What a fantastic journey! I am thrilled to see folks like this really living. Thanks for sharing.

Saw some of his round the world diaries and couldn't help but think 'what a self obsessed loner we have here..'

It is for charity but who pays his bills? Sponsers I suppose or maybe his family are minted.

Good luck to Mr Beaumont and I hope he raises loads for charity. But please no more of his OTT drama.

al2098.....WHAT????? Get a life.

al2098 - the guy was cycling around the world all by his-self, who else is he going to be worried about?!?!?! Who cares where his money comes from? Nobody complains about the many people on here who own bikes costing in excess of £1000 to upwards of £5000. Is it wrong to have money and to spend your time doing something you love? If I had the money I'd gladly spend my time seeing the world by bike.

Congratulations Mr Beaumont, not many people can say they cycled round the world, and followed it up with a short trip down the length of the America's. Inspiring stuff!

bit annoyed with the whole deal, there are hundreds, nay thousands of folk who've made the same journey with the most basic, shonky kit and without sponsorship and taking far more interesting/challenging routes than this.. like the Peruvian guy I met in San Martin de los Andes doing the same thing on an old worn out mountainbike with the most basic kit... now his was a story far more interesting... and speaking from first hand experience, I cycled past Aconcagua a couple of days ago.

no doubt i'll be branded a humbug for that... nothing against the charity part, that's great - wish I could get the same publicity for my charity as I do a similar journey... but in terms of hype it's not a particularly remarkable journey, it really ain't. sorry.

75 miles an average day ! whoa ! respect !

"Is it wrong to have money and to spend your time doing something you love? If I had the money I'd gladly spend my time seeing the world by bike."

I totally agree. Just wonder what this guys true motivation is. Have you seen the diaries of the round the world trip?

Seems to have a pretty high opinion of himself.

But personality aside, I hope he succeeds and makes lots of cash for charity.

Mr Jalapeno, dont get so hot and bothered about it. Most people I know do find it remarkable, it is quite a feat after all. Maybe you are doing a similar sort of journey, in its own way remarkable, and maybe if you were so inclined everybody would be following you on Twitter. The fact is, that to almost every cyclist stuck at home with jobs and resposibilities in the UK we can live vicariously through people like Mark and feel like we are doing it with him. Why is it so annoying to you? is it that nobody knows about your wonderful trip and all the great things you have seen and done. Give the man a break, I am jealous but dont have any bad feeling towards the guy. He is a cyclist after all. If it annoys you so much why have been following him? (His story ,not his route!)

"al2098.....WHAT????? Get a life"

Frontbum?

With a username like that I can't take you seriously so I'm not offended.

someone tell me why I should care that this guy did? please tell me - why is it meaningful? why do I want to watch the BBC docudrama? this really is TV for the house-bound.

if you *really* want some good reading, read the blog about the guy who rode around the world after Beaumont with the catch phrase "this is not for charity". HE's a man on a mission. Beaumont is milquetoast in comparison.

Now then.... I've not had a tv since 1990 and I,ve not seen or heard the guy except on the odd clip here on the pc. Truth is I don't care what he thinks of himself or others but he has ridden around the world and fast as well. He's just done another epic trip. Hooray for all people like him. I couldn't care less if they walk, cycle, push peas with noses, whatever. Give the guy the credit he's due. You do what he's doing then you'd be grateful for publicity, sponsorship, book deals etc. It would mean you could keep doing what you love doing and earn your keep at the same time. Don't get so disgruntled with it. He's doing no harm to anyone so if it doesn't light your candle there's no point in posting negative comments is there. Chapeau to all adventurers. Long may they inspire.

Chapeau Frontbum, You said it so eloquently. I personally do like a frontbum now and then.

FransJacques - awwwww. Bless you.

al2098 - you can't take a comment "seriously" because of the poster's username? Damn...

A lot of miles but what about elevation? Far more important.

for the record, I didn't know about Mark 'till this week - I came down out of the mountains (been following the small, dirt roads) for a few days R&R.. first western folk I've seen for a few weeks and it just got to me that all everyone says to me when they see the bicycle is "oh did you read about Mark Beaumont, how amazing" and in the context of the people I've met along the way I just got sick of it. I tried to raise the profile of a particular charity that does amazing work worldwide but folk are a fickle bunch about who/what they're interesting and yes, I just got sick of hearing about Beaumont this last few days, I admit it. sorry.

"al2098 - you can't take a comment "seriously" because of the poster's username? Damn..."

Valy,

His comment was without any merit so I just replied in turn.

My error..

What a fun person you must be to cycle with.

Well done to Mark, a fantastic achievement and one that we will all be able to

experience, at least in some part because of his documentation and filming.

In watching his previous documentary I found Mark an interesting and engaging character. He has a impressive amount of mental and physical stamina which I think should be commended. I certainly witnessed no self obsession, just a desire to document his experiences. In fact he is gives me the impression that he is quite a self aware and humble character.

al2098, you certainly seem very good at making flippant comments and demonstrating to everyone that you have a massive chip on your shoulder. Go out and ride and feel some positivity!

Well done Mark!!

For the record, Mark is a really sound chap. He uses us for parts and had his round the world bike built by us.

To be negative about his achievements is just plain odd. Give him a break - his determination and commitment to a goal is probably stronger than just about anyones you could care to meet.

Any work to help charities should be welcomed.

Mark

www.thebikechain.co.uk

Beaumont has a very large finance company (Artemis) sponsoring him. His round the world trip reportedly raised about £20,000 for charity. Given the massive publicity, surely he could have capitalised on that and got at least 10 times that amount? How about Artemis chipping in with a large donation? Witness the 5-year old who rode around his local park and raised hundreds of thousands for the Haiti disaster. I attended Beaumont's book launch in Edinburgh and it felt more like a corporate event rather than a celebration of a personal achievement

James Bowthorpe beat Beaumont's record by 3 weeks and aimed to raise £1.8million for Alzheimer's research. I consider he is more worthy of support and I suggest everyone does to his website (www.globecycle.org) and donate something right now. So far they have only raised 6% of that total and it seems a crying shame that Beaumont is getting all the publicity and Bowthorpe isn't.

what is it about gingers and long distance cycling anyway?

We met Mark in Guatemala and had a nice dinner together. By that time we were already more than a year on our way and now he is finished, we are stll in Venezuela.

Yes, there are more people cycling the Americas (actually many are in contact regularly for tips, help etc), but every trip is different. Different route, different motivations, different people. All the critics should maybe try it? I promise it wll change your outlook on life and view of others.

It is so easy to complain and judge without even meeting a person or doing anything yourself. And yes, there will be critique from others who have actually done something themself, because they feel the need to show that their way is the only right way. I know from experience that this is true for any physical or mental endeavour, whether s a cycling trip or climbing the 7 summits.

Just let it go, enjoy your own short life while you can and get out there, whether on a bike, walking or whatever. If you do it for yourself? Great. If you can help somebody else at the same time? Great. If you do or write anything interesting, I'll find you on Twitter and get inspired by you and will defend you from the naysayers. And if you rase one penny for charity? Good for you. If you don't? No worries.

The only thing I agree with is that James Bowthorpe did not get enough attention, but you cannot blame Mark for that, that's a bit silly. How many complainers did Tweet/notify/ their favourite newspaper/website about James? Would take less time than bitching here about somebody else.

Anyway, congratulations to Mark for doing what he did. I had the same plan 10 years ago. I did climb both mountains (twice), but did not cycle between them until now. His journey was different than mine would have been and that's great.

Mark is a nice guy in person. You should try to meet up with him (or anybody you attack as a person) for Pizza and a beer. At least you would know a person for a bit and can judge him/her afterwards if you feel the need, but what's the point?

Leading by example is not the best way to influence people, it is the only way.

Happy riding, cheers from Chavez country

Harry

http://WorldOnaBike.com

http:/Biketravellers.com

Think I may have encroached on a Mark Beaumond fan site.

Maybe I got it wrong. The producers of the documentary didn't have enough extreme situations to make the journey interesting so several hours of Mark whinging and moaning tried to make up for it. Not his fault at all.

Almost as bad as Ellen MacArthur..

Boo ho ho...

I agree to an extent with Mr Julian Emre Sayarer.

Bit harsh but generally correct.

some winging c*cksuckers posting on here. Sound like a bunch of old ladies.

Got nothing good to say? Then F off and take your glass half empty sh=t to some PMT forum.

Jason23

Think your a clever fellow because you complain when someone has a different opinion to yours with rude comments.

Go find a unicycle forum so you can communicate with other clowns like you.