This is what Tom Davies created on RelevantNow...
Tom Davies, age 19, has completed his gap year challenge of being the youngest person to cycle around the world
I am writing to you to let you know about 19 year old Tom Davies, who arrived back home in London today, having cycled around the world, and believes himself the youngest person to achieve this feat. .
Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want more information - and could you possibly let me know if you plan to use this story. More details below.
Sunday 9th August, Battersea, South West London.
TOM DAVIES, AGE 19, YOUNGEST PERSON TO CYCLE ROUND THE WORLD
19 year old Tom Davies arrived back home in London today, having cycled around the world. He was welcomed back by a group of family and friends, including parents and children from Hornsby House School, where he was a pupil and worked as a gap assistant during the autumn term ahead of his big trip.
Tom set off from Battersea in South West London on 17th January 2015 and has cycled over 18,000 miles across Europe, Asia, Australasia and North America. Although this is not an official Guinness World Record, since “youngest” records are not recognised, Tom believes he is the youngest person to have done it. He has also made sure he has fulfilled all the key criteria for a round the world trip, such as using the same bike frame throughout, starting and finishing at the same point, riding in one direction, covering at least 18,000 miles and passing through two antipodal points – in his case, Wellington in New Zealand and just north of Madrid in Spain.
Tom has been a keen cyclist throughout his teenage years. At the age of 15, he cycled to Chamonix with his father and he rides regularly with Strictly CC, a South London cycling club.
The trip has been an enormous personal challenge and, although he has received much kindness and hospitality from many different people around the world, he has needed to be almost entirely self-reliant. He has had many adventures along the way, including being held up by snow in Greece, being chased by dogs in Albania, and crossing the Nullarbor Desert in Australia, but has not let anything deter him. Tom has also been raising money for three very worthy charities: Sohana Research Fund, Prostate Cancer UK, and Carney’s Community. Sohana Research Fund is focused on funding research to find a cure for Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa, a genetic skin blistering condition, while Carney’s Community is a small charity that works to turn around the lives of disadvantaged and excluded young people. To date, Tom has raised over £50,000, which will be shared between the three charities.
Tom said, “The trip has been amazing, but I didn’t really know what to expect heading into it. It has been incredible to see the countries and experience the different cultures in this way, whilst also pushing myself harder than I ever thought possible. I have been overwhelmed by the hospitality of people all around the world which is something I didn’t necessarily expect, but which has made it much more rewarding. I am delighted that the three charities will benefit from my trip, and cannot express how grateful I am for all the support from my family, friends and almost everyone who has heard about it. The last seven months have been very intense and I am looking forward to a few weeks off before heading to university.”
For more information about Tom, his cycle ride around the world and his charities, see Tom’s website: www.tomdaviesrtw.com
Notes for Editors:
A few statistics:
Over 18,000 miles in 174 riding days (average of just over 100 miles a day)
21 countries, 10 punctures, 1 broken wheel, 1 sick day, fell off once
Detailed information about the charities can be found on their websites: www.prostatecanceruk.org, www.sohanaresearchfund.org and www.carneyscommunity.org.
Hornsby House is a co-educational prep school for 4-11 year olds in Wandsworth, southwest London, and is a member of IAPS (The Independent Association of Prep Schools).
This is what they had to say about RelevantNow:
I was amazed to get media almost everywhere for Tom using RelevantNow. Their website was really comprehensive and easy to work, and without it we would never have had achieved the level of coverage on radio, newspapers and television that ensued. Obviously as Tom's mum I was incredibly proud of his achievement, but through RelevantNow the message was spread far and wide (not just in the UK), and has meant that the names of his three charities (Sohana Research Fund, Prostate Cancer UK and Carney's Community) have reached a new public.
- Alison Davies, mother of Tom Davies (youngest person to cycle around the world - August 2015), https://tomdaviesrtw.com
Distributed by RelevantNow to 259 media. Read online by 276 people including emails, social media and the web.
Sent: 09/08/2015
And this is some of the coverage they received:
A teenager from Clapham may have just become the youngest person ever to ride around the world after completing his 18,000-mile journey...
A British teenager is thought to have become the youngest person to cycle around the world...
A teenager has become the youngest person ever to cycle around the world solo – and in the process has helped to raise awareness of a rare skin disease that is incurable and often fatal...
A British teenager raised his arms in triumph in Battersea, south London, on Sunday after completing an 18,000-mile journey that it is believed makes him the youngest person to cycle around the world...
Tom Davies, 19, from south London, has fled monkeys, been chased by dogs in Albania, and raced an emu in Australia, and after six-and-a-half months in the saddle he is heading into the home straight...
He was roared home by around 100 family, friends and others who have followed his exploits on his blog...
Tom Davies, 19, has fled monkeys, been chased by dogs in Albania, and raced an emu in Australia, and after six-and-a-half months in the saddle he is heading into the home straight...