Video: Man who mapped out amazing cycling challenge details west coast adventures in new book
A man who cycled across Britain using all 204 Ordnance Survey Landranger Maps says his journey along the west coast of Scotland was a special highlight.
Mark Wedgwood cycled 7,300 miles and his new book ’The Man Who Cycled Every Map’ is out this week.
As far as Mark knows he is the first to attempt the unique feat.
He explained: "I can’t imagine anyone else would be daft enough. I achieved 395,374 feet of official ascent which is the equivalent to just over 13 and a half Mount Everests."
On his travels, he often had to take unconventional routes to stay faithful to his numerical rule and passed through Oban frequently.
He said the west coast of Scotland was one of the "highlights" of his adventure and he believes he almost achieved a second feat by travelling on nearly all of CalMac’s ferries and ticking off the majority of the islands.
Mark recently cycled into Oban, giving us a chance to catch up with him and discuss the highs and lows of the challenge.
’The Man Who Cycled Every Map’ takes readers on a cycle ride to every part of Scotland, England, Wales and the Isle of Man and Mark has multiple heart warming encounters with people along the way. He said: "It’s not just about me and the bike, it’s about who I met and what I learned from it."
When finding places to stay Mark also managed to reestablish relationships with distant family and friends. "I think I visited everyone I know including family members I never thought I’d see again," he said.
He received lots of help with logistics from his wife too, who would lay out maps on their kitchen table and help him plan out his route as he went along.
After Mark’s 2022 adventure, in 2023 he completed a bicycle ride from Boring in Oregan, USA, to Dull in Scotland.
His latest challenge, which he calls ’Cardinal Spins’ is a series of 16 rides from his home in the Derbyshire Peak District to the extremities of Britain. Each journey will be to one of the 16 cardinal points of the compass and Mark will keep riding until he reaches the sea.
In November and December, he will doing a series of talks in Scotland for the Royal Geographic Society.
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