Humphreys studied at the
University of Edinburgh and completed a PGCE at
Oxford. He began his first expedition in August 2001 from his
Yorkshire home. Passing south through Europe and Africa, he crossed to South America by sea from
Cape Town and proceeded up the west coast of the Americas, crossed from
Alaska to
Magadan in Russia, Japan then westward across China and Central Asia to return to Europe. His journey included raising funds and awareness for a charity called
Hope and Homes for Children. Humphreys arrived home in November 2005, having ridden over in four years and three months. He has written several books about his experiences, titled
Moods of Future Joys,
Ten Lessons from the Road,
Thunder and Sunshine and a series of three children's books called
The Boy Who Biked the World. Humphreys also wrote a book about walking across India called
There Are Other Rivers. In 2008, Humphreys competed in the
Marathon des Sables, a run across the
Sahara desert. He broke his foot during the race but still completed the event. He narrowly missed being in the top-100 finishers. In February 2009, Humphreys rowed across the English Channel with Major
Phil Packer to raise £1 million for
Help for Heroes. In spring 2009, Humphreys walked across India, and in 2010 he walked and
packrafted across Iceland. His 2011 "Year of Microadventure" earned him the National Geographic accolade of an "Adventurer of the Year". In 2012 he joined
Marin Medak, Simon Osborne and Steve Bowens to row unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean. The team successfully finished their journey in Barbados after 45 days and 15 hours at sea. He also walked across the Empty Quarter desert with
Leon McCarron and undertook an expedition in Greenland. In 2013, Humphreys released his first documentary film,
Into the Empty Quarter, documenting his walk through the
Empty Quarter desert with
Leon McCarron The film premiered at the
Royal Geographical Society, London, in November 2013. In 2020, Humphreys appeared on the podcast
Trees A Crowd. ==Publications==