Cyclist completes round-the-world trip before Christmas in promise to mum

A cyclist who has dodged bears and racoons and clocked up 28,000 miles in the saddle has kept his promise to his mum and returned home to Wales in time for Christmas.

Nathan Hurley, 36, from Blackwood in Caerphilly county, set off on his round-the-world bike ride on 1 March 2024, reaching Sydney, Australia, 14 months later, before continuing his epic adventure.

Mr Hurley said he saved up for 10 years to see the world's mountains, deserts, 43 countries and raise £10,000 for charities.

Arriving back in Cardiff Bay at the weekend, he said: "It's the end of this adventure but I'm sure there are plenty more to come. I can't begin to summarise the journey, so I'll enjoy Christmas with the family."

The self-confessed "urban dweller" set off with a tent, stove and a blow-up pillow, daunted by the trip that lay ahead.

During the first part of the trip, Mr Hurley travelled across Europe, flew from Armenia to Kazakhstan, rode to China, where he said he was followed by suspicious local police as he crossed the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts.

"I didn't mind the police following me, they made me feel like a VIP but they weren't very inconspicuous - they were the only car following 200m behind me at 12mph," he said.

He said his scariest moment was almost cycling over a highly venomous western brown snake in Western Australia.

"Luckily the snake heard my bike and ducked off the road," said Mr Hurley, admitting the experience left him "terrified" the rest of the time he was camping in Australia.

He also had wildlife encounters in Alaska and Canada, often passing several bears a day on the side of the road.

After one bear rummaged through a campground in British Columbia, western Canada, he said he started singing Tom Jones and Stereophonics songs all day as a bear-deterrent.

"Bears just get in your mind, so every little noise keeps you awake when you are wild camping," said Mr Hurley, who estimates he spent about 200 of his 500 days away sleeping in a tent.

In Washington state, US, he said he was "terrified" when awoken by a rustling outside his tent, thinking it was another bear encounter.

"I didn't sleep a wink," he said, adding that when he did emerge from his, two of his bike panniers had been "ripped to pieces".

He eventually established that his food had been taken by a racoon.

"Those racoons are lethal but what did I know about that, being from Britain and Wales?" he said.

The cyclist said he had taken Welsh flag pin badges with him, which he handed out to children in China during the country's Year of the Dragon in 2024.

He also said footballer Gareth Bale was the best way he could explain Wales to bored guards in central Asia, while he sang the Welsh national anthem during a night at the famous Comedy Store in Los Angeles.

On the homeward-bound leg, Mr Hurley flew to Morocco and cycled home via Spain and Ireland.

"Ireland's a cold place full of warm people," he said.

"Its south coast was unforgiving - battled 100kph winds whilst riding from pub to pub.

"[It] was a treat to have a support crew of my dad and uncle but I think they were there for the Guinness."

Mr Hurley raised £6,000 for children's hospice Ty Hafan on the second leg, adding to £4,000 he had raised for the Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) Trust on the first leg.

The furniture design manager took a sabbatical from work after saving up for 10 years to make the trip, eventually taking redundancy in order to complete it.

"I was thinking of my family every day," he said.

"To see them at the finish was exciting and it was such a relief to finish."