Wasn't it Mark Twain who said; "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated"? | "A Norwegian cyclist had been following my progress and had come to the conclusion that I'd been caught in a snowstorm and perished!" | | Edward on reports of his death |
Devon cyclist Edward Genochio must know just how he felt, after a message on his own website suggested that he was 'missing, presumed dead'. But nothing could be further from the truth as Edward, from Exeter, had just taken a short detour from his journey home from Shanghai to stop off and party! In a telephone conversation to BBC Radio Devon reporter Sarah Swadling, Edward explained that he has already covered about 10,000 km since leaving Shanghai which ought to mean that he was 2/3 of the way home.  | | Which way? Another detour perhaps? |
But that's only 'as the crow flies' and he admits to his bicycle 'wandering' off course leaving him ½ way across China and only ¼ of the way home. "A couple of weeks ago I was cycling in a fairly remote area away from telephones and the internet. It was the Tibetan Lunar New Year Festival and I was 'kidnapped' - in the friendliest possible way- by a group of villagers who wanted me to join in their celebrations," he explained. "I was happy to oblige but it took me off my plotted route and it was about a week or so later when I eventually found an internet cafe to send an email home. "I logged on to my website to find I'd been reported missing, presumed dead by a Norwegian cyclist who had been following my progress and had come to the conclusion that I'd been caught in a snowstorm and perished!"  | | Listen to Edward's chat with Sarah Swadling |
Friends and family actually took the reports in their stride. "They are quite used to me disappearing off the face of the earth for a week or two," said Edward. "In fact when a journalist phoned my mother to get her reaction she just told them not to be so silly!" Edward's journey now takes him on a very lonely leg of his homeward journey, across the Tibetan plateau. Keep up to date with Edward's journey here on the BBC Devon website. | 
