{"id":786150,"date":"2026-09-29T08:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T08:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/786150\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T08:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T08:04:16","slug":"69-year-old-bikes-30000-km-around-globe-to-take-record-raises-70k-for-cancer-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/786150\/","title":{"rendered":"69-year-old bikes 30,000 km around globe to take record, raises $70k for cancer research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

And finally, after a year of planning and training, Mark set off on his journey in January 2025, taking off in Asia for what would become a 324-day voyage. With all of his belongings on his back, and not much else besides his body and his bike, he rode through all types of terrain \u2013 spreading Jackie\u2019s ashes in places they always wanted to visit<\/a> when she was alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Mark,<\/p>\n

He rode down the Australian<\/a> coastline and up through southern Asia, cruised through central Europe, and peddled all the way across America. Yet no matter where he went, on a regular basis he says he was reaffirmed of the kindness of strangers \u2013 a heartwarming reminder that the world is filled with so many incredible people.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom people opening up their homes to me, to buying me meals, and driving hundreds of kilometers to bring me a new tyre, it never ceased to amaze me,\u201d he said. \u201cSadly, I think as a species we’re hard-wired to focus on the negative. I hope I will always remember that the vast majority of people are extremely kind and very similar in who we are and what we want.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/p>\n

Two anecdotes stood out in particular \u2013 one, when the police in Malaysia gave him a full escort down the highway, and filmed videos (complete with music!) for his Instagram page.<\/p>\n

Another occurred in Western Australia, when a woman offered him a spot to sleep for the night in her small cafe. Mark, shocked, said: \u201cYou don\u2019t even know me, I could be a serial killer!\u201d before she cheekily responded with \u201cso could I!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both agreed that it was a win-win night when neither of us were rolled up in plastic on the living room floor the next morning,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n

Read more stories about globetrotting expeditions in our dedicated Adventures and Epic Journeys section!<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/p>\n

After nearly a year on the road, Mark says that these little interactions were his favourite part of the journey \u2013 making his arrival back in Thailand after 324 days \u201ca little anti-climactic\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike my departure, there was no one to greet me and it felt more like checking off a task done than a feat accomplished,\u201d he said. \u201cIt wasn’t until the next day, while I was relaxing poolside at my hotel, that it hit me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHoly cow! I just rode around the world! I know I said I was going to do it, but I actually did it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/p>\n

So as he continues to enjoy his retirement \u2013 and his life outdoors, including bicycle coaching<\/a> \u2013 Mark says that he hopes his journey acts as a motivator to everyone (yet particularly seniors) that anything is possible when we put our minds to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI strongly believe that we need to continually challenge ourselves physically and mentally in order to continue growing,\u201d he said in his application. \u201cIf we’re not growing, we’re dying.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn’t have to be riding around the world. It can be going for a daily walk, working in the garden, learning a new language, or anything that would create some kind of challenge\/growth that isn’t there now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

And even though most people would take some well-deserved rest after biking across the world, Mark is determined to maintain his promise to Jackie \u2013 that he keeps moving, and growing, as long as he\u2019s able.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll continue to explore the outdoors \u2013 via skiing, hiking, scuba diving \u2013 and other hobbies like reading and playing guitar. He\u2019s working to obtain his motorcycle license, and still attends CrossFit several times a week. Perhaps most of all, he\u2019s dedicated to writing a book about his circumnavigation adventure, hoping to share his motivation with others as they go through their own troubles.<\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/p>\n

So as this record holder continues to spread goodwill, we wish him all the best on his\u00a0quest to live a life without regrets.<\/p>\n

Congratulations, Mark \u2013 you are Officially Amazing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"And finally, after a year of planning and training, Mark set off on his journey in January 2025,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":786151,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[259027,259028,4985,3795,259024,259026,259025,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-786150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-bike-around-the-world","tag-circumnavigation","tag-cycling","tag-guinness-world-records","tag-mark-herbst","tag-oldest-person-to-bike-around-the-world","tag-oldest-person-to-circumnavigate-by-bicycle-male","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}