This week Mark Beaumont begins his next trip. I met Mark a couple of years ago when he came to a lecture I gave up in Edinburgh. He was researching the route for his own round the world ride. I enjoyed chatting with him and was happy to help him with his plans.
He duly broke the world record for his 18,000 mile ride, a heck of a speedy accomplishment.
People who knew nothing about his challenge soon did: Mark was featured on an ad for Orange and a 4-part BBC Scotland documentary about his 6-month adventure was also shown on BBC2. There is no doubt that breaking a world record captured the public imagination.
Ever since then school kids have been disappointed when they discover that the bloke visiting their school to talk about cycling round the world is not “the man on the telly” and is merely me!
I had coffee with Mark last week and we chatted about his next project. He sets off today to ride from Alaska to Patagonia, climbing Denalia and Aconcagua on the way. I also had a long chat on the phone with his Mum -who plans Mark’s expeditions and acts as expedition manager when he is out on the road- about whether or not it was safe to ride through Colombia.
Riding the Americas on my own round the world ride took me 18 months. Mark will do it in 8 months, ready for the BBC TV series which comes out next March.
The fact that Mark plans to do the ride 10 months faster than me highlights the difference in our approaches. I am often asked about Mark’s expeditions (usually by disappointed punters realising that I am me and not he) and this is what I say:
– What he does is an impressive physical feat.
– I would not want to travel how he does (even if I could do it).
– Yes, I am envious of his nice book deal and the BBC commissioning his new TV series.
– I consider our bike rides to be two entirely different activities. Apart from the fact they both involve bicycles there is very little comparison. Neither is better nor worse. But nor is their much to compare between our two approaches to expeditions. There’s little doubt though whose approach is more successful!
– I’md be really happy to do an expedition with Mark in the future, as long as he promised to slow down a bit!
You can follow Mark’s adventure on his blog and on Twitter. Good luck Mark!
An interesting comment I received via email from ‘Richard G’:
“There is little doubt whose approach is more successful,” you say. A nice ambiguous way of saying that you can each have no doubt that you are each the more successful. The BBC obviously have no doubt what makes better television, but success is far more than ratings, money or speed. If you race through the most beautiful landscape and don’t have time to stop and gaze and breathe it in, is this success? OK, so your bike sets you in that landscape more connectedly than does a bus, car or even motorbike, but there are wild peacocks in fields and watersnakes in ditches to be seen at 3mph that may be missed at 13mph.
Then, you may say, his book money can pay for him to go back and see it at a more leisurely pace later. But that would place his success some time in the future. With a question mark hanging over it. And where does that leave the ‘here and now’.
And this is to say nothing of the people one must have to whiz past without being able to give them the time of day.
Of course, Mark Beaumont’s is a stupendous, human accomplishment, but there one’s true measure is not against other people or in record books, I think you, and especially Phil Packer, will agree, so your doubtless clarity could point either way.
I hope you’ll excuse my semi agreement / semi objection.
All power to your pedals.
Richard G”