On 12 July 1994, Englishman Jason Lewis set out from Greenwich, London, with his university friend Stevie Smith, aiming to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe using only human power. No engines, no sails, just human power and stubborn determination. In an interview with his old college, Royal Holloway, University of London, Lewis said the idea came from a late-night chat with his university friend Stevie Smith, who questioned whether it was possible to circumnavigate the globe without burning fuel. Guinness World Records confirms the expedition, which Lewis and Smith called Expedition 360, covered 46,505 miles by bicycle, pedal boat, inline skates and kayak, and included malaria, sepsis and a crocodile attack along the way.
Bike, boat and a broken pair of legs
Lewis and Smith mountain-biked about 1,700 miles through France, Spain and Portugal to Lagos, then pedaled the boat Moksha across the Atlantic to Miami, becoming the first to cross the Atlantic from mainland Europe to North America under human power, according to Guinness World Records. After landing in the US, Lewis rollerbladed across North America, becoming the first person to do so on inline skates. During his journey across the mainland, Lewis was hit by a drunk driver in Pueblo, Colorado, breaking both of his legs. He spent nine months recovering before he could carry on.
