Three, intrepid best friends are travelling an extraordinary 6,000 miles from Wales to Thailand.
Dyfan Hughes, Louis Dennis and James Thomas’s journey is set to take a year-and-two-months.
The trio set off on 2 August and do not expect to reach Bangkok until October next year after navigating Europe and Asia entirely on two wheels.
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The pals, all 18, quit their jobs – Dyfan left bar work, Louis his factory post and James his role at McDonald’s to take on the adventure of a lifetime.
The friends typically spend six to eight hours a day on their bikes and are camping or staying in budget accommodation.
They’ve travelled through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and they’re currently on the north coast of Turkey, following the Black Sea to Georgia where they’ll spend Christmas.
“It has been the time of our lives so far,” Dyfan, from Wrexham said.
“It’s such an amazing experience, we’ve seen amazing views, met amazing people and tried new food.
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“It has been difficult physically to spend up to eight hours on the bike but we love it.
“We camped mainly at the start when hotels or apartments were very expensive but as it’s got colder and the countries are becoming less expensive, we’ve been staying in cheap apartments or hotels.
“We still camp here and there and use the app Warmshowers which is for cyclists looking for somewhere to stay.
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“Accommodation for the three of us is around £20 a night.”
The group have only packed the essentials including sleeping mats, sleeping bags, a tent, a stove, a first-aid kit, a couple of changes of clothes and tins of food.
They estimate the entire expedition will cost them £20,000 in total.
Dyfan also told What’s the Jam: “We have tried our best to keep the cost down as much as possible by eating cheaply and camping in the countries where hotels and apartments were expensive.
“We don’t mind budgeting as our dream is to travel the world.
“Our favourite city is Istanbul but the best views would be Serbia, near the Romanian border.”
They have only caught one boat so far from Harwich, Essex, to the Netherlands.
Dyfan, Louis and James are taking on the challenge to raise money for The British Heart Foundation after their friend Harrison, 18, dad passed away.
They’ve raised £10,000 so far.
Dyfan says their families were worried when they revealed their plans to cycle to Thailand.
He said: “Our families were worried at the start but now that we’ve left and shown them it’s more than possible they are fully on board with it.
“We wanted to raise money for our friend’s father who sadly passed away and we will be visiting him in Thailand when we get there.
“We haven’t seen him in a long time now so instead of getting a flight we thought ‘why not cycle there?’ and raise money along the way.
“Harrison said it means the world to him and he’s so thankful.”
To donate, go to www.justgiving.com
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