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On 7 August 2018 Lloyd Edward Collier and Louis Paul Snellgrove set off on the trip of a lifetime from Adelaide, Australia.

Nine months later, on 16 May 2019, they returned to complete their successful attempt of the fastest circumnavigation by tandem bicycle (male). 

In the intervening 281 days 22 hours they cycled over 18,000 miles across Asia, Russia, Europe, North America and Oceania to break the previous record by nine days.

Their journey was announced on Guinness World Records Day which this year has encouraged people to push themselves with the theme "Spirit of Adventure".

The British friends, who work as doctors in Australia, embarked on their epic journey to fulfil a boyhood ambition for adventure and to also raise money for Spinal Research and the Brain Foundation.

"Life is far too short. Working as an Emergency doctor I’ve witnessed first-hand accidents and illnesses cutting short the lives of many people. Growing up I was inspired by the olden day adventurers who explored the unknown corners of the earth not knowing if they would every return, risking all in the pursuit of knowledge," said Louis.

The pair's unbounding optimism and do-it-yourself approach, which Lloyd attributes to his late uncle Alun, even extended to watching how to fix your bike videos on YouTube. The idea being that they had the next nine months on the road to learn everything they needed to know.

"Don’t plan too much. On such a large trip there are so many different factors that can affect you. To succeed you have to be more fluid than tangible, be prepared for failure but not let failure succeed you. Have the courage to make ideas into reality. Let the doubters doubt from the comfort of their home while you’re out living and putting your ambitions into reality."

It's this strong spirit of adventure and determination that has earned the pair a special place in this year's worldwide Guinness World Records Day celebrations.

Read about other achievements celebrated on Guinness World Records Day:

• Real-life Iron Man smashes his jet-powered suit record by flying at 85 mph along Brighton Pier
  
• Explorer becomes youngest person to reach the South Pole on their own after 51-day trek across Antarctica
  
• The woman making '60 the new 40' by becoming the oldest person to swim the 200-km Oceans Seven
  
• Riding the length of Japan on a scooter: why a red samurai has embarked on an 8,000-km journey
  
• Disabled son inspires proud dad’s record-breaking swim for Guinness World Records Day 
• Harlem Globetrotters set yet more records with long-distance basketball shots and even more tricks
• Adventurer rides 10,000 km across the width of China on his electric scooter
  
• Brothers travel more than 3,000 miles around China by train in just 24 hours

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