Kleon Papadimitriou, 20, a student at the University of Aberdeen, said he attempted to book flights home to Athens three times in late March, but each flight was cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Papadimitriou said he did some research into what he would need to do to the make the 2,175-mile trip home via bicycle, and after consulting with friends and his family he decided to buy a bike and take on the challenge.
The student, who set up an app and Instagram account to allow his supporters to track his progress, said he packed bread and canned goods and set off on his journey. He said he rode 35 to 75 miles per day while passing through England, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Italy.
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Papadimitriou took a boat from the east coast of Italy to the Greek port of Patras, where he got back on his bike and rode the rest of the way to his Athens neighbourhood.
“It’s just now dawning on me how big of an achievement this was,” Papadimitriou told CNN. “And I did learn a lot of things about myself, about my limits, about my strengths and my weaknesses. And I’d say I really hope that the trip inspired at least one more person to go out of their comfort zone and try something new, something big.”
