HE has cycled the world and successfully traversed the Americas but Scottish adventurer Mark Beaumont has set his sights on bringing home a new record.
The 32-year-old from Perthshire will attempt to become the fastest rider to complete an almost 7,000 mile journey travelling the length of Africa from Cairo to Cape Town.
The current Guinness World Record, held by Robert Knol of the Netherlands, stands at 70 days.
Beaumont believes he can shave at least 20 days off that time to complete the route which takes in countries including Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya.
The Scot, who has been preparing for the challenge by training at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow, will depart on April 9.
It marks his first major expedition since 2012 when Beaumont almost lost his life after his boat capsized on a world record bid rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. He and his five crew-mates spent 14 hours in icy waters fighting for survival.
This time around Beaumont 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.
"It's a massive ambition," he said. "With the round the world, I was averaging 100 miles a day for half a year. This is a much tighter expedition and I'm planning to push upwards of 140 miles each day in Africa. It's a very different challenge."
When he cycled round the world, he completed the 18,297 miles (29,446 km) route on 15 February 15 2008, having taken 194 days and 17 hours.
Beaumont's video diaries of the journey formed the basis of a BAFTA nominated documentary, The Man who Cycled the World, which was shown on the BBC.
Read the full interview with Mark Beaumont exclusively in The Herald Magazine today.
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