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Mark Beaumont (cyclist)

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Mark Beaumont (born 1 January 1983) is a record-breaking long-distance Scottish cyclist. He holds the record for cycling round the world, completing his 18,297 miles (29,446 km) route on 15 February 2008, having taken 194 days and 17 hours. On February 18, 2010 Beaumont completed his latest quest[1], cycling from Anchorage, Alaska, USA to Ushuaia in Southern Argentina, for a BBC Television series.[2]

Early life

Beaumont was home-schooled until the age of 11. He was then educated at the High School of Dundee. He has two sisters called Heather and Hannah. Aged 15, he completed a solo ride the length of Great Britain from John o'Groats to Land's End. He also has a degree in Politics from Glasgow University. [3]

The Guinness world record

To qualify for the world record, Beaumont was required to travel a route that passes through two approximately antipodal points. The route began and ended in Paris, France, taking in 20 countries across Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia, Australasia and North America. The bicycle used for the attempt was a Koga-Miyata[4] with a Rohloff internal gearing hub. As well as the bike, he was carrying 66 pounds (30 kg) of equipment such as tools, cameras and other equipment to support him on the journey.

Beaumont endured many hardships during his journey. In Lafayette, Louisiana he was involved in a collision with a car and robbed later the same day, and elsewhere struggled with illnesses such as dysentery.

As a result of breaking the World Record, Mark Beaumont has raised £18,000 for charity.

Beaumont's video diaries of the journey formed the basis of a documentary, "The Man who Cycled the World", which was broadcast by the BBC in August 2008.[5]

BBC - Cycling the Americas

Beaumont cycled from Anchorage, Alaska, USA to Ushuaia in Southern Argentina, arriving on February 18, 2010. In addition to cycling 13,080 miles in 268 days, he also climbed the highest peaks in North and South America, McKinley and Aconcagua. Along with commenting online throughout the journey, he has recorded the adventure for a BBC One documentary series, 'The Man Who Cycled The Americas'. The first in a series of three episodes was broadcast on Tuesday 23 March 2010 on BBC1. Beaumont bypassed Colombia and the Darien Gap on his journey.

You can follow Beaumont's blog: bbc.co.uk/cyclingtheamericas [6]

Beaumont is also on Twitter: twitter.com/cyclingamericas [7]

Future

In addition to being an accomplished cyclist, Beaumont is a skier and rower. In June 2009, he planned to participate in a 12-strong team attempt to row across the North Atlantic in a record-breaking 45 days. The team would have been led by Edinburgh stockbroker turned adventurer Leven Brown whose 14-man La Mondiale crew has beaten the record from the Canaries to Barbados.[8] However, the boat he was going to use recently sank in the Atlantic. Although he vows to return to this project it has been shelved.

References

  1. ^ Scot completes his nine-month cycle from Alaska to Argentina
  2. ^ Web Site for the Round-the-World Record Attempt
  3. ^ The Times review of "The Man who Cycled the World"
  4. ^ Web Site for the Round-the-World Record Attempt
  5. ^ The Times review of "The Man who Cycled the World"
  6. ^ BBC Mark Beaumont Cycling The Americas
  7. ^ twitter.com/cyclingamericas
  8. ^ from Edinburgh's Evening News. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
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