Freddie reaches China

Freddie Oxland, 23, has reached his destination after five months on the road and, emailing from the Chinese border, said he is “extremely proud”.

He said: “The feeling was amazing. Me, like many of my friends and family thought even reaching Istanbul was extremely ambitious. My sister was confident I wouldn’t even get to Hull before turning back home. So the fact that I have made it all the way to China was pretty overwhelming. I am extremely proud but a large part of me would love to continue around the world.”

As previously reported in the News, Freddie set off in April after repairing his dad Dave Oxland’s 15-year-old Dawes bike.

Since setting out, when he asked Dave which direction the Hull ferry was in, the engineering graduate has cycled through dozens of countries including Georgia and Uzbekistan.

The last leg of the journey over the Parmir mountains into Kyrgyzistan saw the road rise to 4,655 metres above sea level - almost the height of Mont Blanc - with temperatures dipping to minus 10 at night.

Freddie added: “The journey as a whole has been incredible. I decided to do a bike tour as I thought it would force me to go slowly through countries and meet people outside the major tourists cities, definitely not because of a love for cycling.”

“However, a fondness has grown. The people I have met made the trip very special. Local people in every country I have visited are so quick to offer me food, shelter, and vodka.

“People’s kindness far exceeded anything I have experienced before.”

He added: “For now, I plan to go home, watch this crazy Leeds United season unfold and use my degree for a couple of years before setting off on another bike adventure.

“My goal is to do a number of bike trips until I have cycled around the world! I am thinking next, to go from east to west across USA, something a little bit more comfortable.”