Steve Strange has reached the halfway point in his bid to set a new Guinness Book of Records' approved cycle ride around the world.

Strange, from Orpington, is now in India on his 18,000-mile epic, but has been forced into hurriedly navigating a revised route after his initial plan to ride though Iran and Pakistan was scuppered by the British Foreign Office!

He explained: "Because of tension and unrest in some areas of these countries, the Foreign Office has declared parts of my original route too dangerous to travel.

"I had to take out special travel insurance for my trip, and it would be nullified if I attempted to go through an area once it's been designated dangerous.

"This means I will have to make up around 1,000 miles lost by not going through Iran and Pakistan, while still adhering to the strict rules laid down by Guinness Book of Records' criteria.

Strange, about whom I first reported in June, had started his intrepid trip in Vancouver a few weeks earlier in his charity cycling marathon to raise money for the Uphill Ski Club, based at the Bromley Ski Centre, in St Paul's Cray.

The rules for his adventure requires him to cycle in a west-to-east direction passing through two antipodal points Madrid and Auckland while obtaining photographic and documented evidence from certain predetermined points along the way before arriving back at his start point in Vancouver.

Strange added: "I also have to use a special navigation machine three times a day, which transmits my position to a satellite and also stores the information for scrutinising by the people at Guinness when I have finished."

So besides his unplanned detour of Asia, how has Strange's trip gone too date?

He said: "It's been a fantastic experience. I have seen majestic scenery, had plenty of fun and sometimes encountered slightly dangerous wildlife, particularly the human variety roaming the Northern Hemisphere in their roaring, gas-guzzling, metallic machines!

"My punishing schedule has, at times, left me debilitated and frazzled with what mother nature has thrown at me on a daily basis, but I've also been exhilarated and dazzled by what I have seen and experienced.

"I particularly remembered the kindness of strangers that was so heartening as I island-hopped via Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily on to mainland Greece, just in time to cheer on our wheelchair rugby and basketball heroes in the Paralympics Games."

Strange, who has shed two stones in weight so far, has been fortunate to have almost avoided illness, although he did succumb for a few days to every travellers' nightmare not Delhi Belly, but on this occasion Turkish Tummy!

He said: "I struck up a friendship with a cyclist who I met en-route and he invited me to his home to join his family for a meal.

"I had stayed in a few rough and ready hotels where the food was of lay-by standard but this seemed okay until later that night. The funny thing was this chap was a doctor!"

What is to come will tax Strange's endurance, stamina, tenacity and psychological strength to its limits.

The terrain will be varied and rough, ranging from the desolate reaches of Rajasthan to the haunting beauty of the Himalayan foothills and lonely and fierce wastes of the Australian outback, with many dangers for the unwary, careless or unseasoned traveller.

It's certainly a Strange world!

If you would to donate to Strange's charity ride or keep up-to-date with his progress, log on to: www.stevesbikeride.org