Synopsis:
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.
Review:
"The narrative is infused with human drama to keep the pages turning... impressive" (Clover Stroud Sunday Telegraph)
"In 2008 Mark Beaumont completed the fastest ever circumnavigation of the world by bicycle, covering 18,296 miles in 194 days 17 hours and beating the previous record by 81 days. Here Beaumont describes that astonishing journey and how he became one of modern cycling's genuine heroes" (London Review of Books)
"Readers will remember Mark Beaumont's staggering achievement of racing around the world in 2008. This is Mark's personal story of his marathon. I have scanned it once and read it twice thoroughly yet I'm not sure I've got all there is to be had from it. The journey was epic and it took a hero's mindset to contemplate the project, never mind actually carry it out. He includes laconic entries from his diary which really bring home how hard things were on the road. These often terse statements come across as very immediate and give the reader a very clear insight into how he was feeling. You'll have to buy the book to find out more... and by buying it you help keep a modern hero awheel!" (Gerry Frisby Cycling World)
"If you think cycling on British roads is perilous, spare a thought for Mark Beaumont, the man who pedalled around the world in a record 194 days and 17 hours. His epic trek saw him battle hostile terrain in Turkey and Pakistan, endure fierce weather in Australia and get back in the saddle after a crash in America" (Daily Express)
"There is much that is remarkable about Mark Beaumont and he has produced a well-written and highly readable account of his endeavour. What he does is something close to a blow-by-blow account of the enormous resolve and determination that were necessary to undertake the journey... Unusually for round-the-world accounts it picks up towards the end, rather than tailing off. Chasing a record at times seems like an odd reason for travellling so far - but by the end, I was willing him through the final few days" (cycling-books.com)
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