Man, 26, cycles from Cheshire to Thailand, pedalling 120km a day and braving jungles, snow and deserts

A 26-year-old cycled from Cheshire to Thailand, covering 120km daily, camping across Europe, Central Asia and the Himalayas, facing tiger-infested jungles, snow, and deserts, and discovering the kindness of strangers along the way.

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, and set off on April 17 2025.

He pedalled through Germany, Austria, Croatia, and the Balkans, enduring long climbs and bivvies in chapels, before exploring Turkey, Georgia, and Kazakhstan alongside fellow cyclists.

His journey continued through the Silk Road in Uzbekistan, the Pamir Highway with his dad in Tajikistan, and the high mountain passes of Kyrgyzstan, India, and Nepal, where he cycled through tiger-infested jungles.

He broke his collarbone cycling to Pokhara and was “gutted” that this meant he could not reach the finish line via bike – instead, he flew to Bangkok on December 1, where he had hoped to be cycling around the country.

Olly told PA Real Life: “I would absolutely recommend bike packing.

“In my opinion it is the best way to travel – you see every inch of the path you take through each country, seeing every small change and the real sides of countries and their people.

“Meeting amazing locals who open their arms to you despite the language barrier, seeing breathtaking scenery change gradually as you go and exploring places that very few tourists ever do.”

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.

Olly 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.

Olly 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.

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

He said: “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”.

Olly 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 Khiva 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.

“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 minus 5C in 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”.

Next, they 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 began the Annapurna Circuit, seeing “amazing Himalayan scenery”.

He said: “The next few days I spent climbing over Thorong La pass at 5,416m in altitude climbing up in snowy winter conditions with shoe spikes whilst everyone else was hiking.

“I then broke my collarbone on the day my mum was flying out and spent five days in hospital where my mum came to visit.

“We stayed in Pokhara and made the most of the situation as we’d planned to do some big treks through the mountains which was no longer possible so we visited Chitwan National Park and did some smaller treks and trips around Pokhara and Kathmandu.”

On December 1, Olly flew to Bangkok to reunite with his girlfriend, Ellie, 26, and officially complete his challenge.

He said: “Unfortunately I think the joy and pride of completing the journey were taken away by the accident as I never had that realisation of knowing I was having the last few kilometres on the bike and being able to soak up those last moments and reflect.

“That being said it feels great to look back on how far I have come on my own two legs.”

⁠Since landing in Bangkok, Olly and Ellie have continued to travel through northern Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.

Olly has also raised more than £2,400 for Alzheimer’s UK in memory of his grandmother, Maureen Hargreaves, who had the disease, and he thinks she would have been “very proud” of him.

He has documented his journey on TikTok and Instagram to keep family and friends updated and to inspire others.

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