Juliana Buhring Has Just Set a New World Record for the Fastest Female Circumnavigation of the Globe
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travel FAST WOMAN Juliana Buhring has just set a new world record for the fastest female circumnavigation of the globe. She tells Lara Dunn about the highs and lows of her incredible 29,000km journey You’ve just cycled around the world, superior to men? Didn’t the ‘fi rst record’ mean that the light and fast as possible. The total how does it feel to now be back in the fi rst person’s time sets the record others have to beat? The weight, including bags, came to ‘real world’? fi rst male record for circumnavigation by bicycle was 276 around 21 kilos. The fi rst couple of days felt surreal. days! Thankfully they revised this rule after complaints, I carried just a spare set of cycling It was strange not having to set my extending it to 175 days. clothes, a pair of long trousers, rain alarm to wake up at 5:00am and jacket and winter jacket in a small jump straight on a bike. I’m usually What prompted you to want to do this in the fi rst place? saddle bag that attached right under a night person, so training my body I needed a challenge. We have this very brief time when the seat and saved me the weight of to sleep and get up early was a we are alive, and I want to fi ll it with as many experiences a bike rack. Then in a bag along the challenge, especially in the winter as I can. In the summer of 2011, I did a cycling holiday frame I carried all the tools I needed months when I had limited daylight from Berlin to Copenhagen, and after that I was hooked. to fi x the bike and a change of tubes/ to cycle in. When I got home, I Before then, I hadn’t even been on a bicycle since tyres/chain. In a small bag in the quickly fell back into my late night childhood. It was never something I thought of taking up, front, I carried vitamins, medicine, routine and all was well with the even as a hobby. After that fi rst aid and world once again. I decided I wanted to pedal sun cream. Every adventurer will tell you, after much further, perhaps across the high of an epic endeavour, you a continent. Were there any quickly hit a low upon returning. It’s I started researching on the points at which you like you reached an incredible peak internet and reading about thought you weren’t and it can only go downhill from various world cycles. Two things going to manage to there. Getting through that slump immediately struck me: most of keep going? of post-adventure depression took the info was about male cyclists, I nearly ran out of about a week. Planning for future and perhaps more importantly, money. I left with adventures helped pick me up again. there had never been a female only around 2,000 record made for circumnavigation Euros. It had been To be offi cially recognised by by bicycle. I decided right then literally impossible Guinness World Records, a route that I would be the fi rst. to fi nd sponsors for needs to be at least 18,000 miles and The fastest woman around the planet, my ride, probably Juliana is planning a new adventure has to pass through two antipodal Could you give a brief outline of because nobody points. How long did that take you? your route and your bike which believed I would do I pedalled 29,060km in 144 days, but you named Pegasus. it. I only got around my total time was 152 days and one I travelled west. Initially I was the world through hour. This included fl ight transfers going east, but I had to change due to delays in my the support of the many people between continents, which, prior departure meaning I would hit a monsoon in Asia. I following me on Facebook and to my ride, were not included in passed through France, Spain and Portugal then fl ew to Twitter. I had reached New Zealand the total record time, but Guinness the USA and crossed from Boston to Seattle. From New when I fi rst ran out of money. I changed the rules. They also threw Zealand, I pedalled the entire south Australian coast from posted a video on youtube thanking me a loop when they said that the east to west starting in Brisbane and ending in Perth. Then everyone who had supported me and fi rst female record had to be done it was Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India and on to stating that it was pretty likely that within a total time of 150 days. I was Turkey, Greece and continuing along the coast back into after New Zealand I would have to baffl ed. All previous male records Italy. A total of 18 countries and four continents. return home, as I had only 300 Euros had been done in over 164 days, not My bike, Pegasus, was a very light carbon frame road left. Within a day, donations had including fl ights, so more like 180 bike, with 25x700 tyres. I used reinforced tyres and still fl ooded into my Paypal, enough to days. It made no sense. Did they ended up with a total of 29 fl ats. I changed to this model keep me going through Australia and believe a woman was physically only a few weeks before departure as I wanted to be as Asia. It was incredible. 78 www.womenscyclinguk.co.uk Cycling1_078-081.indd 78 08/03/2013 11:03.