Chesterfield man takes on colossal charity bike ride – cycling 14,000km across the globe from Derbyshire to Thailand

Dan Cresswell, from Chesterfield, and his friend Alain are in the middle of a mammoth charity fundraiser - that will see them cycle around 14,000km across the globe between London and Thailand.

The pair are friends from university and are currently traversing Pakistan. Dan started the journey last May, when he cycled from Chesterfield to London to meet up with Alain.

Since then, their pair have cycled over 8,500km together, through 21 countries, and they have around 5,500km left to go before reaching their ultimate destination of Bangkok.

Dan said: “So far, we have cycled up to the Netherlands, down the river Rhine in Germany, over the Swiss Alps, across north Italy, down the Croatian coast, across Albania and Bulgaria, and into Turkey.

“We then took a short flight from Istanbul to Alexandria, on the north coast of Egypt, and attempted to cycle south, parallel to the river Nile. We were met with problems from the Egyptian police who didn’t want us cycling, and we were forced to leave the country.

“We caught the ferry from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, and cycled across the whole Arabian peninsula, through the deserts of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman.

“We have just taken another short flight from Muscat, the capital of Oman, to Karachi, on the south coast of Pakistan. We will cycle north through Pakistan and cycle over into India next.”

Alain and Dan set off on their mammoth journey in the hopes of raising money for three charities - which Dan said were especially close to their hearts.

“I am really passionate about the power of sport and community in helping the wellbeing of people, which is why I chose to raise money for Chesterfield FC Community Trust. They increase participation in sport for younger people, improve the health and wellbeing of the local community, and reduce isolation in older people, along with many other positive community impacts.

“We have also chosen to raise money for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), the mental health charity. Every week 125 people in the UK take their own lives. CALM exists to change this by offering life-saving services, provoking national conversation and bringing people together to reject living miserably.

“We both want to support people who are going through a tough time, and prevent the horrible tragedy of suicide from taking place. Suicide is the biggest killer in men under the age of 45 which is a horrible fact. We are really passionate to support CALM, to help prevent people, especially men, from taking their own lives.”

Alain, who was born and raised in Islington, opted to raise money for the Islington Foodbank - which helps those struggling to feed themselves and their families across the London borough.

Dan said that the pair had never attempted a challenge of this scale before, and more remarkably, were not even avid cyclists before embarking on their journeys.

“Neither of us have ever undertaken anything like this before. It’s something we believe we can achieve, and you have to have that belief, but on paper it looks almost impossible. This is what makes it exciting. We wanted a proper challenge where you can’t work out every leg of the trip until you’re on the ground.

“In fact, we’re not even cyclists really. Neither of us had been on a particularly long cycle before 2023, and we’re doing this trip on second hand bicycles off Facebook Marketplace for around £200 each. This only adds excitement to the challenge.

“We want to squeeze what we can out of the one life we have so we just decided to go all in on this adventure. We wanted a tough challenge, where it’s difficult to comprehend each step, or what each day will bring, but that’s the beauty of it. The unknown excites us and we love adventure. So far, it’s proving to be an amazing experience full of brilliant people, beautiful scenery, and delicious food.

”To see the culture change whilst on a bicycle is a really interesting experience. You have just got to take it day by day though, like anything in life. It’s difficult to comprehend the whole mission, and you can’t look too far ahead, but if you take it one step at a time, it’s not so bad. I think it’s more mentally testing, than physically. We’ve committed to this mission for such a long time, and the trip will last around 15 months in total, but like I say, if that’s broken down into one day at a time, anything is possible.”

Dan said that the idea of the challenge was sparked by watching documentaries covering similar feats - and added that they were showcasing their own adventures on YouTube.

“I’ve had the idea for a few years to do some sort of worldwide adventure. Travel documentaries or sporting challenges have always interested me and I knew at some point I’d do something like this. It was in December 2022 that the idea became serious when me and Alain met up and started talking about going on a challenging adventure.

“Over Christmas 2022, we both became hooked on worldwide cycling documentaries and YouTube videos, and we were constantly messaging each other links to documentaries of other people cycling the world. Very quickly, we both agreed we’d like to cycle the world too. Crucially, we set the date of June 4 to set off from London. Setting a date was imperative to ensure we would actually begin the trip.

“Cycling to the city of Bangkok specifically is slightly arbitrary to be honest, but we wanted to have a destination, and an end goal in south-east Asia, so we just chose Bangkok.

“We’re also making YouTube videos. Filming the adventure is another passion of ours. If anyone would like to follow our journey, they can do so by searching “Cycling London to Bangkok” or “Dan and Alain” on YouTube.” (The link to their channel is here).

The journey has not been without its difficulties - with Dan and Alain encountering challenges from the authorities as they attempted to cycle through Egypt. Inclement weather and huge climbs have also taken their toll - but Dan said the welcoming people and stunning scenery had helped them to battle on.

“One of the most difficult parts of the trip so far was navigating Egypt. That was mentally testing because the police kept stopping us, saying we were not allowed to cycle in certain parts of the country, and sending us on trains and in vans back the way we came. It was a bit of a mess to be honest, and it felt like we were failing our mission as we were forced out of the country.

“I felt I learned a life lesson in this experience though. I had wanted to cycle every last inch of land we could, but we simply couldn’t. Should we have given up on the whole mission just because we were forced out of one country? Absolutely not. We took it on the chin and carried on. After getting on the ferry to Saudi Arabia, we then cycled over 3,000km across the Arabian peninsula. I learned that things will stop you, and try and knock you down, but you must carry on, try your best, and never give up.

“Other difficult parts of the trip include cycling through the European heatwave last summer in Italy and Croatia, cycling over 2,000m in elevation over the Swiss alps, and sleeping in a tent during the cold nights of Bulgaria, but it’s all worth it for the adventure.

“The most rewarding parts of the trip are probably the people and nature. So many people have been so kind to us. They have offered us a place to stay for the night in their homes, cooked us a meal, and washed our clothes. This has happened in almost every country we have cycled through. We have experienced the good side of human nature. There’s a lot of negativity in the world and in the news, but we believe that most people are good natured and want to do good for others. In fact, it’s not just a belief, it’s been our experience.

“Cycling over the Alps was very beautiful; I personally find peace in the mountains. The Albanian mountains were stunning too. Saudi Arabia was also a highlight and probably my favourite country so far. The desert is breathtaking, the people are really hospitable, and its landscape and nature surprised me; the country has towering mountains, old volcanos, and lots of bird species. It’s an amazing country to be a tourist in.

“Rewarding parts of the trip come after a tough cycle, or a major moment in the trip too. Reaching our summit on the Alps felt amazing. Cycling to Asia felt really special and completing the width of the Arabian peninsula was a proud moment too.”

Dan added that he was looking forward to reuniting with his family once their journey was completed, as well as heading to the SMH Group Stadium to watch his beloved Chesterfield FC.

“When the trip is over, I am most looking forward to a beer and a Thai green curry. After that, it will be amazing to see my family again. As much as I love travelling, and meeting people from all over the world, I do love Chesterfield and my family, so it will be great to go back home after the trip too. I’m sure I will spend some time in south-east Asia for a little while though. I’m not cycling all that way to fly straight home.

“The trip has further taught me the importance of family and friendship. Everywhere we go, community and relationships are the most important thing to people. To eat a meal with other people, to share a laugh, to enjoy nature with others. This is what life is about, and once the trip is over, I hope for more of this, especially with my own family. I am definitely looking forward to seeing my own family again.

“I have managed to keep up with Chesterfield FC by listening to 1866 sport radio when I can, or by streaming the matches online. I’ve occasionally missed a match when I’ve been in the middle of the Saudi desert, but overall I’ve managed to keep up quite well. I’m looking forward to watching some games in the flesh next season now we’re going to be back in League Two.

“So far, we are 10 months into the mission and it’s literally taken sweat, blood and tears to make it this far. We have cycled over 8,500km and have around 5,500km to go. If you think this effort is worth a donation to our chosen charities, it would mean the world to us, and we thank you in advance for any donation you can give. Thank you.

So far, the pair have raised £860 of their £10,000 target – and the link to donate can be found here.