Product Description

On 15 February 2008, Mark Beaumont pedalled through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. 194 days and 17 hours previously, he had set off from Paris in an attempt to circumnavigate the world in record time. Mark smashed the Guinness World Record by an astonishing 81 days. He had travelled more than 18,000 miles on his own through some of the harshest conditions one man and his bicycle can endure, camping wild at night and suffering from constant ailments. The Man Who Cycled the World is the story not just of that amazing achievement, but of the events that turned Mark Beaumont into the man he is today. From the early years of his free-spirited childhood in the Scottish countryside, he had been determined to break records, cycling across Scotland and then from John O'Groats to Land's End by the age of fifteen, raising thousands of pounds for charity. After leaving university, he had been equally determined not to settle for an average existence, but to break free and see the world from a saddle, to follow his dreams. This is the tale not just of one of the last great circumnavigation world records, and of the incredible endurance it took to accomplish it, but an insight into many of the world's cultures from a unique perspective. From Paris to Istanbul, through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India and south-east Asia to Singapore, then across Australia, New Zealand and the United States before the final legs in Europe, all at hundred miles a day, this is the story of a quite remarkable adventure, by a quite remarkable man.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #660 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

About the Author
Mark Beaumont was born on New Year's Day 1983 and grew up in the foothills of the Scottish Highlands, where his parents ran an organic smallholding. When he was twelve, he cycled across Scotland from Dundee to Oban, then a few years later, while still at school, completed the 1,000 mile solo ride across Britain from John O'Groats to Land's End. His next long-distance ride took him the length of Italy from Sicily to the Alps, a journey of 1,336 miles, helping to raise GBP50,000 for charity. After graduating from Glasgow University, and having also qualified as a professional ski instructor, he decided against a conventional career and devoted himself full-time to raising money for his endurance cycling adventures. Visit his website at www.markbeaumontonline.com

Customer Reviews

The Man that Cycled the World
This was an excellent read for anyone involved in cycling or hoping to visit any of the countries on this route. While clearly from a cycalists perspective it gives good solid information on travelling around the globe. For those involved in sports science....this is awsome, with a wealth of information which is both interesting and thought provoking.

The book follows a linier diary format I just could not put it down, much to others annoyance. The honnest style and astute observations made by the author in no way distracts from the physical and psychological battles fought during his journey. This is a good read, highly recomended and not just for cycalists. All endurance athletes will immediately identify with this riders focus and outstanding achievement.

Couldn`t put it down!
This is an amazing book about a remarkable journey and so well written by the author himself who had never before this written more than a university essay.The BBC documentry, though good, only scraped the surface of the race around the world. The book has it all. Cann`t recommend it highly enough.

Endurance cycling for the endurance reader
Before I write this review I think I should clarify that I think Mark's achievement riding round the world in under 200 days was absolutely amazing. For that I am in awe and can't praise him enough. And I suppose doing the blog throughout the trip, making the TV programme and writing a book are all par for the course. However, there is a slight problem. When you are racing around the world you are sat on a bike almost all day every day. So in fact nothing much of interest happens. You don't see anything of the places you pass through, and you meet precious few colourful characters for insufficient time for you to find anything out about them. There are no romantic entanglements to make you question whether you should stop somewhere forever and not go home. Moreover, because the book tells us that he achieved the world record on the back cover the potential tension about whether he will make it or not (which works in a real time blog) is completely absent in the book. In fact this is basically groundhog day on two wheels. He gets up, bikes all day for about 100 miles. Eats in a café somewhere and then pitches his tent and falls asleep. Next day same thing. Next day same thing with saddle sores. Next day same thing but sleeps in motel. In fact when he finally got knocked off I felt happy because something had actually happened, instead of feeling empathy for his predicament, worried about what he would do next and anxious he might not make it in time to beat the record. This book could have been half the size and I would have raved about it. If you want to read something more interesting about a big long bike trip, without feeling you are on some sort of endurance feat yourself, I would suggest you try `Why don't you fly' by Chris Smith, or `Thunder and Sunshine' by Alastair Humphreys.