‘You only live once’: Man, 26, cycles from Cheshire to Nepal, covering 120km a day, on an epic journey toward Thailand

A 26-year-old has cycled from Cheshire to Nepal, covering around 120km a day and camping along the way, with the goal of reaching Thailand in December.

Olly Hargreaves, from Poynton, Cheshire, was inspired by his dad, Phil Hargreaves, 62, who cycled from the UK to Australia in 1984, and has dreamed of doing something similar since he was around 10 years old.

After graduating from university in 2021, Olly managed to save up around £6,000 for the trip.

He set off on April 17 this year, cycling across France, Germany, Austria and Croatia, as well as Greece, Turkey, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Nepal.

He plans to continue his journey through Kathmandu, eventually reaching Thailand in December, where he will reunite with girlfriend Ellie, 25, to travel around Asia and Australia together.

He is also raising money for Alzheimer’s UK along the journey, in memory of his grandmother who had the disease.

Olly told PA Real Life: “I’m sure she (my grandmother) would have been very proud, she passed away when I was quite young but I’m sure she would have known that I would take on something like this just like my dad did!

“I grew up hearing these wild and amazing stories and I always wanted to do something similar…so the trip has been a long time coming.

“You only live once so if you have the opportunity to travel, take it.”

After graduating from De Montfort University in 2021 with a degree in Industrial and Product Design, Olly moved back in with his parents and secured a job as a design engineer.

Between 2022 and 2025, he managed to save around £6,000 for his journey to Thailand, along with an additional £6,000 for future travels.

He set off on his adventure on April 17 2025, taking just his bike, tent, sleeping bag, camping stove, spare clothes and a power bank with him.

He began by cycling across Europe through France, Germany, Austria and Croatia.

He said: “Germany was nice and flat and I actually got offered a place to stay by this really nice German couple who put me up for the night.”

He continued down to Munich, arriving on May 5, before cycling to Salzburg in Austria, passing briefly through Italy, and entering Slovenia via Lake Bled and Ljubljana by May 10.

He then rode into Croatia, passing through the capital, Zagreb, where he stayed before arriving in Bosnia and Herzegovina on May 13.

He added: “In Bosnia, I bivvied out in a little chapel-type area, which had like a little roof over it.

“When I’ve been pitching up the tent, I make sure I’m out of the way and leave no mess and leave no trace.”

On May 19, a friend joined him by flying into Tivat, Montenegro, and Olly cycled back into Croatia, passing through Dubrovnik and then down the coast into Montenegro to meet him.

“We cycled over to the middle of Montenegro, which was up a very big hill, and we worked out it was the height of cycling up Snowdon from sea level,” Olly explained.

“So it was a very big day to introduce him to it!”

The pair then headed towards Albania and cycled through Kosovo, North Macedonia, Greece and Turkey, before his friend flew back to the UK.

Olly continued through central Turkey, meeting his girlfriend in Cappadocia “for a week off the bike”.

He then rode on to Georgia, arriving on July 5, and even “shared the road” with “a handful of other cyclists doing a similar journey”.

He added: “I cycled around on my own for a bit too and got chased by a lot of dogs but also saw some amazing scenery!”

At the time, the border with Azerbaijan was closed, so he caught a flight to Aktau in Kazakhstan to continue his journey on July 23.

He also met a Dutch cyclist called Casper, and together they cycled to Beyneu in Kazakhstan, where they had to take a train into Uzbekistan as the border remained closed.

“In Uzbekistan, we met up with a large group of cyclists and continued on together through the long stretches of desert and the beautiful Silk Road cities like Kiva and Bukhara,” Olly added.

He then cycled down through Afghanistan, on August 15, before meeting his dad in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

“The main thing I have found has been the kindness and generosity of people as they have been amazing and offered me so much in countries where people generally have so little,” Olly explained.

“There was a time I was bivvying out on top of a mountain in Afghanistan and I was found by some workers who all came over to take photos of, and with me, whist I was still in my sleeping bag!

“I cycled down to Kabul and had an amazing time there, experiencing lots of Afghan culture and seeing a much different side to that we see in the media.”

With his dad, he cycled along the Pamir Highway, travelling together for three weeks.

“We had an amazing time getting up to altitudes of over 4,600m and unfortunately my dad got pulmonary oedema, a form of altitude sickness, and had to get a taxi back down to a lower altitude,” he said.

He then travelled to Kyrgyzstan on September 24, where he reunited with his dad before he flew home.

Olly waited for two other “bikepackers to catch up” whom he had previously met, and together they cycled through Kyrgyzstan up to Almaty, crossing high mountain passes and sleeping in -5 degree Celsius tents, which “made for a crazy time”.

They then flew to New Delhi, India, on October 20, arriving at the start of Diwali, which Olly described as “mental”.

They then cycled down to Agra, where they saw the Taj Mahal, before heading north through “the madness and chaos of Indian roads” into Nepal on October 25.

They continued through “tiger infested jungle along the lowlands of Nepal” to Pokhara, and has now begun the Annapurna Circuit, seeing “amazing Himalayan scenery”.

Next, he will be meeting his mum in Kathmandu and hiking with her for three weeks.

Afterwards, he will fly to Bangkok on December 1 to travel around South East Asia with his girlfriend, Ellie.

He plans to continue exploring Australia, as well as New Zealand, the US and Canada, doing a ski season before returning to the UK in 2028.

Olly has also raised more than £1,400 for Alzheimer’s UK in memory of his grandmother, Maureen Hargreaves, who had the disease, throughout the journey, he thinks she would have been “very proud” of him.

Olly has been documenting his journey on TikTok and Instagram to keep family and friends updated and to inspire others.

To donate to Olly’s fundraiser, visit: www.justgiving.com/page/oliver-hargreaves-cycling-the-world.

To keep up to date with his travels, visit: www.instagram.com/sagas.of_olly.hargreaves and www.tiktok.com/@ollyhargreaves1.