Athlo Blog

Earlier this year Scotsman Mark Beaumont completed the fastest circumnavigation of the world by bicycle. The previous record stood at 276 days 19 hours.  When Mark started his journey in Paris on August 10th, 2007 his goal was 195 days.  Amazingly, he completed this epic trip in 194 days 17 hours.

How He Did It

To actually break the record Mark Beaumont had to travel the 18,296 mile, 20 country route set by the Guinness Book of World Records.  He traveled solo and carried about 66 lb of gear on his bike.  An iPod was his only companion.  Mark rode 100 miles a day, every day, with one rest day every two weeks.  Doing the math, he averaged about 94 miles a day over the course of 194 days.  He battled crashes, dysentery and broken wheels along the way and said that “my greatest memories of the whole world cycle are of the people I met along the road.”

How He Trained

To me, one of the most amazing parts of his story isn’t the actual journey, but how he trained for it. Knowing very little about ultra-endurance cycling, I would have assumed he did training rides of 100-200 miles at a time to simulate actual conditions.  However, he never once did a 100 mile training ride during his 13 month preparation.  That could have caused tendonitis or other repetitive strain injuries.  His approach was high intensity, shorter rides and a mix of cross training.   The last part of his “training” was to put on weight.  This might sound counterintuitive but the body needs fat reserves to prevent fatigue and breakdown.  Lance Armstrong’s coach Chris Carmichael helped famous ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes complete 50 marathons in 50 days by putting him on a 6,000 calorie a day diet, doubling his body fat, before starting.

Up next for Mark Beaumont? Attempting to break the North Atlantic rowing record next summer.

Bicycle Motocross, more commonly known as BMX, is making its first appearance in the Summer Olympics in Beijing this year.  BMX will be the fourth cycling event in the Olympics, along with road, track and mountain biking, which made its debut in 1996.  48 riders, 32 men and 16 women, from 17 countries will be competing for the gold, and I will be watching.

The basic concept of BMX is fairly simple, the fastest guy or girl down the track wins.  No points for style, no points for tricks.  Races usually consist of 2 or 3 heats with 8 racers in each heat.  That fastest four advance to the next heat.  Most heats only last about 40 seconds but because racers start so close together and get reach speeds of up to 35mph, the crashes are frequent and spectacular.

While BMX is still seen as a bit of a “fringe” sport, it has come a long way in the past 30 years.  BMX riding started back in the late 60’s and early 70’s when kids were trying to replicate tricks and stunts they saw motocross riders doing.  It is not the first American-made sport to reach the Olympics though.  Snowboarding and snowboard cross (similar to BMX racing) have both made it to the winter Olympics.  Regardless, it will still be exciting to see American riders flying down the dirt track in Beijing and inspiring kids around the world to get out and ride.