A student who was longing to be at home with his family managed to cycle 2,000 miles from Northern Scotland to Greece to join his family during the coronavirus pandemic.
When the lockdown was announced in the United Kingdom back in late March, Kleon Papadimitriou was just like a lot of students for whom the academic year was effectively over – he wanted to return home to sit this one out with his family.
The only problem was, he is studying for his degree at the University of Aberdeen, and his family live in Melissia, near to the Greek capital of Athens.
The 20-year-old wasn’t about to let that stop him, though. Taking a tent, and supplies of peanut butter, bread, and sardines, he set off on an epic journey that took him through the entirety of mainland Europe, before he eventually arrived in his homeland.
So, he left the UK on May 10, grabbing a ferry to Holland before pedalling his way through Germany, Austria, and down into Italy.
Remember, this is with 30 kilograms of travelling equipment on his back, by the way
From Italy, he hopped onto another ferry to Patras in Greece, before heading on down to Athens and arriving seven full weeks after he started his journey.
That’s not bad going, to be fair.
Speaking after he was welcomed home by his family with a laurel wreath and a lovely banner that read ‘ Welcome Home Kleon: One more challenge accomplished!’, Kleon told the Mirror: “I like adventures so when I couldn’t fly home I decided to go by bike.
“I had a lot of punctures and had to put up with snow, hail and intense heat along the way.
“Sometimes the bicycle tire burst two or three times a day, and that not only cost me a lot of time but it wasn’t good for my morale either.
“It was a lesson I had to learn to manage.
“I’m a bit saddle sore but it was worth it
Yeah, 2,000 odd miles on a bike through loads of different countries will definitely do that to you.
Now, Kleon plans to make his way back to Aberdeen via more traditional means once the flights resume, and he can head back to his electronic engineering degree.
He’s been there since September 2018, so he’s got to make it back to complete his studies.
It turns out he’s no stranger to this sort of caper, either.
In September 2019, he climbed Kilimanjaro. On Facebook, he wrote: “Summited at 5895m!
“Kilimanjaro was one true challenge I was not confident I’d be able to complete. Thank you to every single one of you who supported my cause and helped me make this trip possible!”
