Special visit for cycle-mad pupils

A cyclist who set off on an adventure to see how far east he could travel stopped at a primary school on his journey home after two years of pedalling around the world.

Jonathan Kambskard-Bennett (known as JKB) is a family friend of Mrs Paula Bryant, a teacher at Kirklington Primary School. He stayed with her and her family before spending two hours at the school on Wednesday and then continuing on his travels.

Mrs Bryant said the children had enjoyed watching the competitors on the Tour of Britain in September when they raced through the village so it had been interesting for them to hear about a cyclist on a different sort of challenge.

Jonathan showed them pictures and maps of his travels.

He spoke about his adventures, the places he had stayed, the people he met and the food he had eaten.

Jonathan, who is now 25, was 22 when he set off on his travels. He had no previous experience of cycling or camping and had never rode further than 10km.

But he said he had been bored and decided he wanted to discover the world and a lifestyle in the saddle.

Camped under the stars

He left London in 2015 and two years later is now home, having cycled round the world via 42 countries and 30,000 miles.

“One of the favourite pictures was from Iceland where he camped under the stars,” said Mrs Bryant.

“He told the children he would would rather sleep under five million stars than in a five-star hotel.”

Mrs Bryant said the children had been inspired by Jonathan, who had also answered questions from them so they could write their own reports.

“The children had seen the cyclists travel at massive speeds through the village on the first day of term so it was very different for them to hear about a different life on a bike at the end of term,” she said.