Long-time readers of this site may remember Alan Bate, who we met in a guesthouse in Malaysia back in 2008.

In an interview for our podcast series, Alan told us how he dreamed of breaking the record for fastest-round-the-world by bicycle, taking a significant margin off of Mark Beaumont’s time.

He’s had some delays since then, but Alan will now set off on March 31st from Bangkok. He aims to cover the 18,000 mile route through Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the Middle East in just 99 days.

It’s hardly the kind of slow and leisurely cycle tour most of us would choose (it’s debatable whether this is even cycle touring or simply racing) but you have to admire his stamina and motivation to tackle such a challenge.

He’ll need a fair bit of determination as well. Since Mark Beaumont set a time of 194 days, a steady stream of cyclists have tried to lower the record. The latest to make an attempt is Vin Cox, who is currently cycling through India and is about 6 weeks into his Great Bike Ride.

You can follow Alan’s progress on his website, World Cycling Record.