Mark’s adventure story began at age 12
The now 29-year-old Mark Beaumont is Scottish, graduated from the University of Glasgow in Scotland with a degree in Economics and Politics, and completed three incredible self-challenges in just four years, continuously breaking world records. In 2010, he also won the prestigious Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award’s “Top Scot” award, his adventure journey was filmed in full by the BBC, and he published the book "The Man Who Cycled the World."
In fact, Mark’s adventure story began at age 12. Back then, he would take part in treasure hunts organized by his school’s science department, with his mother packing his bags for him, and he’d go camping in the wild with friends for a night or two. But none of his classmates ever imagined that Mark would later make exploration his primary career. In Mark’s own words, he loved cycling adventures back then because before university, his physical fitness was so poor that he was often mocked by classmates. “Back then, I just wanted to do something special to change myself.” Before entering university, he happened to hear about a call for explorers to cycle across Scotland alone. So, Mark secretly signed up without telling his family.
On his first adventure, Mark not only crossed Scotland but also traveled from the northern part of Scotland to the southernmost tip of England. Tasting the sweetness of victory, Mark never stopped exploring from then on, and his once ordinary life was completely transformed by his adventures. Later, from middle school to university, this adventurous lifestyle never ceased. Before cycling around the world, in 2006, he cycled all the way from Warsaw, Poland, to the Arctic Circle. In 2007, Mark set off from Paris, traveling through Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia, Oceania, and North America, and finally returned to Paris. He completed his round-the-world trip 82 days faster than the previous world record holder, was warmly welcomed by the people of Paris, and received congratulations from Prince William. “When I reached the finish line, there were so many people that I could hardly ride my bike through them. Who would have thought that only five people saw me off when I started?”
After that, Mark rested and recovered at home for a year, then began his second challenge — crossing the Americas. Cycling over the northern tip of North America all the way to the southern tip of South America, he had to cross the two highest peaks in the Americas, with only a 40% chance of success. Due to severe blizzards, he eventually overcame all obstacles to reach the summits. He cycled at speeds of 100 miles per hour from the cold of Alaska through the Andes of Central America and successfully crossed the deserts of Chile, completing an unprecedented exploratory journey.
During the 195-day journey, Mark had almost no luxuries to accompany him. With no time to read, or perhaps no place to carry books, his only entertainment was an iPod and a few family photos on his laptop. Whenever he had a moment, he would get in touch with his family back in Scotland. “At that time, my mum managed the base camp, and I called home almost every day, so I always got the latest news from family and friends. I made it a point not to meet relatives or friends along the way because it would distract me from focusing on cycling.”
After completing the record-breaking cycling feat, early last year, he joined a six-person expedition team to paddle to the moving magnetic North Pole, at 79.3°N, 71.5°W. Due to Mark’s limited canoeing experience and extremely thick ice, they had to wait for the ice to move before continuing, proceeding with extreme caution. Because the rescue team was far away, this pioneering canoe trip to the Canadian Arctic shed light on the profound impact of climate on nature.
Thanks to multiple successful expeditions, Mark was named “Graduate of the Year” by the University of Glasgow. In 2010, he won the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award’s “Top Scot” award for his two solo global cycling journeys. Later, he compiled his bicycle journeys into a book, "The Man Who Cycled the World," which remained on the bestseller list in the UK for a long time. Even now, some still use it as a travel guide. “My story proves that everyone has an innate adventurous gene.”
Kicked by a donkey, robbed by people
Although the 2008 cycling trip was an extraordinary feat, Mark doesn’t have particularly deep feelings about cycling. “I love traveling on a bike, but I’m not a technical cyclist, never cycled religiously, nor have I ever competed.” He admitted, “For me, a bicycle is just a means of travel.”
Mark said he’s more interested in the journey itself and the feeling of being pushed to new limits of mental endurance. “That’s also why I hang up the medals and start preparing for the next challenge.” Before each trip, Mark has two tasks: one is to challenge a world record — “I want to beat the existing world record by a significant margin, not just a little bit, and make it very hard for anyone to surpass afterwards.” The other task is to record a documentary for the BBC radio, which means carrying all the filming equipment during the long trek, embarking on an expedition with a heavy load. “I’m alone for long periods, and the person I communicate with the most is my camera. I have a firm goal in mind, so no matter where I go, even in the vast desert, I’m confident I can make it through.”
During the expeditions, besides maintaining high-intensity cycling, Mark also had to endure extreme conditions like dehydration, food poisoning, freezing cold, scorching heat, and even surprise attacks by wildlife. He suffered from water poisoning in Iran and food poisoning in Pakistan. He was also knocked down three times — the culprits being a donkey in Pakistan, a motorcycle in India, and a car driven by an elderly woman in Florida, USA.
In the United States, he experienced the painful ordeal of being both hit by a car and robbed. After being hit, his bicycle was severely damaged, so he had to stay in a nearby motel while waiting for repairs. But unexpectedly, the motel turned out to be a drug den. He got into a conflict at night and had his wallet and camera stolen. Fortunately, his communication devices were not taken, and he had to call for help to have essential items delivered to his next destination. “What impressed me the most was the Iranian people. There are many scary rumors about countries like Iran in the West. I was really afraid before going, but after arriving, I found them to be so friendly, and the cities were nothing like what we imagined.”
Mark admitted that leaving the city to go solo on the road wasn’t difficult each time, but returning to the city after the whole journey was somewhat hard to adjust to, needing three to four weeks to recover and adapt. He said he would soon start his own family, and might change his way of exploring, shifting to work related to exploration.
Wild animal attacks are thrilling and fun
“During travels, food poisoning, dehydration, or even being attacked by wild animals isn’t the biggest challenge.” Mark believes. “For most of the 100-plus days, you can’t even talk to anyone. The truly scariest part of traveling is actually enduring loneliness.” “GPS and satellite devices are your only connection to the world. Enduring the torment of loneliness is the most critical issue during expeditions.”
In Mark’s view, the motivation to head to the next destination for exploration is neither to break a world record nor to challenge oneself, but simply to become a documentary filmmaker. “Many topics have already been documented by others, and done very well. So, I want to use my unique experiences as material. I looked up a lot of information and found that the route I cycled around the world had only been successfully crossed by five people before — even within the explorer community, it’s barely known. So, I chose that route and used a camera to document the scenery along the way and my own experiences.”
Of course, compared to the torment of loneliness, attacks by wild animals are like a spicy condiment on a lonely journey, making it feel thrilling and fun. When Mark sat down to rest by a path outside a village in India, a group of monkeys quietly approached him. Mark friendly offered candy and chocolate to the leading monkey, but something unexpected happened — the hungry monkey king led a few strong ones and pounced on Mark’s backpack from all directions. “My biggest worry was that they would damage my camera or bicycle.” Seeing the situation turn bad, Mark quickly got on his bike and started “attacking” the monkeys’ heads with small stones. The monkey king, seeing the numbers against him, had to jump off the bike and hide in the bushes, and Mark was finally out of danger.
Later, after communicating with zoologists, Mark learned that feeding monkeys is akin to “provocation,” provoking them to compete for more food. “Every step during exploration must be taken with caution, not just regarding unknown geographical environments.”