Meet the adventurer

Mark Beaumont on record-breaking cycles

The Scottish endurance athlete and documentary filmmaker has spent more than a decade pedalling his way to new world records

Tell us about your first adventure.

I was home schooled on a farm in the foothills of the Scottish Highlands. I was outside all the time but had my first proper adventure when I was 12 — I decided to cycle across Scotland, coast to coast, which is about 125 miles. That’s quite a long way when you’re 12, and I loved it. It wasn’t just the adventure of riding across my country, it was raising funds for local charities and getting my story in the paper. I’d never really been off the farm before; my closest friends were my sisters. I had such a small world. To go on an adventure like that was so liberating.

In 2017, you cycled 18,000 miles around the world in under 80 days. What was that like?

I think the simplicity of seeing a person on the bicycle belies the complexity of the feat. Every other race I’ve done over the past 15 years has been unsupported, whereas with the round-the-world record, the team around me were extraordinary, and I normally had six to eight people on the road with me at any one time. It was two-and-a-half years in the planning, and we took the record from 123 days down to 78.

What was your inspiration?

A lot of people don’t realise the scale of that ambition. That record was my Everest; I wanted one opportunity in my life to put all my cards on the table, get rid of all the unknowns. It was purely about how fast you can go around the planet.

Of all your achievements, which one are you most proud of?

As an athlete, the round the world in 80 days record. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But I also broke the British record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a penny farthing, which was a record that nobody had touched for 127 years. For me, they don’t have to be traditional records — I quite like things that are a bit quirkier.

Your new book, Endurance, gives tips to people interested in endurance cycling. What one piece of advice you would give?

We can’t all be professional sprinters or athletes, but everyone has the ability to go a bit further. Some knowledge around preparation and nutrition can help, but it’s normally your own expectations that limit you. The power of your own confidence is everything — it’s why, when it comes to adventure racing, you have men and women in their fifties and sixties still smashing it. And ultimately, within that, you’ve got to want to explore places. It feeds the soul. If I captured one thought in the book, it was that.

What inspires you to keep pushing yourself?

I’ve always done major expeditions because I love that interaction between the physicality and psychology, but also between you and the cultures, the places, the people. You need the friendship of strangers to figure out how to get by; the more you push yourself, the more you’re vulnerable. People often ask me if I think I’m missing the point of these journeys by going so fast? But I think it creates a beautiful dynamic.

What has been your most memorable encounter?

I was in Sudan, not knowing where I’d find a place to stay in the Sahara Desert, and I came across a small truck stop. Without a word in common, the people there gave me an incredible welcome. I was taken in, my water bottle was filled, I ate stew and left the next morning after sleeping with them on the sand. These are wonderful moments where people bring me into their world.

There are a few places in the world where there are huge ribbons of tarmac going across massive expanses, like the Atacama Desert in northern Chile or the Alcan Highway going through Alaska and British Columbia. If you meet anyone out there, you’re both on an adventure. INTERVIEW: ANGELA LOCATELLI