Adventure cyclist has bike stolen - have you seen Celia?

Road.cc is appealing to all south coast cyclists to keep their eyes out for a bike that has been stolen in Southampton – and its sentimental value is immense. Adventurer Geoffrey Williams has used the bike to travel more than 30,000 miles.

But despite pedalling through more than 30 countries - and escaping some rather tricky situations along the way - he has had the trusty yellow bike, which he nicknamed Celia, stolen from his back garden.

Mr Williams has pedalled across the Sahara Desert, escaped from a Hungarian jail, narrowly avoided being shot by border guards as he travelled from Hungary to the old Yugoslavia, and survived numerous crashes including one which was so serious that he had to undergo surgery on his back during his epic travels on the 1949 touring bike.

The bike went missing after thieves managed to negotiate 7ft-high gates, a metal chain and two padlocks, and Hampshire Police are investigating the theft which is believed to have happened during the early hours of October 22.

Mr Williams, who lives in Southampton, Hants, bought the bike, which is made by Sun, second-hand in 1970 and set off on his first adventure 13 years later with his nephew Philip Middleton.

He said in The Telegraph: "It's a major loss because my whole life has been with that bicycle. Over the years the bike has been left in some seriously dodgy spots so to have it stolen from my own back garden is unbelievable.

"The sad thing about it is that the only person it's worth anything to is me. I'm just wondering where she is now. I have had so many adventures on that bike and I can't believe it's gone."

To see a picture of Celia click here.