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Charles Stevens (18, from London) and Will Hsu (18, from Leamington Spa), are the youngest ever people to cycle the 10,000km Beijing-to-Tehran 'Silk Road,' having accomplished this in 120-days starting from mid-May 2016, during their summer break - with all donations going to the 'A Child Unheard' charity. It's an incredible story - two teenagers who have funded the entire trip themselves (working part-time jobs), with 100% of the donations going to charity (nearly £25,000 already raised via JustGiving.com). You can also watch their video appeal on the website www.beijingtotehran.com, along with their blog from the trip and photographs.The 10,000 kilometers covered nine countries and took Will and Charles four months to complete, from May to September of this year, and over the 120 days the boys have climbed to over 4,000 meters while descending below sea level. Supporters have been able to keep in touch with the Beijing-to-Tehran duo and monitor their progress via their blog on www.BeijingToTehran.com, where they have also been sharing amazing photos and stories during their journey.
Will HSU
"I have lived in the UK all my life, primarily in full time education. Having just completed my A Levels after five years at boarding school in the Oxfordshire countryside, I wanted to take a gap year to 'see the world' and do something more exciting before going to university to read Economics. But as fun as it sounds, going to "find myself" in Thailand wasn't for me. Hence why I have found myself signed up to do a 10,000 kilometer cycle across some of the least travelled areas of the World. So rather than attend the Full Moon Party in Thailand, I'll be ridding myself of life's excesses and cycling from Beijing to Tehran along the historic Silk Road. That might sound like a bad deal but I look forward to experiencing new and unfamiliar cultures and countries, whilst achieving something worthwhile through the funds raised for our charity, A Child Unheard."
Charles Stevens
Charles Stevens"Having finished school, I was eager to do something unusual with my gap year before heading off to read History at Saint Andrews. From a young age I have been lucky enough to have travelled extensively and to have completed some exciting challenges for charity. I feel cycling from Beijing to Tehran will prove to be the most rewarding and, inevitably, toughest challenge yet. It should provide a genuine picture of the peoples and countries that I shall be passing through. Cycling the Silk Road should provide a authentic insight into a route of great historical significance. I believe that the slower you travel in a country the better you come to understand it and at a time of such unilateral change in the cultural traditions of these regions, I hope to have the privilege of seeing them before they disappear entirely."