Circumnavigating the World by Bicycle An Interview with Revolution Cycle

  - How do your families feel about you both undertaking the venture?

Fearghal: Mine are pretty excited about it, I think dad would love to be joining us to be honest, and our GPS tracker will mean that mum won't have to worry too much. My younger brother will actually be joining us for a leg, probably between Shanghai and Siberia.

Si: First reactions were generally that of envy - of the freedom, not of the cycling! That’s turned into lots of excitement with a bit of apprehension. I think the fact that we'll be able to keep in contact via our satellite phone will make us seem closer to home than we actually are.

  - I'm guessing that you will be being quite careful as regards the extras you are bringing with you, due to the extra weight. Is there a particular luxury your both planning on bringing with you?

Fearghal: I'd love to be able to bring some decent books with me as I'm sure those long evenings in Siberia would be a great chance to catch up on those classics that I haven't found the time for yet. Unfortunately, books are heavy so we'll probably be only be able to carry a paperback or two. Probably some of Jules Verne's stuff, maybe Around the World in Eigthy Days, that would be apt.

 You'll probably want to bring your decks eh Simon?

Simon: Yeah I wouldn't mind bringing my decks; I'd have to use about 5 trailers to carry all the various bits though! The main thing for me is music, and lots of it to suit different moods. I'll probably bring a couple of books too, particularly for those lonely stretches.

  - What are you both listening to on your mp3 players now?

Fearghal: I have to admit, mine is currently out of action as my after run take-away leaked on it on the way home recently. Before it was tikka massala'd it was full of "a bit of everything", from Metallica to Daft Punk, Rachmaninov to Aphex Twin.

We'll have them loaded with 10 different language classes for the cycle as 8 hours a day in the saddle will be perfect for boning up on the language of the country we're travelling though.

Simon: I've got a bit of a pick and mix on mine: Sigur Ros, Pink Floyd, Dj Shadow, and a fair few Global Underground compilations.

  - Finally what advice would you have for somebody else who has a dream that seems a bit hard to reach?

Fearghal:
Henry Ford said that no job is particularly hard if you break it up into small steps, and thats the approach we've taken. Mentally, we're not going to set off and try and circumnavigate the globe. We're going to set off each day and try and get to our daily destination. If we can do that then
it follows that we can cycle around the world. That said, our dream still seems pretty daunting at the moment as we're still looking for that illusive title sponsor. Where there's a will there's a way, though, and we're firm believers that if you keep pushing in the right direction eventually you'll get where you want to go.

The route that Fearghal and Simon selected was chosen with two objectives in mind; to include as many places of interest and beauty as possible, and to fit with the criteria for a circumnavigation.
The Revolution Cycle will be an unsupported expedition, meaning that the guys will have no outside help en-route. No support vehicle to carry their equipment, or provide shelter from the places they pass through. If something breaks they have to fix it and if the terrain is tough they are just going to have to power through it.

  What is a circumnavigation?

A circumnavigation of the world is often confused with travelling around the world. The difference between the two is a simple but important one. Both suggest travelling in one direction around the world to finish in the same point that you began. Travelling around the world however, does not mean that the circumference of the earth has been completely covered. If you were at the North Pole, for example, you could run around the world, travelling in the same direction and ending at the same place that you began, in less than a minute or two.

Guinness World Records have solved this problem by including the stipulation that two antipodal points must be crossed in a circumnavigation. This ensures that the world's circumference is covered in its entirety. Antipodes are two points directly opposite each other. The North and South pole are an antipodal pair.

The antipodes for Revolution Cycle's circumnavigation will be in Buenos Aires in Argentina and Shanghai in Eastern China. The two cities are on directly opposite sides of the globe- that means that if you started to dig a tunnel from Shanghai, through the centre of the earth, and kept on going through to the other side, you'd come out in down-town Buenos Aries.

We'd like the wish the guys the very best of luck from us here at EnduranceSource and will be catching up with them again to see how they are getting on!

The guys are also still on the lookout for a title sponsor for their expedition, so if you think you may be interested in taking the spot while it’s available, make sure and get in contact!

For more information on Fearghal and Simons epic cycle visit their website at www.revolutioncycle.ie or click on the following link: