Try, try and try again: Cyclist who won’t give up on global dream
Josh Quigley remains determined to cycle round the world… and has set his sights on an even bigger prize, finds Sandra Dick
BATTERED, broken and fearing for his future, as round-the-world cyclist Josh Quigley lay in a Texas hospital after a horror accident, he may well have thought it was time to hang up his Lycra.
In half a dozen attempts to cycle around the world, he had encountered one misfortune after the other: far from cycling the planet, he seemed the world’s unluckiest cyclist.
There was the time his bike was stolen just a few hundred miles into his quest, or when his passport was destroyed 12,000 miles from home by sweat.
There was a dental emergency in Finland, the chilling realisation that his flimsy tent was no match for sub-zero temperatures and a fine for cycling through an English town centre where bikes are banned.
Instead of leaving him downbeat, however, the crash in Texas in December – within touching distance of completing his quest – left the West Lothian cyclist determined to carry on pedalling.
Indeed, not only is he now back training for a return to America and the final part of his global challenge, Mr Quigley has revealed he has set his sights set on another, even bigger prize – the Tour de France.
It seems an outlandish suggestion for someone who just a few years ago was battling depression. Yet Quigley, 27, insists he is serious.
“I love cycling, and the Tour de France is the ultimate dream,” he says. “I know I’ve got the potential. I started off cycling 50 miles a day, by December last year I was covering 270 miles a day.
“Besides,” he adds, slightly ominously, “what’s the worst that can happen? I might not be good enough but at least I get to spend a few years trying. It’s win-win.”
It’s hard not to admire his optimism. He is already a long way from when, after the collapse of a relationship, he plunged into depression and suicidal thoughts as he hit the drink and drugs.
It came to a head in 2015 when the rising star of the business community, who had won awards for his digital marketing agency Sharkdog, drove his car into a concrete barrier on the M8.
He recalls: “I thought, ‘I can’t take it any more’. I went out and crashed the car. And that was the beginning of everything for me – I did what people said, I went to the doctor.
“But I was put on a waiting list for therapy and left with anti-depressants which I didn’t want to take. After the crash, I needed to be proactive and do something different.”
He has since made half a dozen attempts to cycle around the world but his first bid was thwarted by homesickness. His father’s death at the end of 2018 sparked more depression and more failed round-the-world attempts.
It was then that he paused, counted up his attempts and the 10,000-plus miles he had already covered, and resolved to just get it done.
“I had let down people who had been sponsoring me. I thought, ‘six times I’ve tried – this is the last chance’. I decided I was going to finish it, no matter what happens along the way.”
When his bike was stolen in London within days of setting out, it could have been another reason to quit. Instead, he carried on.
He cycled from France to Istanbul in just 51 days then from Georgia through China to South Korea, where he caught a boat to Tokyo.
He arrived in October in Australia but its heat and cycling with his passport in his pocket destroyed the vital document and was forced to travel home to obtain a new one. By December, he was back in the US, in Los Angeles, and ready to complete his challenge in Florida.
However, near Dallas, Texas, in early December, just 2,000 miles short of his 18,000-mile target, he was struck by a car doing 70mph.
When I started I had no hope... Now I’ve seen beautiful landscapes and sunrises in beautiful locations with great people
He was treated for a fractured skull, a traumatic brain injury, damaged arteries in his neck, seven broken ribs, a fractured bone in his back and foot injuries.
Now, however, he is back training with a new bike gifted by Livingston-based cycle makers Shand, as he aims to complete his challenge later this year.
“I never once considered not finishing because of the accident,” he says. “When I started in 2016, I was this person with no hope, I was indecisive. I had a reputation for being unsteady and a bit flaky,” he adds.
“Now I’ve seen beautiful landscapes, sunrises in beautiful locations with great people. I want to get on my bike and keep moving forward.”