Cycling Media is promoting Sarah Ruggins announcement that she is planning to ride round the world in 75 days breaking Mark Beaumont’s current cyclng record. @Sowler what’s your take on it?
Since cycling through Russia or Iran aren’t possible, I am not sure what the rules are on route selection - I guess an additional flight or ferry from Baku to Aktau is permitted.
I guess I have a few reservations about Sarah, she’s been out breaking Ultra records, but she’s certainly been going for softer records
Europe South-to-North Record (2026) 6,042 km from Tarifa, Spain to Nordkapp, Norway in 13 days, 20 hours. Impressive, but fully supported, and far slower than Robin Gemperle on TCR this year, which was 5000km in 10 days unsupported and incorporating TCR Parcours
LEJOGLE Outright Record (2025): Rode 2,715 km (1,677 miles) from John O’Groats to Land’s End and back in 5 days, 11 hours - fully supported and done with hardly any sleep. Top ultra riders do way more distance in this in the same time
A couple of years ago, I was still along way ahead of Sarah. Undoubtedly she has improved massively since then, however, I don’t see any evidence that she is a world class ultra rider. I would like to be proved to be wrong, but I think that this is a lot about PR and talking herself up, without real evidence that she is at this level
Hmmm - not really around the world is it. What is wrong with riding the stretch from Istanbul to Baku? Then skipping the whole China / India part and starting again in Thailand. It really seems like riding around the world without the hard bits.
I think that it is largely to do with needing a support team and being too difficult to arrange for support vehicles in multiple countries. But for me this is not a true round the world trip (Sorry Lael)
I think that Jenny Grahams ride was a much better route, however, she was self supported. World Record does not differentiate supported and unsupported round the world attempts. I think that they should and there should only be certain approved flights
Really interesting question. I would say anything that requires more than 1 day to complete.
In reality top cyclists can cover 500+km in one day, but for most mortals 300km is the absolute limit. So I would say any ride over 300km or any gravel ride over 200km should be considered an ultra distance.
Probably better I give a fuller answer in Blackpool…
However your comparisons to the top TCR riders are exactly the ones I had already made. Both the previous records she has taken were against unsupported records. GWR don’t differentiate.
Sarahs Euro one averaged 435km per day, 6000km and 30,000m elevation. Supported.
Robin 450km per day, 4700km and 50,000m elevation. Fully unsupported. And however 100s+ km of gravel in there.
Regarding route choice, the ‘rules’ are largely set out by Guinness on this, so TBF thats on them. I’m sure you’ve looked at those.
From some of the conversations I had with her recently, you have to look at the most reliable flight routes, ease and speed through airports. One missed/delayed flight could ruin everything, as all travel time is included. So that is going to have an impact and yes the ease of support vehicles but looks like she has Dacia back on board again. As we know with Ultra cycling the longer and further you go, organization and efficiency pays a more and more important factor. She won’t leave a stone unturned on that.
Looks like a very difficult thing to do, but to me that’s riding in different places around the world, rather than “riding around the world”.
Feels like that would need to be a continuous ride.
Eg. Start at Tierra del Fuego, up through Central America including the Darian Gap, continue North to Alaska, across the Baring Straight in winter on a fat bike over sea ice, through Russia and China Mongolia Kazakh- and the various other 'Stans, choice of Iraq or Syria, cross into Africa at Egypt, cross the Sahara, keep going south, end up in Cape Town.
Cycled from Lisbon to the East coast of China in 64 days. 200km from finish point in Vladivostok, denied entry to Russia. Snook his bike through the woods at night. Got arrested and spent 51 days in prison before being deported with the journey incomplete
Regarding GWR - fully agree, and I broadly know the rules. If you are going for a GWR exploit the rules as much as possible, choose the flattest possible route, with best roads, and fly past the nasty stuff… but it not really around the world anymore
Don’t know the cycling specific rules, but listening to another podcast the other day, someone was planning to circumnavigate the globe on public transport only, and they said they had to cross the equator at least once, and pass through an antipode - 2 points exactly opposite each other on the globe. Otherwise it could be as squiggly as they like.
I watched a video recently by a guy who’d unicycled round the world and he said the same I think.
He wasn’t going for a specific time, just to be the first, but there’s a rule about not taking more than a 14 day stop during the attempt. In the end he stopped in Kazakhstan (or similar) for about 6 months after narrowly avoiding a skidding car on icy roads.
He new he’d blown it so didn’t worry about the rules after that and took 3 years in the end.
The record is still available if any of you fancy it
I know they are the rules but still think some of routes people do are a bit crap, missing out huge chunks in favour of some longer stints in Europe, Oz and North America.
Anything that takes you out of your comfort zone, where completing is not a given? So whilst that might have been a 400 for me, it might be 100 miles for one person or LEJOG for someone else.
There is an event I think called Race Across Austria, there is a north/south and an east/west version. Think it’s approx 1,000kms over 4 days. That’d be my limit and then some.
I’m with @fruit_thief on this - it’s like riding in different places around the world. Records for sailing round the world, or flying round it, yes, but the rules for a land-based circumnavigation just make it seem a bit pointless (astonishing feat of human endurance though it is).
I reckon it should be like Everesting. Because you can’t ride up actual Everest you just have to match the height. Since you can’t ride round the actual world, you should just have to match the distance. Would save a lot of money and a lot of jet fuel, and instead of riding head down past wonders of the world you’ll never get another chance to see, it’s just riding head down past your local boozer.
