Mark Beaumont

Mark Ian Macleod Beaumont (born 1 January 1983) is a record-breaking long-distance Britishcyclist, adventurer, broadcaster, documentary maker and author. He held the record for cycling round the world, completing his 18,297 miles (29,446 km) route on 15 February 2008, having taken 194 days and 17 hours. On 18 February 2010 Beaumont completed a quest to cycle the Americas, cycling from Anchorage, Alaska, USA to Ushuaia in Southern Argentina, for a BBC Television series.

In the summer of 2011 Beaumont joined a six-man team to row from Resolute Bay in the Nunavut Territory, Canada to the 1996 location of the North Magnetic Pole. Each of these expeditions was filmed for BBC One documentaries. On 1 February 2012 Beaumont and his team of rowers were rescued from the Atlantic Ocean when their rowing boat capsized during a crossing from Morocco to Barbados. On 21 May 2015 he rode from Cairo to Cape Town (10,000 km) and broke the World Record for fastest solo ride for the length of Africa by finishing in 42 days and 8 hours.

Beaumont was home-schooled until the age of 11 by his mother, Una. He was then educated at the High School of Dundee. At age 15, he completed a solo ride the length of Great Britain from John o'Groats to Land's End.

He has a degree in politics from Glasgow University. He was awarded Graduate of the Year 2009 from the University of Glasgow, and won the 2010 Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award. In 2012 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa from the University of Dundee. Beaumont was made Rector of the University of Dundee in January 2016.

Mark Beaumont has two sisters called Heather and Hannah, is married to wife Nicci and has a baby daughter born in August 2013. He currently lives in Perthshire, Scotland.

To qualify for the Guinness world record, Beaumont was required to travel an 18,000-mile route that passes through two approximately antipodal points. The route began and ended in Paris, France, riding through 20 countries across Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia, Australasia and North America. The bicycle used for the attempt was a Koga-Miyata with a Rohloff internal gearing hub, which consumed the spokes yet was used to build a new wheel, that held up. The bike was loaded with 66 pounds (30 kg) of equipment such as tools, cameras and other equipment to support him during the journey.

Beaumont endured many hardships during his voyage. In Lafayette, Louisiana he was involved in a collision with a car and robbed later the same day, and elsewhere struggled with illnesses such as dysentery.

As a result of breaking the World Record, Mark Beaumont has raised £18,000 for charity.

Beaumont's video diaries of the journey formed the basis of a BAFTA nominated documentary, The Man who Cycled the World, which was broadcast by the BBC in August 2008.

Beaumont's around-the-world cycling record was broken by Vin Cox on 1 August 2010.

In April 2017, Beaumont announced a plan to bicycle around the world in 80 days, which would beat the current world record by over 40 days.

Bike ridden by Mark Beaumont during Americas cycle

Beaumont cycled from Anchorage, Alaska, USA to Ushuaia in Southern Argentina, arriving on 18 February 2010. In addition to cycling 13,080 miles (21,050 km) in 268 days, he climbed the highest peaks in North and South America: McKinley and Aconcagua. Along with commenting online throughout the journey, he recorded the adventure for a BBC One documentary series, The Man Who Cycled The Americas. The first in the series of three episodes was broadcast on Tuesday, 23 March 2010 on BBC One. Beaumont bypassed Colombia and the Darien Gap on his journey.

During summer 2011, Beaumont joined a team of six in rowing through the Canadian Arctic, as the BBC cameraman as well as on the oars. Their aim was to reach a 1996 location of the North Magnetic Pole. It is only in the last few years that the sea ice has melted enough for such a route to be attempted.

In early 2012, Beaumont joined another team in an attempt to break the world record for rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. After 27 days and over 2,000 miles into the expedition, they capsized and had to be rescued.

Beaumont carrying the olympic torch

In addition to being an accomplished cyclist, Beaumont is a skier and rower. In June 2009, he planned to participate in a 12-strong team attempt to row across the North Atlantic in a record-breaking 45 days. The team would have been led by Edinburgh stockbroker turned adventurer Leven Brown whose 14-man La Mondiale crew has beaten the record from the Canaries to Barbados. However, the boat he was going to use sank in the Atlantic Ocean.

Beaumont was the first torchbearer for day 26 of the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay.

In September 2012, Beaumont plans to lead the World Cycle Challenge - the first fully supported group circumnavigation of the globe, with the aim of cycling 18,010 miles (28,984 km) in 245 days.

Beaumont's bicycle

In May 2015, Beaumont set a new record in his "Africa Solo" challenge, cycling from Cairo to Cape Town in 42 days, and beating the previous record by 17 days. The bike he rode for this and the subsequent North Coast 500 challenge was a Koga Solacio which is on display at Edinburgh Airport.

In November 2015, Beaumont set the record for completing the North Coast 500 (a 518.7 mile route around Scotland) by bicycle in 37 hours 56 minutes and 44 seconds. This effort was later beaten in 2016 by James McCallum, who completed the route in 31 hours.

Television

• The Man who Cycled the World: A BBC documentary broadcast in August 2008. The content was based on Beaumont's video diaries of the journey. The documentary was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA.
• The Man Who Cycled The Americas: This BBC documentary was broadcast on 10 May 2010

Literature

• The Man who Cycled the World: Beaumont’s first book, and the best selling cycling book in the UK for 2010 and 2011.
• The Man Who Cycled The Americas