My fitness challenge

Mark Beaumont's latest epic challenge is to ride around the world in 80 days

This Sunday (July 2) Mark Beaumont will set off from Paris on his toughest challenge yet: to ride around the world, all 18,000 miles of it, in just 80 days. Whereas Phileas Fogg — the protagonist of Jules Verne’s 1873 novel Around The World in Eighty

Days — travelled by train, steamer and even elephant, Beaumont will be limited to pedal power. This is no mere stunt; it’s a feat of endurance that will push Beaumont into unknown territory in every sense.

“This is the ultimate for me,” says the 34-year-old Scot. “It’s a one-time prize. Nobody is going to remember the second person to go sub-80, and I’m trying to take 43 days off the current record. I see this as the four-minute mile of longdistance cycling.”

The 80-day goal requires Beaumont to ride an incredible 240 miles a day for 75 days, allowing three days for travel between land masses and two days contingency. That means spending 16 hours a day on his bike, sleeping no longer than five hours at a time. Beaumont is no stranger to ultra-endurance; in 2015, he broke the solo record for cycling the length of Africa, covering 10,000km in 42 days. This ride, though fully supported, is almost double the challenge.

“In terms of performance, this is another level. I’ll be on the bike for four four-hour sets a day, riding from 3am until getting into the stretcher at 10.30pm, sleeping for five hours, then back on the bike for another 16 hours. And repeat.”

Which is the most formidable aspect: the lack of sleep, the discomfort, forcing down 8,000kcal per day, or the inevitable muscular pain? Beaumont endeavoured to find out in advance this April, when he rode 3,500 miles around the coastline of Britain in 14.5 days — hitting his target of 240 miles a day. It took its toll.

“What concerned us most was the unexpected nerve damage, probably exacerbated by the cold conditions. I suffered some loss of feeling in my hands, as well as pain in my neck and jaw from holding my position on the tri bars.”

Beaumont has addressed these problems by selecting a lighter helmet and “doing a Froome” — focusing on keeping his head down so as to limit neck strain. He needs to sustain an average speed of 15mph, which may sound fairly modest — until you consider the sheer volume of unbroken hours in the saddle and the huge variety of terrain and conditions. Beaumont knows that the end goal must be respected at all times, letting the variables dictate the pace, alert to power and heart rate, with no scope for heroics.

No time for emotion

“All we need to worry about is getting on the bike every day; the long-term average [pace] will take care of itself. I can’t have my team elated when we smash it out of the park and downtrodden when we have a bad day. We need to be in a completely stable emotional state.”

The circumnavigation-by-bike records date back to 1981, when Nick Sanders rode 13,600 miles in 138 days. The Guinness World Record rules were tightened in 2013, increasing the minimum distance to 18,000 miles. Conforming to these rules, current record holder New Zealander Andrew Nicholson completed the required distance in 123 days, finishing on December 13, 2015. Beaumont aims to annihilate this record — is it personal?

“I don’t know much about [Nicholson] so I guess that’s your answer. I have huge respect for what other riders have done, but I don’t feel I’m racing anyone — only myself.” What drives Beaumont to race himself over such epic distances? Only five years ago, he and four crew-mates were rescued from the ocean after their boat capsized during an attempt to row across the Atlantic in less than 30 days.

“I nearly didn’t come home,” he reflects. “After that, I sort of gave up on big expeditions and became a TV presenter. But interviewing athletes is a pretty tough job for a retired athlete. Eventually I had to say to my family, ‘Look, I’m not done yet. I want to get back on my bike and try to smash some records.’”

Undeterred by the palpable risks and unavoidable pain, Beaumont is aiming for ultra-distance immortality, a record that will redefine around-the-world cycling. Where does it come from, this insatiable hunger to go further and faster?

“It doesn’t come from my parents, who were farmers, but I was given incredible freedom as a kid. Growing up in the Highlands and being home-schooled, it was a Swallows and Amazons existence. I pushed myself for the satisfaction of it — not racing, but travelling with a purpose, determined to be first and fastest.”

Unlike for Phileas Fogg, who was striving to win a bet for £20k (about £2m today), 80 days means more than money to Beaumont.

“I’m 34, there would be much easier ways to make a living at this point in my career, but it’s time for me to shoot for the stars and find out what is possible.”