Sean Conway - World Cycling Stripped Bare

Monique Ziervogel

Special thanks to:
Martin & Missy who took care of me in America.I shall never forget your generosity.

ContentsAbout Sean

Sean Conway woke up one day, realising he was sick of the rat race, wanted to do something thatwould shape the rest of his life. With virtually nocycling experience, Sean decided that he would tryand become the fastest person to cycle around theworld. Six months before he departed he had nobike, no funding and couldnt even cycle 40 miles without having to catch the train home.

Findouteverythingfromequipment,nutrition,training, safety, sponsorship, and how to go fromcycling 40 miles to 200 miles a day.

Seanreallybelieves thatANYONE cancyclearound the world. The hardest part is getting to thestart line. This book will make sure you are as prepared as youll ever be when you get there.

Foreword

OK! Honestly, how many of you are reading this purely because of the front cover? I dont blameyou. Having a naked model on a cyclist definitely is what it says on the tin Cycling the World Stripped Bare. There was talk for me to be nakedbut seriously, no one wants to see that. Although Ishould have done it anyway to embarrass my futuregrandchildren.Inappropriateoldpeopleareawesome.

So anyway, yes, I have a naked model on my back.ImnottryingtobeRichardBransonhereor anything, I just really, really, really, believe thatANYONE can cycle around the world. If that means taking one for the team with a risqu front cover toget my point across then thats just what needed tobedone.NowthatIhaveyour attention,lets rewind to eight months before I set off to cyclearound the world.

I was unhappy in my job, my girlfriend dumped meand I had itchy feet. I wasnt in the position to take agap year after high school and a part of me has always wished I had.

Id been following many adventure cyclists for years.Thelikes ofTommyGodwin,Nick Saunders, Alastair Humphreys, Mark Beaumont,Vin Cox and Alan Bate all did some inspirationalrides. To me these guys were superhuman andcycling around the world, much like going to themoon, was something that other people did. I never thought in a million years that I had it in me todo it.

Then one day as I lay in a cold bath waitingfor the hot water to rise, I began to think; to dreamof what it would be like to cycle around the world.I thought of all the places I hadnt been to and thelist was long: USA, South America, Australia, mostof Eastern Europe... the list went on.

As the hot water rose, so did the little fireburning inside of me. I knew nothing about cyclingand hadnt cycled for years, but what I did knowwas that I wasnt happy in my life and felt like Ineeded to do something about it.

It was then that I decided to go for it. It was the best decision Ive ever made. It changed mylife. You too can do it. Anyone can do it! All youneed to do is say YES!

This is more of a guide than a novel. It details everythingfromtraining,thelogistics,gettingsponsorship and stories from the ride itself. Perfectfor toilet or train reading. Or better still, a train toilet.

There is a section at the back for you to writenotes. Please do that. I hope to see this bookfull of underlines, circled words and ideas that will fuel your adventure of a lifetime.

Happy reading... and remember to put the liddown when youre done!Introduction

I couldnt even cycle 40 miles!
Now that I had my mind set on cycling around theworld I figured Id better actually go for a ride. I was fairly fit but I had never cycled more than 60 miles in one day and hadnt been on a bike for about 3years.

I dusted off my old, spider web covered,oversized bike and decided to try and cycle the 60mile London to Brighton route. I got up early and hitthe road heading south. The weather was good andthere was no head wind. Perfect conditions.

I managed through London quite well, even if a bit slow and stopped after 15 miles for breakfast. Ifelt good! That was until I got back on the bike. Mylegs started to burn a little. It wasnt too bad thoughand was to be expected for my first ride.
At around mile 30, I hit the Surrey Hills. In hindsightthey were pretty small but at the time I struggled upthem,myheartbouncingoffthehandlebars.Ireached the top and lay down in a pool of my ownsweat for about 10 minutes convinced that therewas less oxygen up here at the top of the hill.

I got back on the bike again and the burnwas killing but I was determined to carry on. Myprogress was short-lived though as I got a puncture5 miles later. Not to worry though: I had a puncturerepair kit. What I hadnt realised was that the gluegoes hard if you leave it your bag for 3 years. Sothere I stood, in the middle of somewhere rural with a flat tire and no way to fix it.

Google Maps to the rescue. I managed tofind a bike shop about 5 miles away. Not too bad. Itcould have been worse. I then spent the next hour and a half pushing my bike along the road whilehaving to dive into the hedgerow every time a truck flew by. I arrived at the shop tired, annoyed andwith sore feet. I managed to put a new tube in but inputting the tyre on again with tyre leavers managedto puncture the tube again.

This little easy bike ride was turning into anightmare. I had been out now for 5 hours. Itbecame clear that I knew nothing about propercycling.

EventuallyIgotback onthebikeandmanaged another 10 miles but my legs were totallygone. They had stiffened up from the walk and myknees hurt.

I also forgot to refill my water bottles so was feeling dehydrated. I couldnt go on and found thenearest station and took the train home, depressedat how ignorant and useless I was.

How on Earth was I going to cycle around theworld?What is cycling around the world?

According to Guinness Guidelines, cycling aroundthe world means you have to cycle 18,000 miles passing through two antipodes and generally goeast or west.

Ifyoufeelthis is animportantsetofguidelines to follow then go ahead. It certainly helps with the route process. If you are going for theworld record, then youll have to follow it.

Some people, including myself, think their guidelines arentwhatroundtheworldcyclingshould be all about. For instance, you could followtheir rules and only cycle USA, Australia and a bit inEurope. Thats not cycling around the world in myeyes.

For me cycling around the world was to tryanddoas muchas Icould(timeandbudgetallowing) ineachcontinentwhilestillfollowingGuinness Guidelines about generally going West.

Some people might want to avoid flying untilthey reach an ocean. I personally like that idea andif I did it again would try it that way. (Fly as little as possible.)

AlsoIdontthink thetotalmileageis important. Yes, you need to do enough to warrant itbeingaroundtheworldbutzigzagginginonecountry purely to make up more miles doesnt makeit more of an around the world experience.

Its your adventure so do what you feel is right for you. Youll probably only get one chance atit. Make it count!

Getting the ball rolling Buy a huge world map.So youve decided to follow in the footsteps ofsome of the worlds most adventurous characters.Carving your own story across the globe will shapethe rest of your life. Its a big commitment andfailure is NOT an option. It can sometimes beoverwhelmingbutfollowingtherightsteps andkeeping your goals in mind will not only meansuccess, but also help getting the most of your adventure.

I was amongst nine people all setting off to cycle around the world: five of them gave up for various reasons. You dont want to be one of thosefailures. Giving up is not an option. Write that down!