Mark Beaumont Around the World 80 days

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Comments

  • mike1-2
    mike1-2 Posts: 456
    Just to throw a spanner in the works, I drove nearly 2000 miles round Europe this past summer just to ride my bike up some large hills. I couldn’t give a toss about the environmental impact because I rode up Ventoux on my own in 30 degree heat.
    As a side note, MB is an incredible endurance athlete, no one should question the way he’s done this round the world ride as he did it self supported a number of years ago. Both times as impressive as each other.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,317
    Mike wrote:
    no one should question the way he’s done this

    Nobody is questioning that...
    left the forum March 2023
  • mike1-2
    mike1-2 Posts: 456
    Well you kind of are, suggesting he could of taken less flights, the sole purpose of this circumnavigation was to go as fast as possible. Flying across large oceans made that possible.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Put me down in the Llanberis but not sa colabra camp. Didn't even have to fly into birth Wales to do it.

    Even if MB flew I don't think anyone who watches pro cycling should be complaining about it.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,317
    Mike wrote:
    Well you kind of are, suggesting he could have taken less flights, the sole purpose of this circumnavigation was to go as fast as possible. Flying across large oceans made that possible.

    Clearly you haven't read the thread... go read the thread...
    left the forum March 2023
  • Moonbiker
    Moonbiker Posts: 1,706
    Went up Llanberis pass today from Anglesey on the cx, then then back along the off road track from capel cerig to ogwen cottage. Really muddy atm

    Hardly any other cyclists about apart from a few pavement ones on mtb's in towns etc.

    All carparks were full to overflowing though even with the bad weather.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,317
    Moonbiker wrote:
    Went up Llanberis pass today from Anglesey on the cx, then then back along the off road track from capel cerig to ogwen cottage. Really muddy atm

    Hardly any other cyclists about apart from a few pavement ones on mtb's in towns etc.

    All carparks were full to overflowing though even with the bad weather.

    Cyclists are all in Majorca or in Brimingham... :lol:

    Yeah, it's very popular... people park there to "climb" Snowdon or to have breakfast at Pete's Eats... :wink:
    left the forum March 2023
  • twist83
    twist83 Posts: 761
    Just imagine how much carbon you could have saved Ugo not bothering to reply to most of these posts? Plus others....

    I come on here occasionally and pretty much every thread I click that you are in descends into you dragging down various achievements etc etc. It must get very tiring knowing everything all of the time.

    Massive achievement regardless of other Ultra endurance activities. No one ever said they were not either.

    I am going to be sure to tell my mate who did RAAM a few years back to try harder next time and if he needs advice to pop on Bikeradar and speak to the messiah Ugo!!
  • chris_bass
    chris_bass Posts: 4,913
    twist83 wrote:
    Just imagine how much carbon you could have saved Ugo not bothering to reply to most of these posts? Plus others....

    I come on here occasionally and pretty much every thread I click that you are in descends into you dragging down various achievements etc etc. It must get very tiring knowing everything all of the time.

    Massive achievement regardless of other Ultra endurance activities. No one ever said they were not either.

    I am going to be sure to tell my mate who did RAAM a few years back to try harder next time and if he needs advice to pop on Bikeradar and speak to the messiah Ugo!!

    i guess you get your name from having your knickers in a twist!
    www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    It is fair though to say that the Guinness rules for this are contrived. However you look at it, MB didn't cycle around the world; he cycled an arbitrary distance that represents cycling around the world in accordance with Guinness rules. The only route that comes close to doing it properly IMO would be going from the Eastern coast of the Atlantic to the Western coast via Russia and Alaska. I have no idea how impossible that would be but it would be the only way to do it that doesn't seem contrived. But, of course, it would probably not comply with Guinness rules which says it all about Guinness really!

    And shame you have to do Australia - it sounds like a mostly utterly dull ride!
    Faster than a tent.......
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,317
    Rolf F wrote:
    It is fair though to say that the Guinness rules for this are contrived. However you look at it, MB didn't cycle around the world; he cycled an arbitrary distance that represents cycling around the world in accordance with Guinness rules. The only route that comes close to doing it properly IMO would be going from the Eastern coast of the Atlantic to the Western coast via Russia and Alaska. I have no idea how impossible that would be but it would be the only way to do it that doesn't seem contrived. But, of course, it would probably not comply with Guinness rules which says it all about Guinness really!

    And shame you have to do Australia - it sounds like a mostly utterly dull ride!

    Predictably I do agree with your views. However, it is pointless to discuss them here, where folks are not prepared to have a discussion and only want to hear praise... anything different is "criticism". I'm sorry to say (I'm not really) that not being able to accept, let alone discuss in a grown up manner, different opinions is pretty sad. If you think about it, Trump's stand on the National Anthem is bang on the same thing.

    This narrow mindedness comes across in pretty much all threads on this forum, therefore I'm out... for good :)
    left the forum March 2023
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    It does seem a bit much that any criticism of the route is taken for a criticism of Marks efforts. More than probably most people on here I can relate to what Mark has done; I haven't been around the world but I have spent 90 days continually on a bike in 2015 and only covered 4400 miles or so. Of course, in my case the terrain was probably hillier and I had no support and I carried my accommodation on the bike but the thought of doing more than four times the daily distance I did under any circumstance is a bit eyepopping. But I'd still rather see someone do it via the Bering Strait and stuff Guinness rules (and really nobody should be pandering to an organisation as ridiculous as Guinness anyway).
    Faster than a tent.......
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Rolf F wrote:
    It is fair though to say that the Guinness rules for this are contrived. However you look at it, MB didn't cycle around the world; he cycled an arbitrary distance that represents cycling around the world in accordance with Guinness rules. The only route that comes close to doing it properly IMO would be going from the Eastern coast of the Atlantic to the Western coast via Russia and Alaska. I have no idea how impossible that would be but it would be the only way to do it that doesn't seem contrived. But, of course, it would probably not comply with Guinness rules which says it all about Guinness really!

    And shame you have to do Australia - it sounds like a mostly utterly dull ride!

    Predictably I do agree with your views. However, it is pointless to discuss them here, where folks are not prepared to have a discussion and only want to hear praise... anything different is "criticism". I'm sorry to say (I'm not really) that not being able to accept, let alone discuss in a grown up manner, different opinions is pretty sad. If you think about it, Trump's stand on the National Anthem is bang on the same thing.

    This narrow mindedness comes across in pretty much all threads on this forum, therefore I'm out... for good :)
    Perhaps because it didn't come across as rational criticism of the route, more as a petty-minded unwillingness to appreciate an amazing feat. Enjoy your retirement.
  • buckmulligan
    buckmulligan Posts: 1,031
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Predictably I do agree with your views. However, it is pointless to discuss them here, where folks are not prepared to have a discussion and only want to hear praise... anything different is "criticism". I'm sorry to say (I'm not really) that not being able to accept, let alone discuss in a grown up manner, different opinions is pretty sad. If you think about it, Trump's stand on the National Anthem is bang on the same thing.

    This narrow mindedness comes across in pretty much all threads on this forum, therefore I'm out... for good :)

    I think that's a bit unfair. Sure there are the usual trolls and ad hominem comments, but that's to be expected on most forums :lol: There were some good points made, I think greasedscotsman summed it up pretty well a page or so back.

    I think the viewpoint of most of the people on this thread is that, whilst the Guinness rules may be somewhat contrived, they're as close as you can get to "cycling around the world". If you look at the rules in the context of other land-, sea-
    and air-based circumnavigation activities that they are prescribed to, then they make more sense and are somewhat consistent (e.g. with the single direction of travel and antipodeal point requirement).

    As far as Guinness as an organisation, I think it's good that someone is willing to lay out a set of rules for activities like this. Sure there are different ways to do it; if you're environmentally conscious and want to reduce the amount of flying then I'm sure Guinness will sanction a record for the fastest land-based crossing from Lisbon to New York by bicycle if that's what floats your boat! At the end of the day, everything is arbitrary; why should anyone care about how fast someone could run 26.2 miles or 100m? No-one is forcing anyone to play by their rules, but at least they're drawing a line in the sand, which people can choose to pay attention to or not.

    And just for the record, no-one is ever going to cycle from Lisbon to New York; contrary to popular belief the Bering Strait is not what most people would consider passable by land. There are a few documented cases of people having done it by jumping on ice flows over the years and having been hauled onto land at death's door, but many more have died and even if you did make it you'd be going straight to a detention centre for illegally entering a country, as there is no official port at either side for many miles.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    BuckMulligan wrote:
    And just for the record, no-one is ever going to cycle from Lisbon to New York; contrary to popular belief the Bering Strait is not what most people would consider passable by land. There are a few documented cases of people having done it by jumping on ice flows over the years and having been hauled onto land at death's door, but many more have died and even if you did make it you'd be going straight to a detention centre for illegally entering a country, as there is no official port at either side for many miles.

    Err, yes. I don't think anyone would be suggesting that the Bering Strait wouldn't require a flight/boat to connect two appropriate land points! And I'm not sure that "popular belief" is that it is passable by land!
    Faster than a tent.......
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Words and things....

    This narrow mindedness comes across in pretty much all threads on this forum, therefore I'm out... for good :)
    Promise?
    I don't do smileys.

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  • twist83
    twist83 Posts: 761
    Chris Bass wrote:
    twist83 wrote:
    Just imagine how much carbon you could have saved Ugo not bothering to reply to most of these posts? Plus others....

    I come on here occasionally and pretty much every thread I click that you are in descends into you dragging down various achievements etc etc. It must get very tiring knowing everything all of the time.

    Massive achievement regardless of other Ultra endurance activities. No one ever said they were not either.

    I am going to be sure to tell my mate who did RAAM a few years back to try harder next time and if he needs advice to pop on Bikeradar and speak to the messiah Ugo!!

    i guess you get your name from having your knickers in a twist!

    I only wear knickers at the weekend. Nothing twisted. Just voicing my view. Thank you for the valuable contribution though.

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