Christchurch man skateboards around the world
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New Zealander Rob Thomson says wanting to go outside his comfort zone was the motivation for a 12,000km unassisted skateboard journey across three continents.
Thomson's journey through Europe, North America and China has ended in Shanghai after 462 days.
The 28-year-old from Christchurch said today that he hoped to have the feat recognised by Guinness World Records.
Asked why he had undertaken the journey, Thomson said: ``I struggle with that question sometimes as well.''
But the main reason was that he had wanted to push himself.
"I took a couple of years of my life to put myself outside of my comfort zone,'' he told National Radio.
"I'll take something away from that in my life to come to just keep trying to learn, to keep making sure I push myself past my comfort zone and continue to learn.''
Thomson said other long distance skateboading feats had involved support teams and he had wanted to do his unaided, carrying his own gear and being self-sufficient.
He said the scariest moment was in Texas when he was almost struck down by a fast truck carrying a house.
"It must have missed my by about 10 or 20cm,'' he said.
"I was just left thinking, if that had been a foot closer to me, I would have been gone and what a terrible way to go''.
An arts graduate from Canterbury University, Thomson went to live in Japan in 2003, working first for a town council and then for the Asia Pacific University.
In July 2006, he left Japan on a recumbent bicycle and cycled across Asia and Europe to Switzerland, where he sent his bike home and began his skateboard adventure.
He said he intended to bike from Auckland to Christchurch when he arrived back in New Zealand.
- NZPA
- © Fairfax NZ News
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@ Ian: I lived on my savings, mostly. I travelled very much on the cheap. I slept in the cheapest inns I could find in eastern China (around NZ$4 a night), and everywhere else I free camped or enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of generous locals. To experience everything that I experienced, you can check out my website at www(dot)14degrees(dot)org. Every single day of the journey is accounted for in photos, text, and video.
@ Hellbender: Well pointed out.
@ Ian: I lived on my savings, mostly. I travelled very much on the cheap. I slept in the cheapest inns I could find in eastern China (around NZ$4 a night), and everywhere else I free camped or enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of generous locals. To experience everything that I experienced, you can check out my website at www.14degrees.org. Every single day of the journey is accounted for in photos, text, and video.
@ Hellbender: Well pointed out.
--- --- 14degrees Off The Beaten Track - Around the world solo by recumbent bicycle and skateboard. 24,000km. 2 years. // URL: www.14degrees.org // email: rob.thomson@14degrees.org // Raising awareness for Lowe Syndrome - www.lowesyndrome.org
good on ya !!! sounds amazing
Is China a continent now?
Nevertheless: good on ya, Rob!
Well done Rob! Surely this feat should be added to the Guinness Book of Records. One wonders what he lived on while skating across the world. I guess at some point he'll put his adventures down on paper and we'll all experience what Rob experienced.
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