Sunday 24th October 2004
Ed reaches the end of the road
Shanghai - The finish line! | |
|  | | Edward photographed earlier on in his epic ride |
| | Twenty-seven-year-old Edward Genochio, from Exeter, has completed his solo 12,000-mile cycle ride from Exeter to Shanghai. |
| | | Mission accomplished...
Devon adventurer Ed Genochio has completed his epic bicycle ride to China.
And, within minutes of completing his 12,000 mile, eight-month-long journey he announced he was thinking of cycling all the way back again!
Edward, 27, from Exeter, experienced many highs and lows on his adventure, including having his bike stolen by a Mongolian horseman.
He reached his goal - Shanghai in eastern China - after pedalling across Europe and Asia since March.
His route took him across 17 countries, and included crossings of Siberia and the Gobi desert.
 | Tackling the Gobi Desert
There are lots more pictures in our PHOTO GALLERY: |
"Arriving here Shanghai is a wonderful feeling.
"Standing on the waterfront with my bike, the past eight months of hard riding felt a bit unreal," he said.
"Then I got my map out and traced my route across all those thousands of miles back to Exeter. Then it really began to sink in just how far I've come."
Speaking from Shanghai, he said that cycling back home again was something he had been contemplating.
"I rule nothing out at this stage. I have been looking at a map thinking of possible routes and a way home," he said.
"I am going to take my feet off the pedals for a little while, and spend the winter in China writing a book about the journey."
He made headlines around the world when - after cycling around 10,000 miles - his bike was stolen by a horse-back thief near the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator.
 | | Edward, before setting off from Exeter |
The bike was locked to his tent - which was torn in half when the horseback raider tied a rope to it and rode into the night.
Bike firm Marin UK supplied him with a new machine to continue his marathon pedal.
The new bike was immediately put to the test in what Ed describes as by far the hardest part of his journey - the crossing of the Gobi desert.
"In the Gobi there are basically no roads. Sometimes there are tracks to follow but mostly it's a combination of rock and sand that is virtually un-rideable.
"I spent a long time pushing the bike, and went flying over the handlebars on several occasions. At least the sand was a reasonably soft landing."
 | Ed's previous diary >>> |  |
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