ADVENTURER Mark Beaumont has endured a series of gruelling days as he battles to set a new world record for cycling the length of Africa.
The 32-year-old from Perthshire, now on day 20 of a 6,200 mile journey from Cairo to Cape Town, took ill with an upset stomach last Friday.
After a sleepless night, he battled on but found his efforts over the weekend hampered by stormy conditions, poor roads and mechanical mishaps including several punctures and a split front tyre.
By early afternoon yesterday, Beaumont had reached the Ethiopian border with Kenya where some replacement equipment awaited.
He has since crossed the border into Kenya to continue his way south.
Beaumont has previously described the 400 miles through northern Kenya as "a bit of a no-man's land".
Given the political unrest in the region, he has employed an armed security escort that will remain by his side in the coming days.
An attack at Garissa University College in north-eastern Kenya earlier this month killed 148 people, the majority students.
Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked Islamic extremist group that has carried out many attacks in Somalia, claimed responsibility.
Starting from Egypt, Beaumont's journey so far has taken him through Sudan, Ethiopia and now into Kenya with Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa still to come.
Beaumont is hoping to complete his solo feat in less than 50 days.
Keegan Longueira from South Africa finished the route in 59 days and eight hours last month, a time verified by Guinness World Records.
The challenge marks Beaumont's first major expedition since 2012 when he almost lost his life after his boat capsized on a world record bid to row across the Atlantic Ocean. He and his five crew-mates spent 14 hours in icy waters fighting for survival.
Beaumont, who has previously cycled around the world and across the Americas, will face unforgiving terrain and extremes of climate as well as the threat of kidnapping or attack in some of the regions he will pass through.
He has so far raised more than £30,000 for Orkidstudio, a Glasgow-based humanitarian architecture and construction charity with projects in Africa, Asia and South and Central America.
The public can follow his progress online with half-hourly updates via GPS tracking on his website and through social media using the hashtag #AfricaSolo
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