A BASINGSTOKE adventurer says he is still going strong – months into his latest mammoth challenge.

James Ketchell, 32, is currently in sunny California, having spent the past five months cycling across the world.

He has chalked up nearly 10,000 miles on his trusty Trek cross-trail bike cutting across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

He is now heading across the USA to Florida before catching a flight to Portugal and pedalling back to London’s Greenwich where he left in July.

The ride is another addition to the Basingstoke-based adventurer’s CV, having already chalked off rowing the Atlantic Ocean solo in 2009, and climbing Mount Everest – the highest mountain in the world – two years later.

James’ endurance feats are a far cry from 2007 when he was told by doctors he might never walk again after a near-fatal motorbike crash.

Speaking to The Gazette, James, from Riverdene, said he hopes to be back home by January. He added: “All in all, I am feeling fairly strong. I really struggled with the transition from Australia to the US. It wiped me out physically and mentally. I have never experienced anything like that before. But now I have got myself back into a rhythm.”

He added: “Thinking back to when I left Greenwich Park, it seems like such a long time ago now. All the places I have been to and all the people I have met. I still have thousands of miles to go and it is going to be quite exhausting.”

Despite being on course for an early 2014 finish, James will miss Christmas.

“It is not going to exist for me at all,” he said. “I will be somewhere on my own and hopefully somewhere near Florida.”

He added that despite the aching legs, and stress of hitting his 100-mile-per-day target, he is enjoying the adventure.

James hopes to raise £18,000 for the ELIFAR Foundation, a volunteer-run charity that helps disabled children and young adults.