NEW WORLD RECORD!!!
On 17th-18th March 2024, to celebrate my 50th birthday, I aimed to break the world record for Most Squats In 24 Hours (which stood at 25,000 reps) and to raise £7,000 for a clean water supply at an orphanage in Zimbabwe. I was successful with both aims, achieving £7,060 & 27,000 squats!
This world record was dedicated to my late brother Garai Makaya, who died on 11th February 2017, in a skydiving accident. Garai was heavily involved in charitable work, so after his passing I pledged to continue his fundraising work in Southern Africa by committing to the completion of a series of World Record ultra-endurance fundraising challenges, which I started in 2018 (please click here for the full details about the fundraising project).
My 24 hour squats Guinness world record attempt was the 4th event in this world record series and was specifically aimed at achieving a fundraising goal of $9,000 (£7,000) to install a borehole at an orphanage in Zimbabwe called Hupenyu Hutsva (HH).
Garai Makaya, after an epic day’s skydiving…
The availability of an unlimited (and free!) clean water supply will have an immediate impact on the lives of the 106 children (58 girls & 48 boys) living at the orphanage, in terms of improved sanitation and hygiene (including reduced risk of contracting cholera and other diseases currently plaguing the area). The institution will also be able to start growing its own vegetables to improve the childrens’ dietary intake and can also increase its financial sustainability through the commercial sale of vegetables to the surrounding communities.
A photo outside Hupenyu Hutsva Orphanage…
Finally, I’d like to say a heartfelt “THANK YOU!” to everyone who volunteered to make the world record attempt and fundraising project a success – and to everyone who made a donation for the orphanage. It’s difficult to articulate my appreciation. The borehole construction was completed in July 2024, providing a permanent (and free) water supply to the orphanage, for both general consumption and agricultural projects.
Full details of the borehole construction project can be found in the updates section of the fundraising page.
My Global Cycling Network (GCN) ElliptiGO Bike Review!
In March 2022 I was featured on the Global Cycling Network (GCN), one of the world’s biggest cycling channels, when I introduced the former professional cyclist and GCN presenter Conor Dunne to the ElliptiGO elliptical bicycle. The GCN video (below) explains what stand-up or elliptical cycling is all about and, of course, Conor and I also did a couple of crazy races against each other!
My 24-Hour Chin-Ups World Record!
My goals were to break the world record for the most chin-ups in 24 hours (which stood at 5,094 reps!) and to raise £80,000 for a charitable project in memory of my late brother, Garai Makaya.
NEW WORLD RECORD!!!
My world record attempt took place from 25th-26th September 2020 at Bodystreet Milton Keynes fitness centre and I set a new world record of 5,340 reps! The ITV News clip below sums it up pretty well, but you can also read my full event report or watch a full-length documentary video covering how I trained and prepared for the challenge and the world record event itself.
OTHER NEWS HEADLINES, WORLD RECORDS & WORLD FIRSTS!
30 September 2020: Interview About My New 24-hour Chin-ups World Record.
This 2-min interview was filmed two days after I broke the 24-hour chin-ups world record on 26th September 2020. In the discussion I go into a bit more detail about the reasons why I took on the challenge and where I hope to take this project next…
20 July 2018: My World Record Ride (Video Blog)!
On 24th June 2018 I started my longest ride ever, aiming to set a new Guinness World Record for the 2,768km (1,720-miles) return journey twice across Britain (between John o’Groats & Land’s End) using an Elliptical Bike. I covered 240km (150-miles) per day and took 11 days, 10 hours & 31 minutes to complete the task.
Below is the video blog from my 1,720-mile (2,768km) World Record Elliptical Bike ride from Land’s End to John o’Groats & back (‘LEJOGLE’) which took place between 24th June & 5th July, 2018. A shorter (10-min) video summary can also be watched on this link…
12 July 2018: BBC Live Interview on New Double End-to-End World Record.
The BBC News report below gives a summary of my 1,720-mile (2,768km) Double End to End Guinness World Record ride (twice Across Britain – from Land’s End to John o’Groats and back to Land’s End – or ‘LEJOGLE’). The ride took place from 24th June 2018 to 5th July 2018 and was held in memory of my late brother Garai Makaya, who passed away in a skydiving accident on 11 February 2017 in Rustenburg, South Africa.
You can also read my full event report on this link.
23 June 2018: BBC News Report on Double End-to-End World Record Attempt.
From 24th June – 5 July 2018 I will attempt my longest ride ever, aiming to set a new Guinness World Record for the 2,768km (1,720-miles) return journey between John o’Groats & Land’s End (‘LEJOGLE’) on my ElliptiGO elliptical bike.
Find out more about why I am doing this challenge and how you might be able to be involved on this link (or watch the 2-minute BBC News report below):
12-13 August 2017: ‘Everesting’ on an Elliptical Bike!
In August 2017 I attempted to ride the height of Mt Everest on an ElliptiGO stand-up elliptical bike. The task was to ride (23 times in a row) up a 5.1km long Welsh hill called ‘The Tumble’! To succeed I’d have to cover 225km (141-miles) and would need to climb over 8,848m (29,029 feet) – which matches the full height of Mt. Everest!
It’s an endurance cycling challenge called ‘Everesting’ – and it is tough! All riders who succeed earn a place in the Everesting Hall of Fame. I rode with my long-term team-mate Alan McDonogh and you can see how we got on in the video below (or you can read a more detailed report of our Everesting challenge on this link).
26-31 May 2016: Land’s End to John o’Groats Elliptical Bike World Record!
I took on the iconic 1,368km (850-mile) crossing of Great Britain from Land’s End to John O’Groats (‘LEJOG’) on an ElliptiGO Bike. The goal was to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest crossing of Britain on an elliptical cycle. The film below outlines my End to End ride, from the start of my training until the very end of the mammoth challenge ride itself and a written report of this epic adventure can be read here.
16-20 August 2015: Paris Brest Paris (1,200km Elliptical Bike World Record)!
I rode with the ElliptiGO Ultra-Endurance Team in the famous Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP 2015) Audax cycling challenge. Each rider was tasked with completing the 1,230km (765-miles) course within 90 hours. You can read my report about this epic endurance adventure on this link – or watch my film about the ride (below).
28 July-2 August 2013: London Edinburgh London (1,400km on an ElliptiGO)!
London Edinburgh London, or LEL, is a “randonnee” cycling event held every four years. To complete the event, riders must cover the 1,418 km (886-mile) round trip from London (England) to Edinburgh (Scotland) – and back – within 116 hours and 40 minutes.
1,000 cyclists from 33 different countries attempted this feat in 2013 – alongside 3 ElliptiGO riders: Alan McDonogh, Steve Cook and Idai Makaya. Read the report here, or watch the 5-min video summary below: