Around-the-World cyclist warms up by lapping Britain

British cyclist Mark Beaumont plans to ride around the British coast in under three weeks—as a sort of warm-up for a somewhat longer trip.

After completing his 3.500-mile (5,635km) tour of the British coastline in 20 days, Beaumont and his support team plans to set out on what he calls, Artemis World Cycle—around the world in 80 days on a bicycle.

“My plan over the next 20 days is to ride around the entire coastline of Britain, it’s about 3,500 miles,’ Beaumont said. “I need a journey like this to get myself into shape, so my support team know exactly what they are doing in preparation for the world.”

After that short warm-up ride, he will set out for his slightly longer summer tour: 18,000 miles (29,000 km) in 80 days, crossing Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America.

He plans to be on the bike 16 hours a day. He will take airplanes across the oceans, of course.

“When it actually comes to the world and that 18,000-mile journey I guess my greatest concern is Leg 1, going from Paris through to Beijing through places like Russia, Mongolia, and China,” Beaumont explained.

“There’s a lot that is out of our control as a team, so it’s not just about a bike race and what my team can do but it’s also about the border crossings, it’s about finding the right supplies, it’s about not being delayed by things that are out of our control, those are the things that could make the difference between going less than 80 days or not.”

Beaumont is no novice when it comes to long-distance cycling. In 2008 he made a similar trip, taking a leisurely 194 days. He thinks he can do twice as much this time around.

The world record is currently held by New Zealander Andrew Nicholson who managed the feat in 123 days in 2015.

Beaumont is doing the ride to inspire others to tackle equally extreme challenges. He knows not everyone will want to ride a bicycle 16 hours a day for several months, but everyone can set a difficult goal and work to achieve it.

“I can’t imagine many people will follow the Artemis World Cycle and think: ‘You know what, I’m going to cycle around the world.’ But, one of my motivations to share the journey in as big a way as possible is because I would love for young people, all people, everyone following to reflect on ‘What’s my 80 days?’ Beaumont said.

“If I was a 12-year-old kid who 20 years later believes he can cycle around the world in 80 days with the support of an incredible team, I think a fantastic legacy from a project like this would be the ability of people to think, well in my world, what does that look like … It doesn’t need to be on a bike.”