Cycling heroes

My cycling heroes are not the riders in the Tour de France though I am in awe of the ability to ride such distances and climb so far, day after day. No, my heroes are the people who set off into the world on a bike, seeking adventure:

Anne Mustoe:

A headmistress and history teacher, who after retiring in her 50s, was given a bike on which she set off for Rome. Having got that far she went on and rode 12,000 miles right around the world. She wrote a successful book about her travels, then mounted her bike to ride back in the other direction visiting places she’d missed the first time. On all her rides, she followed historical routes including the Silk Road over the 4733m Khunjerab Pass in the Himalayas.

Anne Mustoe died in 2009 at the age of 76 while cycling in Syria. How sad she would be to see the country today.

Books: A Bike Ride, Lone Traveller, Two Wheels in the Dust, Ché Guevara and the Mountain of Silver

Josie Dew:

A young cycle touring fanatic who alone has ridden to 48 countries carrying a incredible amount of gear on her Roberts bike. She paid for her early journeys by working as a cook and then setting off. She has written lots of entertaining books charting her progress. Though she is now a Mum, she still is pedalling.

http://www.josiedew.com

Colin Martin:

A great friend who took 40 years to ride round the world on a Moulton bike – albeit in stages. At the age of 20 on a unique Moulton “Marathon” he rode via Afghanistan, from England to Singapore and sailed to Western Australia. After setting off to cross the Nullabor desert en route to the east coast, his bike was stolen. Years later on a replacement Moulton he crossed the USA from Seattle to New York. Dissatisfied that he had not quite achieved his goal of riding round the world, he returned to Perth a few years ago and pedalled till he reached the sea at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. He has since cycled on a Moulton in the Himalayas.

A new website is under construction but reports from the Himalayas are here: http://moultonbike.blogspot.co.at

 

Colin and the replacement Moulton in Sydney

Irmgard:

my wife, whose determination gets her to the tops of improbably long hills and passes, and who delights in surprising the young men who crow about their performance in reaching the very same summit.

Irmgard's t-shirt will soon need updating

Chas Roberts:

though I don’t know if he ever rides a bike, but he has for 50 years hand-built the very best touring bikes.