Dermot Higgins, a retired teacher from North County Dublin, is closing in on the world record for becoming the oldest person to cycle around the world.
The 55 year-old has completed the bulk of the journey and is due to arrive in Washington DC just before St Patrick’s Day and he will then continue on to New York City where he will take part in the city’s St Patrick’s Day parade.
Dermot started his record bid in Madrid in July 2017 and travelled across Europe, Central and South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand before reaching the US.
He will be riding the last leg from Lisbon to Madrid on 25-31 March along with a group of friends who will be helping him to fundraise for Trócaire, an Irish overseas development agency which works across a number of programme areas, including sustainable livelihoods, human rights, gender equality, HIV, climate change and emergency relief.
The group will then return to Dublin on Easter Sunday, 1 April.
“I’m doing this trip both to fulfil a personal ambition and, through Trócaire, to support the Global Goals, which Ireland and 192 countries signed-up to in an effort to end poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change by 2030,” Dermot explains on his fundraising page
“I would really appreciate whatever you can donate here today, no matter how small. I have seen first-hand the effects of poverty and environmental damage as I’ve cycled around the world. And I have met thousands of kind-hearted people along the way and have experienced an amazing connection between us – all citizens of this precious planet. Whatever you can give, combined with the support of so many other kind people, will make a difference.”
Dermot also outlined what the requirements are for breaking the record: “I aim to satisfy the Guinness Book of Records requirements – a continuous journey East-West or West-East (the latter in my case) of at least 18,000 miles (29,000 km), total distance at least an Equator’s length, i.e. 24,900 miles (40,100 km) and to pass through two approximate antipodal points.”
You can support Dermot’s fundraising efforts through the below link:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gogodermo
