Britain's James Bowthorpe set to become fastest man to cycle round the globe

London, Sep. 14 (ANI): Less than five-and-a-half months after James Bowthorpe ventured out on his 18,000-mile bike ride through 20 countries, the cabinet-maker from south London is set to become the fastest man to cycle round the globe.

He is days away from taking three weeks off a record doubters called "unbreakable".

Riding at 160 miles a day through northern Spain, Bowthorpeis will cross Scottish rider Mark Beaumont's record, which was said to be unbreakable by many, when he rolls into Hyde Park on Saturday.

"I just can't wait for it to be over. My mind is okay but physically I'm totally exhausted," Bowthorpeis, who is being sponsored by The Independent, said.

Bowthorpe, 31, has taken flights over oceans, cycled unsupported, carting more than 30 kilograms of clothes, gadgets and camping gear across deserts, mountains and along terrifying highways.

In his voyage fraught with danger, Bowthorpe came closest to disaster in Iran when five men in a car followed the rider in the dark before trying to drag him off his bike. Bowthorpe was rescued by a stranger with an army friend.

"It was the worst half an hour of my life. He said the men would have attacked me and taken my bike. He ran his finger across his throat, but who knows," the paper quoted him, as saying.

Less perilous encounters have included a collision with a wombat in Australia.

"You think they sound cute but it was like hitting a brick wall" and, on the outskirts of Sydney, a brush with a gang armed with kebab missiles.

Bowthorpe wants to raise 100 pounds for every mile he rides, to meet his objective of donating 1.8 million pounds to research into Parkinson's disease.

When Lance Armstrong heard about Bowthorpe's efforts, the Tour de France star gave him a shout-out on his Twitter feed.

"For a couple of days I imagined him watching me with his arms folded, shaking his head at my technique," Bowthorpe says. (ANI)