World odyssey 'running on air'

Jason Lewis travelled on mountain bike across Australia

A British adventurer's human-powered round the world odyssey on land and sea is facing a financial crisis - after travelling 23,500 miles in seven years.

Jason Lewis has pedalled across the Channel, the Atlantic and Pacific in a wooden boat.

He has travelled across the United States on roller skates and by mountain bike across Australia.

He is now is in Colorado, America, trying to raise cash to enable his expedition to complete its 38,000 mile target.

The team crossed the Atlantic via pedal boat

Mr Lewis, 34, from Bridport, Dorset, said: "Financially we have been running on air for a while.

"I need to clear about £20,000 in debts - then raise up to another £6,000 to finance the next leg."

In October Mr Lewis led a team of mountain bikers on the latest leg of Expedition 360 - an 86-day, 2,850 mile ride through the outback from Queensland to Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory.

Next he plans to take his wooden pedal boat "Moksha" from Darwin to Timor in Indonesia, then kayak up the island chain to Singapore.

But that four or five month leg is unlikely to happen until next April or May due to a lack of finances.

Meanwhile, Mr Lewis said he was hoping that deals with Disney and the US public service broadcast service PBS would bring in some crucial revenue.

Atlantic crossing

Expedition 360 is due to be featured next February or March in a four-part series on the Discovery Channel.

Mr Lewis said it now faces "crunch time" in terms of funding, but said: "I will keep going somehow."

Mr Lewis, and partner Steve Lewis, from Wolverhampton, began the epic trip by mountain bike from the Greenwich Meridian Line in London in July, 1994, then pedal boated the Channel.

That autumn they powered "Moksha" from Portugal to Florida, USA - making the first east-west pedal boat crossing of the Atlantic.

Then, while Steve cycled across the USA to California, Jason made the trip by roller skate - with a nine-month break while he recovered after a car broke both his legs in Colorado.

The pair set out in "Moksha" from San Francisco to Hawaii in the autumn of 1998, with Jason then travelling solo 2,200 miles to Tarawa Island after Steve left the expedition.

During 2000 he completed the Pacific crossing in two further legs with Chris Tipper, who helped build the Moksha, and US schoolteacher April Abril - before organising the trans-Australia bike leg.

Mr Lewis said his planned route through Thailand, China, India, North Africa and Europe will bring him back to his starting point in another three or four years - finances permitting.