Student Biked From Scotland To Greece In 48 Days To Be With Family During Pandemic

Although most of his friends had already left to return to their own families, Kleon waited a little longer so he could finish his classes. But it would turn out he lingered there for too long, as the three flights he booked to get home were all canceled.

"By the first of April I knew that I would spend at least the next month in quarantine in Aberdeen," he recalled to CNN.

Kleon did have some professional cycling training under his belt, but the thousands of miles it would take to return to his family was like nothing he'd ever attempted before.

In the end, he knew that if he wanted to get home, this would be how he'd have to do it. So he started preparing.

He said that they actually agreed to him biking home, though acknowledged this was probably because "they thought it was just an idea that I would eventually let go of."

But in fact, he was absolutely serious, and even purchased a sleeping bag, a tent, and some equipment for his bike, as well as food for the journey. He also set up an app to let his family track his journey, a condition his father had set.

During the trip, he would camp out in forests at night, or would sometimes reach out to friends in different countries who would offer him a bed and a shower.

"As a relatively introverted person, I was forced to kind of get out of my comfort zone in the sense that if I did not do some things, I would not have a place to stay, I would not have water," Kleon said. "It forced me to kind of have those interactions and reach out."

His route took him through England, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Italy, before he boarded a boat to the Greek port of Patras. From there, he continued biking towards his home of Athens.

There, the student was met with dozens of friends and family members, as well as many faces he didn't recognize belonging to people who had kept up with his journey online.

While he'd been cycling, Kleon had daily shared updates of his trip on his Instagram account which steadily gained more and more followers the closer he got to Greece.

"But I think if anything, they felt relief," he said.

Finally home, Kleon has been reflecting on his lengthy journey and is actually looking forward to the "next big thing", though he isn't sure what that is yet.

"When you set the bar really high and you attempt to reach a really ambitious goal, whether you achieve it or you don't, you will have improved," he explained of his 48-day adventure. "You will learn things about yourself and you will surprise yourself."

h/t: CNN