PRESS REPORT
THE PRESS, Christchurch	January 23, 2002
The World on Wheels
By KELLY ANDREW

Have wheels, will travel: British cyclist Richard Gregg admits he is hooked on touring the world.

As a boy Richard Gregg dreamed of places he wanted to see in the world, with India's Taj Mahal at the top of the list.

At the age of 38, after 11 years of travelling, he has crossed off his list the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China, along with many other spectacular spots in Africa, Asia, and Australia. He has also clocked up more than 40,000km on his bicycle, which has been his main mode of transport for the epic journey. The Englishman, who admits travelling has become an obsession, left London in September 1990. He met his Japanese wife, Haruyo Sugimoto, in a Laos backpackers' hostel on the way.

New Zealand is the 34th country he has cycled through. He and his wife --a reluctant cyclist-- rode from Auckland to Christchurch in about three weeks through heavy rain.

Highlights in New Zealand were whitebaitiing at Pukekohe, seeing a kiwi in Northland, and visiting Fiordland-- by bus.

"I've never been satisfied with seeing things on TV," he said. "I think you learn about yourself (travelling by bicycle). You open yourself up to more things, and to the people around you because you're not in a shell, surrounded by steel and glass like you are in a car."

Mr Gregg leaves New Zealand tomorrow for Fiji, and will make at least one crossing of the United States and South America, before returning to England. The deadline for finishing his trip around the world --issed by his wife is the end of 2003.