New world record for most countries cycled in seven days

A man from King’s Lynn has broken the Guinness World Record for most countries cycled in seven days. The Eastern Daily Press reports that Robbie Ferri had been aiming for 14 countries but had to settle for 12 – one more than the previous record.

Last year, Ferri set a new record by cycling in five countries in 24 hours. He’d intended this to be just part of a seven-day record attempt, but had to abort after suffering a knee injury halfway through.

“It was a real shame looking back but I’m glad I had to work for it,” he said. “It made it a more realistic possibility.”

In September, he tried again. He started in Poland, rode through Eastern Europe and finished with a 250-mile day that got him to Germany – his twelfth country – with just 45 minutes to spare.

Ferri said he’d hoped to travel through a couple more countries, but after poor weather in the Balkans, he’d fallen ill.

“I lost 12 hours in the end and I woke up thinking there was going to be a high chance of not making it. Without the problems I could have definitely been able to do the 14. I know my level of fitness.”

He added: “I lost a lot of daylight hours but I really liked riding at night, it was beautiful. Because I was spending a lot of time at dusk and dawn it was stunning everywhere.

“I can’t believe how beautiful eastern Europe was, I can’t wait to go back. Although the weather was terrible the wildlife was beautiful.”

He says he will make a third attempt at the record next year.