When Mark Beaumont was 12 years old, he rode his bike across the width of Scotland; at 15 he’d ridden solo from John O’Groats to Land’s End. His life ever since these youthful feats of endurance has been dedicated to pushing himself, and his bike, to the very limits. In 2008, he cycled around the world in 194 days and 17 hours – a whole 81 days faster than the previous world record – before going on to conquer the length of the Americas, from Alaska to Argentina.
A brief hiatus from the world of cycling saw him become part of a crew attempting to row across the Atlantic; with 27 days and almost 2,000 miles gone, the boat capsized and the crew nearly died. After an event like this it would have been easy for Beaumont to hang up his adventuring gear and settle back into the life of broadcasting he’d made for himself, but it wasn’t to be. Last year, he broke the record for cycling the length of Africa, from Cairo to Cape Town, spending more than 600 hours in the saddle to cross over 6,500 miles in just 42 days.
He’s crossed mountains and deserts, traversed areas of the globe that some can only dream about. He tells escapism about his new account of that epic last trip, Africa Solo: My World Record Race from Cairo to Cape Town, his many adventures, and what drives him to achieve his goals…
Was it good to be back on dry land after that accident in the Atlantic? And how did it affect your Africa ride?
As you’ll read in the book, after that fright, after nearly dying, I was more than happy to draw a line under my athletic career and become a TV presenter. I wasn’t looking back with regret though; I’d had all my twenties as an athlete.
I learnt a huge amount about myself and what motivates me out in the Atlantic, but it wasn’t a sure thing at all that I’d come back to being an athlete. Last year and in 2014 it kind of came back full cycle, back to the bike and trying to take it to the next level. I’m not done yet, I hope in a few years’ time I can look back and see Africa as a training ride for what comes next, because I see that as updating my profile as a bike rider and pushing my ability.
Right at the start of the Africa trip you had some problems. When it’s day one and you’ve already stabbed yourself in the eye and got a puncture, and you still have thousands of miles to go, how do you pick yourself up?
I got through a lot of stupid stuff on the first day – the nerves at the start, all the press, ripping the sidewall off my tyre after 100 miles – and then seriously hurting my eye, as stupid an accident as it was. Then later that day I had to go back on myself, because the police need to know exactly where I was and I’d gone to the wrong place.
I’m massively driven by the fear of failure. If I’m having a particularly bad day, like I did in southern Ethiopia – which were the hardest miles by far – what happens if I don’t carry on is what fuels my miles. I’m just one of those people – if things are going wrong, don’t give me some Muhammad Ali quote, just tell me the consequences of failure!
Mark Beaumont on his way through South Africa
Where are your favourite places that you’ve visited on your adventures across the globe?
In the last decade I’ve been to about 130 countries; I’ve cycled border-to-border across over 60 countries so I guess I know more than most about what it’s like to cycle across the world and across continents at the speed of a bike.
I’m massively driven by the fear of failure
Off the top of my head, the top three I’d love to spend a tonne more time in are: the Cook Islands in the Pacific, down by Tonga; it’s pretty amazing. The Yukon Territory, northwest Canada – the land of billions of trees and millions of bears, that’s pretty awesome. And the Alcan Highway, which is a 600 mile road from Alaska through British Columbia – I’d really love to spend more time up there.
Iran and Sudan would stand out as the two countries that are most different to how I expected them to be. We hear about these places being difficult – international sanctions and all that stuff – but once you get inside you just meet phenomenally welcoming and interesting people and discover a real depth of culture. Are they the best places in the world? No, but they’re certainly the ones that have surprised me the most.
What part of the Africa Solo ride are you most proud of?
The funny thing is, if you look at any of the coverage of Africa Solo last year, what is talked about a lot is the final three countries – Zambia, Botswana, South Africa – where I was averaging well over 200 miles a day.
Iran and Sudan would stand out as the two countries that are most different to how I expected them to be
However, the week I’m actually most proud of is that week in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya, where my worst day was 80 miles. It doesn’t look good, no one else sees it as a success, but trust me that’s where I dug deepest. They were the hardest miles, even if on paper they weren’t the big miles.
What’s next for you?
I’m firmly back on two wheels; I’m absolutely pushing my ability as a bike rider. I’ve already said that Africa was basically part of a much bigger plan for me, and Africa was a training ride for what happens next. I’ve got a lot of work on this year, doing bits of broadcasting, but I’m also firmly in the planning stage for a very, very big expedition in 2017. By that point I’ll be 34, so as an endurance athlete the next couple of years have to really count.
Africa Solo: My World Record Race from Cairo to Cape Town by Mark Beaumont, published by Bantam Press, is available to buy now.
