The Global Triathlon: Swimming, Cycling, and Running Around The Globe

Remember last year when we were all in awe of Charlie Wittmack and his World Tri? For those that don't recall, Charlie's "triathlon" consisted of him swimming across the English Channel, then riding his bike to India, before proceeding on foot to Tibet where he scaled Everest for the second time. He faced a lot of hardships along the way, but eventually he managed to cover all 16,000km (10,000 miles) to accomplish his goal.

This year, endurance athlete Dan Martin will take the concept one step further. Dan will embark on his Global Triathlon in May and will swim, cycle, and run his way around the globe. The adventure will begin in New York City where Martin will dive into the Hudson River and begin a 5700km (3541 mile) swim across the Atlantic Ocean. Yes, Dan is beginning the triathlon in the traditional way, but like everything else on this event, his swim just happens to be much longer.

He expect that swim to take upwards of four to six months to complete and plans on ending in France, where he'll climb onto his bike and start riding east. He'll then follow the Trans Siberian Express, in winter no less, across Europe and Asia before arriving in Anadyr in the far eastern portion of Russia. From there, he'll hop across the Bearing Sea to Uelen, Alaska and start a 5200km (3000 mile) trek across North America, ending back in New York where he started.

It is a very ambitious project to say the least and it should be interesting to follow along with Dan's progress. The fact that he is swimming an ocean is intriguing as well, especially in light of Ben Lecomte's efforts to swim across the Pacific, which will get underway in April.

Good luck to Dan on this excursion and thanks to Tim for sharing the Global Tri with me in the comments yesterday.

Round-The-World Cycling Race: Change In Name, Still Underway Tomorrow!

Yesterday I posted a story about the Global Bicycle Race, which was suppose to get underway tomorrow from Greenwich Park in London. It turns out there is a lot of history and backstory to that event which has led to it actually being cancelled. But, the World Cycling Racing - Grand Tour has risen from the ashes, of the GBR, and that race will actually launch tomorrow as expected, with many of the same goals as the original event.

This new race will feature 10 riders covering a minimum of 18,000 miles as they ride around the world. They still hope to complete their circumnavigation of the planet, and return to London, in time for the opening of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, but if they want to set a new speed record in the process, they'll have to go considerably faster than what I posted yesterday. In that story, I wrote that Vin Cox was the current world record holder, having circled the globe in 163 days. Turns out, British cyclist Alan Bate actually holds the record, which stands at 96 days, 10 hours, and 33 minutes. That means that for a rider to break the record, he'll need to average 190 miles per day.

The Grand Tour website notes that this event will be five times longer than the Tour de France, but that's really only half the story. Sure, the length is considerably greater, but riders in the peloton of the TdF have teammates and other riders to lean on when things get tough. The cyclists in this Grand Tour will mostly have to go it alone, which can really take its toll on a daily grind of riding that will stretch on for months.

Much like the GBR, the riders in the Grand Tour will be allowed to travel a route of their own choosing. They will still have to pass through antipodal points on the globe and they must continue riding in the same general direction the whole time, i.e. east to west or vice versa. Each of the bikes will be equipped with a GPS tracking device which will broadcast their position every ten miles or so, allowing us to follow their progress online and to ensure that all of the cyclists cover the required distance before they finish back in London.

So while the name of the race has changed, and a few of the details are different, the first round-the-world cycling race is still scheduled to get underway tomorrow. It should be an interesting event to follow.

Want To Race Around The World On A Bike?

This Saturday, one of the most amazing and difficult races I've ever heard of will get underway, when 20 riders set off on the first ever Global Bicycle Race. As the name implies, this competition will send the cyclists competing in it on a round-the-world ride that will be unlike any other.

The race will begin on Saturday at Greenwich Park in London and the riders will then attempt circle the globe, and return to the park, in less than 160 days, which will coincide with the opening of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games that begin in London on the 27th of July. If they do manage to arrive back at the start in under 160 days, it will also represent a new world record for circumnavigating the globe on a bike. That current record is 163 days and is held by race organizer Vin Cox.

There are several possible routes that the riders can take, which you'll find posted on the race's website here. Each route covers approximately 29,000km (18,000 miles) and touches four or five continents, depending on which way a rider decides to go. They can also choose to travel either East to West, or vice-versa, with both options providing interesting strategic gambles.

Throughout the race, each rider will carry a GPS device which will not only broadcast their current position, allowing us to follow along at home, but also keep track of the milage that they've covered. Riders will also be required to send a text message to update their status at least once a week, and take photos and video of their journey, and visit anti-podal points on the Earth, which is a fancy way of saying they must be opposites sides of the planet. They're also required to ride the same bike the entire way, although replacement parts are obviously permitted.

Other than that, the riders are allowed to devise their own routes, have their own sponsors, and even elect to have a support team with them. This freedom of approach is an interesting aspect of the competition, and opens up the door for some true adventures along the way.

To find out more about this event, which I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about over the next few months, go to the Global Bicycle Race's official website.

Good luck to all the competitors.

Solo Sailing Update: Laura is Done!

As I mentioned last Friday, over the weekend 16-year old Laura Dekker completed her quest to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world by arriving back at the Caribbean island of St. Maarten on Saturday. In completing her circumnavigation attempt, she has beaten the previous record, set by Australian Jessica Watson back in 2010, by eight months.

Happy to be reunited with her family, and enjoy the comforts of being back on land, Laura says she'll spend the next few days clean up her 30-foot yacht named Guppy. Then, she'll return to school and the average, daily life of a teenager – something she has missed out on while sailing the high seas over the past year and a half.

Upon arriving on St. Maarten, Laura was greeted by a crowd of supporters and media, who were there to witness her accomplishment. It was a whirlwind finish to something that Dekker says she has dreamed about since she was ten years old. The teenager was actually born on a boat off the coast of New Zeland, and has spent her entire life in and around the water.

Now that she has completed the journey, Laura says that she isn't sure she wants to return to her home country, the Netherlands. When she announced that she was planning to sail around the world at the age of 13, the government there moved to block her from leaving and even threatened to take her away from her father, who has custody of the girl after he and her mother divorced a decade ago. Laura says she feels that she was thrust into the spotlight on a world stage because of the what the Dutch government did, and because of that she doesn't know if she wants to return home. She says she'll discuss it with her parents first and make up her mind on what she wants to do next.

I hope that Laura chooses to let the actions of the Dutch government go and decides to go home. They were doing what they thought was right at the time and were trying to keep her best interests in mind. I'm sure some things could have been handled differently, but in the end, she did get to sail and she accomplished her goal in a very convincing fashion.

I imagine the transition back to "normal" life will be a rough one. For more than a year, she has been completely on her own, making her own decisions, and taking complete responsibility for herself and her boat. That isn't an easy thing to put behind you at any age, but especially as a teenager. Still, something tells me she'll do just fine, and after spending a suitable amount of time at home, she'll probably be back out on the water again before we know it.

Solo Sailing Update: Laura Dekker To Complete Circumnavigation Tomorrow

Teen-sailor Laura Dekker will complete her solo circumnavigation of the planet tomorrow, when she is expected to arrive in St. Maarten at approximately 3PM local time. In doing so, the 16-year old will also set a new record for the youngest person to sail solo around the globe. She returns to the Caribbean island exactly one year and one day after she set out.

Laura's journey actually began in her native Netherlands, where her departure caused quite a stir. Her story began when she was just 13-years old and announced her intentions of sailing around the world. At the time, the Dutch court stepped in and blocked that move, but after months of legal wrangling, and extensive investigations into her level of skill, they eventually conceded and allowed her to sail. She was 14 at the time of her departure, which saw her first head to Portugal, then crossing the Atlantic, before navigating the Panama Canal and the Pacific Ocean. She eventually made her way to Australia, then crossed the Indian Ocean, before rounding the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost tip of Africa, before turning for St. Maarten once again. Now, she's just one day from completing her second crossing of the Atlantic, and finishing her voyage.

In her most recent blog post, written yesterday, she says that she expects to catch sight of the islands today and thanks to good, calm weather, should have no problems finishing tomorrow. She is looking forward to spending time on land and visiting her family as well, and says that her ship, the Guppy, deserves a break after all those long days at sea.

Congratulations to Laura on this amazing accomplishment. I wasn't always in favor of someone in their early teens sailing around the world alone, but that doesn't mean I don't salute her courage and adventurous spirit. She has done an exceptional job on this voyage and deserves all the accolades that are about to come her way.

New Sailing Circumnavigation Record Set

Last Friday, the Maxi Banque Populaire V sailing ship completed a circumnavigation of the globe and set a new speed record in the process. The ship, which featured a British captain and a mostly French crew, beat the previous speed record by nearly three days, and claimed the Jules Verne Trophy in the process.

The crew of 14, which was led by Captain Brian Thompson, managed to circle the globe in just 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes, and 53 seconds. (The previous record, was 48 days, 7 hours, 44 minutes, and 52 seconds.) They crossed the finish line in Brest, France at 10:14 PM Friday evening, bringing the 130-footmaxi-trimaran into port at last.

The ship managed to set a few other notable sailing records on its voyage as well, setting new marks for shortest times for reaching the equator, the Cape of Good Hope, and Cape Leeuwin in Australia. The record for fastest time equator-to-equator was also broken along the way as well.

The Jules Verne Trophy is awarded to the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht and is named for the famous author who penned Around the World in Eighty Days. This new record is edging us ever closer to cutting Verne's vision of a circumnavigation in half, and while the next team will have shave more than 5 days off this record to achieve that feat, it no longer seems unlikely that someone will eventually find a way to circle the globe in a sailing ship in under 40 days.

Congratulations to the crew of the Maxi Banque for a job well done, and thanks to Lou-Phi for giving me the heads up on the record, even as it was about to be broken. As always, it is much appreciated mate!

Circling The Globe In A Wheelchair

Looking for your daily dose of inspiration? Then look no further than this interview with Andy Campbell from the Adventure Journal. Campbell, who broke his back in a climbing accident eight years ago, has big plans for 2012, as he plans to circle the globe in his wheelchair, covering more than 30,000 miles in the process.

In the AJ interview, Andy says that he intends to travel from the U.K. to China via "arm-powered" transport, then skip across the Pacific to Alaska, and proceed south to Chile. He'll undertake this incredible journey in order to raise £1 million for the Chutkara Initiative, a new charity that is dedicated to funding outdoor gear and equipment for disabled people who want to continue leading healthy, active lives, despite their disability.

Andy goes on to discuss the gear he'll be taking on his expedition, including a specially designed off-road wheelchair that has been built to handle the rigors of the trail. He also shares insights into his training regimen, and some thoughts on the challenges that he'll face on his journey.

The plan is to launch the circumnavigation by wheelchair attempt in June of this year, when Campbell and his support crew well set out from London to take on the world. He estimates that it will take him roughly two years to complete his adventure, which will cross four continents and take on diverse natural environments ranging from deserts, to mountains, and much more.



Freedom from andy campbell on Vimeo.

Solo Sailing Update: Laura Crosses Indian Ocean

Teenage solo sailor Laura Dekker completed her crossing of the Indian Ocean last week, safely arriving in Durban, South Africa. This marks the end of the third leg or her solo circumnavigation attempt, which began in August of last year.

Laura remained mostly silent about her route across the Indian Ocean in an attempt to avoid becoming a target for pirates, but reaching South Africa is another significant milestone on her journey. According to her most recent blog update, she is currently in Port Elizabeth, and will soon be sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, which should be the last of the major challenges before she turns for home. That last stretch run will have her sailing up the western coast of Africa and returning to Gibraltar where she began.

The 16-year old has now crossed the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean, and seems to be a lock for finishing her voyage safely, and thereby claiming the title as the youngest person to sail solo around the world. Laura made headlines when she announced her intentions to do just that at the age of 13, but bureaucratic  red tape kept her on dry land until she was finally able to set sail last year at the age of 14. Since then, she has been casually making her way around the planet, and seemingly having a great time doing it.

There is no word when she'll set sail again, but reading her journal entries online, Laura seems eager to get going. If the weather works in her favor, I imagine she'll brave the Cape soon enough and start final stage for home.

London2London Update: Sarah Completes Stage 1

British adventurer Sarah Outen arrived in Tokyo a few days back, successfully bringing to a close the first stage of her London2London expedition. This leg of the journey was 11,000 miles in length and lasted for 227 days, but puts her only halfway to her goal.

As you probably recall, Sarah is attempting to make a completely human powered circumnavigation of the planet. She got underway in April, setting out from London, and paddled her way down the Thames River and across the English Channel. After that, she climbed aboard her bike and started pedaling east, passing through 12 different countries before arriving at her temporary stopping point. Along the way, she  has had to deal with bad weather, trucks that wouldn't share the road, dehydration in the Gobi Desert, and choppy seas on her paddle from Russia to Japan.

For now, Sarah will enjoy some down time in Japan as she rests and prepares for the next major stage of the expedition. In the spring of 2012 she'll start a 4300 mile solo crossing of the North Pacific, which will begin in Choshi, Japan and end in Vancouver, Canada. If she is successful, she'll become just the third person to make that journey.

After that, Sarah will return to the bike and ride from Vancouver to New York City, where she'll return to the water once again, and row the North Atlantic. If all goes according to schedule, she'll return to where she started – London – in late 2013.

Congrats to Sarah on reaching the end of this incredibly long first leg. Now take a break and getting ready for the next adventure.

Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 Begins Friday

The 2011-2012 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race will get underway this Friday, when six teams will hit the high seas on a round the world yacht race that pits some of the best racers in the world against one another. The event takes place once every three years and is a test of both stamina and skill. This latest edition will require approximately nine months to complete, with the ships covering 72,000km (39,000 nautical miles).

At the moment, the crew of the six ships are hurriedly putting the final touches on their preparation for their voyages. On Friday, they'll set sail from Alicante, Spain for their first port of call, Cape Town, South Africa. From there, it is on to Abu Dhabi; Sanya, China; Auckland, New Zealand; Itajai, Brazil; Miami, USA; Lisbon, Portugal; Lorient, France and finally Galway, Ireland. The first ships are expected to arrive in that port city sometime next July.

The race is broken into nine different stages, with the crews racing day and night for up to 20 days at a time on some of those stages. The ships carry 11 crew members, many of whom hold multiple roles. For example, they each must be a trained sailor, but the ship must also have at least two medics, an engineer, a sailmaker, and so on. Over the course of their journey, these men and women will be put to the test as they endure extremes in temperatures, unexpected storms, and days at sea without rest.

To follow the race, keep an eye on the official website, which will offer all kinds of updates and live tracking as the event gets underway.

Missing Sailor Feared Eaten By Cannibals

Here's your "What century is again?" story of the day.

A 40-year old German sailor, named Stefan Ramin, has gone missing in French Polynesia, and is believed to have been eaten by cannibals. Ramin and his girlfriend Heike Dorsch, have been sailing around the world over the past three years, and stopped on the island of Nuku Hiva, where they planned to spends some time off the ocean.

A few weeks back, Ramin went for a hike on the island with a local goat hunter by the name of Henri Haiti. Later in the day, Haiti returned alone and told Dorsch that there had been an accident and that her boyfriend needed help. When Dorsh attempted to call the police for assistance however, Haiti tied her to a tree and sexually assaulted her, before disappearing into the jungle.

Later, Dorsh was able to free herself and alert authorities, who immediately began searching the area for signs of Ramin. Last Saturday, after a week of searching, they believe they discovered his remains in the ashes left over from a fire, where they found a human jawbone and teeth that are believed to have belonged to the German man.

According to the story linked to above, Nuku Hiva was the setting of two novels by Herman Melville and has had a history of cannibalism in the past. That said, there have been no reported cases in more than a century, and the island's 2000 residents are said to be baffled by what happened to the missing sailor. The one man who can actually tell the whole story, Henri Haiti, is still missing as well.

This is certainly a strange story to say the least. I know that there are a lot of remote places on the planet, some with indigenous people who live much the same way as they have done for centuries. But it has been a long time since I've heard anything about cannibals. While it certainly is still a possibility I suppose, but I think it's probably more likely that something happened between Haiti and Ramin, and Haiti tried to cover it up by burning his remains. After all, its pretty evident that Haiti isn't the most respectable of men to begin with.

Ramin and Dorsch were planning on sailing to New Zealand in a few weeks time, where they were also planning on ending their three-year voyage. Sad that it had to finish like this.

Thanks to Outside magazine for sharing this story.

Canadian Man Completes 11-Year Walk Around The Globe

A Canadian man who has spent the last 11-years walking around the world, completed his march yesterday, arriving back home in Montreal. Over the course of his journey, he covered more than 75,500 km (46,913 miles) and burned through 54 pairs of shoes.

The 56-year Jean Béliveau began his World Wide Walk back in August of 2000 as an attempt to not only circumnavigate the globe under his own power, but also promote peace and non-violence as a way of making the world a better place for children. His route first took him south across North and South America, where he then jumped over to Africa and began heading north once again. From there, it was on to Europe, before turning east to cross Asia to Japan, then down to Australia and New Zeland, and finally returning to Canada.

For the most part, Béliveau traveled alone, pushing a three wheeled cart that carried his gear. Over the course of the trip, he pushed that cart through 60 different countries, where he often stayed in the homes of the people he met along the way. He said that one of the most rewarding parts of the journey was experiencing the cultures in those nations first hand and embracing as much as he could along the way.

According to the story I linked to above, Béliveau hadn't been home to Montreal since he embarked on his walk a decade ago. In fact, he met his five year old granddaughter for the first time upon his arrival back to the city, where he was greeted by his wife as well. The journey began out of what he describes as a mid-life crisis, but now he's ready to be home, where he intends to write about his travels, do some public speaking, and continue to promote the cause of peace.

Pretty impressive hike this guy went on. Even more impressive his how understanding his wife must be!

London2London Update: Sarah Reaches Japan

Sarah Outen has reached a major milestone on her attempt to circumnavigate the globe under her own power. You may recall that Sarah set out in April on her round-the-world adventure, by paddling down the River Thames and across the English Channel. From there, she climbed on her bike and has spent months peddling across Europe and Asia. Now, she's made it to Japan, where she plans to take a break before attempting to row across the North Pacific in the spring.

Sarah, and her companion Justine Curgeven, were not allowed to paddle out of Russia, but were instead put aboard a boat that would take them out to sea where they could drop into their kayaks for the crossing to Japan. Once that happened however, the ladies actually paddled back to the Russian coast, where they tagged Sarah's last waypoint, before turning towards their eventual destination. This added an additional  24 miles to the trip, but ensured that Sarah stayed true to her goals to cover all the miles under her own power.

Now, she's safely in Japan where she'll travel some parts of the country by bike, before taking a much deserved rest. In the spring, she intends to climb aboard her row boat (Sarah once rowed across the Indian Ocean) and row across the Northern Pacific to Vancouver, where she'll once again take to the bike and begin a long ride across the U.S. and Canada, before the rows across the Atlantic, and back up the Thames, to end the expedition where it started, back in London.

Congrats to Sarah for closing off this leg of her journey and good luck in the spring. Hopefully for now, she's enjoying a warm bed, good food, and plenty of rest.