was where his parents grew up. 

He caught the ferry to France where he cycled southeast through Europe heading towards Turkey passing through countries like Belgium, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia.

Upon reaching Turkey, Jamie was unable to follow his dad's route passing through Iran due to geopolitics so instead he headed North around the Caspian Sea through Russia.

He then travelled back down across Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan, before re-joining his father's original route in Pakistan.

From there, Jamie headed southeast to Nepal where he reached the Everest Base Camp and one-upped his dad completing the Annapurna Base Camp.

He then flew to Bangkok, before getting back on the bike to ride through Southeast Asia, travelling Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia, before eventually finishing the journey in Australia at the Opera House.

Jamie said his bike held up relatively well throughout the Olympic task.

He said: "I only had 10 punctures in total which is really good - but I did go through three tyres.

"I crashed and buckled my wheels a number of times. 

"The first crash was in Austria when I was travelling down a steep hill and my brakes failed.

"I bent the frame of the bike in Georgia in a crash and had to get another one flown out by the company NAME which was nice they agreed to do.

"I managed to jump off the bike but it still smashed into the wall.

"The most terrifying though was when I was carrying my bike up to the Everest base camp and when I was trying to overtake a stream of Donkey's I was behind, one of them nudged me off a cliff.

"I managed to catch a tree branch to stop myself from falling 20 metres down.

"My bike fell though, luckily only the wheels buckled and there was no other damage - though I had to cycle the rest of Nepal with damaged wheels."

His bike weighed 75kg with all the items Jamie had packed for his trip, including a tent, sleeping bag, roll mats, lightweight gear, his CANON D4000 camera - and one personal luxury item: a ukulele.

He camped throughout the journey and scrounged around for food to save on spending money.

He said one of the hardest parts was travelling across the Kazakhstan desert where he cycled into the wind for around a month.

Jamie said: "The wind was blowing east to west and we were cycling west to east pretty much the whole way so it was really hard work - it wrote us off."

"I lost my spark when I arrived in South East Asia until I met my girlfriend in Vietnam and I started enjoying it again."

But he said alongside the stunning views, the kindness of every person he bumped into was what really spurred him on.

Jamie said: "Every person I spoke to I was met with utmost courtesy.

"Their hospitality and kindness were incredible."

Jamie said he was emotional upon finishing the journey - but he says there are plenty more big adventures to come, including writing a book about his journey.

Jamie's Dad, Phill, said: "I'm very proud that he managed to follow the route that I followed 40 years ago.

"I'm especially proud of his first ascent taking his bike to Annapurna basecamp as well as undertaking the recreation of my trip up to everest basecamp all those years ago."

Follow Jamie's adventures on Instagram at j.a.hargreaves.

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