Portuguese cyclist discovers just how far he can cycle up Mount Everest

Portuguese endurance athlete Pedro Bento has put everyone's Everesting attempts to shame, after cycling to the Base Camp of Mount Everest solo. 

Instead of picking a hill and completing repeats until he had climbed the height of Chomolungma, Pedro Bento decided to actually attempt a solo ride up the mountain, or, at least, more than halfway up the highest point on Earth. 

Located 5,356 metres up, Base Camp is still a long way off the summit of the world's tallest mountain - 8,848 metres - but Bento managed to complete the arduous task without any additional support in just 11 days. 

Cycling up the mountain by himself, Bento told The Portugal News that he had to endure the sub-zero temperatures when cycling at night, while the difficult terrain meant he had to shoulder his bike over “rocks, suspension bridges and impassable bicycle paths.”

Bento raised over €3,000 for the Dreams of Kathmandu and the Rainbow Volunteer Club project during his cycle to Everest's Base Camp. The charities are aimed at providing better lives for children in the region, helping them to go to school and provide food for the neighbourhoods as well.

The Portuguese rider also claims that he is the first from the Iberian nation to take a bike to Everest Base Camp, and that he is the first cyclist to ride from “Kathmandu and Everest base camp alone (only three people had done so before, but in a group).”

However, that claim is disputed, with extreme ultra endurance cyclist Omar Di Felice also achieving this incredible feat back in March. 

Bento suffered considerable physical exertion on his way up the mountain, which ultimately caused him to be airlifted to a Kathmandu hospital from Base Camp. 

He explained: “On the last day I got altitude sickness: headaches, vomiting, body aches, loss of appetite and I managed to make the remaining route eating just one KitKat, over two hours of climbing, with the oxygen levels in the blood to 62 per cent.”