Riding alone and fully self-supported, finding his own food and water as he rode, and wild camping where he could by the roadside, round-the-world record-breaking cyclist and ultra endurance adventurer Beaumont said this was by far the toughest ride of his life.
The statistics alone are staggering: 6,762miles in 41 days and 22 minutes, 439 hours in the saddle, 58,020m of climbing, and an overall average of 160 miles plus riding a day through eight countries. All on Africa’s far-from-perfect roads and through sometimes dangerous regions.
The statistics have to be checked and verified by Guinness World Records to make Beaumont’s new world record official but when they do, it will be confirmed that the Scot has beaten the existing record by some 19 days.
“In truth though, I was never racing anyone,” says Beaumont. “It was always about pushing myself for my absolute personal best.”
The supreme effort saw Beaumont riding faster and longer each day, the further south he pedalled: “In the last week through Botswana an dSouth Africa I threw caution to the wind,” said Beaumont. “I was averaging 200 miles a day and riding up to 16 hours a day.”
Kitted out by clothing brand Endura, and riding a Koga disc-braked road bike, Beaumont raised funds and awareness for the Scottish humanitarian design charity he is patron of, Orkidstudio.
With the recovery only just begun, Beaumont is still “stuck in the journey”, unable to get the whole of the odyssey into perspective. “But highlights included night-riding in northern Botswana, with elephants and giraffes at the roadside – exciting and a bit scary. Perhaps surprisingly, Sudan was probably my favourite country, with a warm welcome and perfect roads – until the final stretch to Ethiopia.“
“Ethiopia was actually the hardest part, with unpaved, muddy mountainous roads. The hardship wasn’t helped by having food poisoning and children making a game of throwing stones at passing cyclists!”
“My biggest day was over 230 miles and my least was about 80 miles... you guessed it, in Ethiopia! But I was met by amazing friendship and curiosity from people all along the route. Africa is an amazing continent to see at the speed of a bike and there is a long list of places to go back to and explore more.”
For more on Mark Beaumont’s incredible Cairo to Cape Town world record ride, see markbeaumontonline.com
