Newport father cycles to Australia
Jeremy Reed celebrating his arrival in Melbourne with daughter Cathryn. - Credit: Archant
A Newport father-of-two has completed a 15,000 mile expedition to raise money for orphaned children.
Jeremy Reed, who lives in Newport with his wife Kim, returned just last week from the year-long adventure in which he cycled through 19 countries and reached Australia.
“The worst part was in England – I almost got wiped out by a coach,” said the retired newspaper publisher, who cycled from Harwich to Newport on the A120 to get home – an unglamorous end to an epic trip.
No stranger to a physical challenge, the 60-year-old sailed round the world between 2009-10. The following year he cycled from Newport to John O’Groats, from there to Lands End, and then returned to Newport – increasing the traditional 900 miles journey to a 2,500 mile round route.
Searching for a further expedition, the explorer originally decided to cycle from Newport in Essex to Newport in Sydney, Australia. When his youngest daughter Cathryn, now 27, moved to Melbourne in 2013, Jeremy decided to tack the 670 miles onto his ride to go and meet her.
“It would have been a bit churlish not to cycle that distance on a journey of 15,000 miles,” explained Jeremy, whose other daughter, Philippa, 30, lives in Saffron Walden.
“The world is getting smaller and smaller, and you’re only on this planet once,” said Jeremy of his motivation.
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“I wanted to see how these people in these countries live and what they are like. When I cycled I didn’t go out of my way to do any touristy things.
“Ninety-nine point nine per cent of those people I met were kind, hospitable and helpful. The further east you go, the kinder people are.”
Before he set out Jeremy pledged his support toward SOS Childrens Villages, a charity which supports orphaned and abandoned children through community-based programmes and offers a loving home for those who cannot live with their family.
On his journey Jeremy managed to visit six of these villages in five countries, namely Croatia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Laos, and Indonesia, making videos to show the charities work.
“The work the charity does is incredibly impressive,” added Jeremy, who has so far raised £3,500 of his £10,000 target.
To help Jeremy reach his goal, go to justgiving.com/jpr59. For more information on the charity, see soschildrensvillages.org.uk
