Mark Beaumont, 25, set the world record for circumnavigating the globe by bike. The Scotsman completed the feat in 195 days, 6 hours – smashing the previous record of 276 days. Beaumont documented his adventure, dubbed the Artemis World Cycle Challenge, from the road in his web diary.
Beaumont’s start and finish line was in Paris, at the Arc de Triomphe – which also serves as the backdrop for the finish of the Tour de France every year. The modest crowd assembled for his August 5th departure grew dramatically for his triumphant return, featuring the British Ambassador to France and a slew of media folks.
Beaumont crossed through 20 countries en route, including Pakistan, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. In addition to the obvious physical and mental hardships he needed to overcome on his journey, Beaumont dealt with poor food selections in the US and Australia, an uprising in southern Thailand that necessitated rerouting his trip, a motorist in Louisiana who blew a red light and knocked him over, and thieving crackheads who stole his wallet and camera in a US motel.
As the Guardian reports:
He said (that he) could have gone faster if it hadn’t been for the junk food he had had to eat in Australia and the US. "There were no healthy options – and it had a massive effect on my mental focus and body strength."
Beaumont set out on his journey to raise funds for Country Holidays for Inner City Kids, Edinburgh Cyrenians Trust, Tusk Trust, and Community Action Nepal. His efforts will bring £18,000 to these causes and will bring press, and perhaps global awareness, to bicycling as a reliable form of transportation.
Via The Guardian.
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http://www.freepublictransit.org
many towns have it… when it reaches critical mass the auto will be seen for what it is …. a pain.