Mickleover couple set a new World Record!

By Steve Orme

Being knocked off their bike in Malaysia, cycling in sub-zero temperatures in Canada where they had to be on the lookout for bears and suffering sickness in India: some of the challenges that faced a Derbyshire couple as they attempted to set a new world record.

Laura Massey-Pugh and Stevie Massey from Mickleover cycled an incredible 18,000 miles and achieved their target of completing their tandem ride in just under 180 days. Now they’ve had their feat ratified by Guinness World Records.

There was no record for how long it took a mixed couple to cycle around the world – there was only the fastest time for a female team. Laura and Stevie smashed that time by no fewer than 83 days.

Cycling an average of 100 miles a day had “inevitable” problems and being knocked off their tandem in Malaysia forced them to consider whether they wanted to carry on, as Laura explains.

“Stevie said he noticed two young men on motorcycles who were racing each other. One of them came round a car and just ploughed into the back of us. The next thing we knew we were in the verge.

“There was nothing we could have done about it. That was the scary thing really. It was just the nature of the driving in those areas of the world. No safety or respect.”

Fortunately neither needed hospital treatment. Laura had badly bruised ribs and both had a few nasty cuts and scrapes. But they managed to get back on their bike and continue their journey.

Laura who is 36 and 46-year-old Stevie have been long-distance cyclists for some time. They thought riding around the world would be the ultimate challenge – and so it proved.

It took them 18 months to plan the trip which started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

From Germany they went through Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Georgia.

They’d planned to go through Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan – but the land borders to Azerbaijan were closed, so they took a flight from Tbilisi in Georgia to India and rode for extra miles there.

Then they went through Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, both islands of New Zealand, across Canada and then back to Portugal, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany.

Different climates caused Laura and Stevie all sorts of problems. “When we hit the heat in Germany it was a bit of a shock to the system,” says Laura. 

“We had monsoon weather in India and when we went through Mumbai the whole state was on red warnings for monsoons. We were trying to cycle through that and then had extreme heat there as well. South east Asia was of course very hot too.

“When we got to Australia it was a very late spring there so it was unexpectedly cold to begin with. In New Zealand we had torrential rain. In Canada it got down to -10 degrees. I think that was the coldest we were cycling in. Europe was typically rainy on the way back.”

Laura admits the trip was tougher than she imagined it would be.

“We always knew it would be hard. We didn’t think we were going on a trip of a lifetime where we were sunning ourselves on a beach every other day.

“But it was extremely tough. Stevie had problems with saddle sores. He got a parasite in India which affected him quite badly so he really suffered towards the end of the trip.

“By the time we got back we were both absolutely exhausted. We’d given everything we could to make the target we set.”

Another challenge was arranging for somewhere to stay each night of the trip.

“We did carry a tent with us and we were able to use that in Europe and Australia. In Asia it wasn’t really possible to camp, so we had to find hotels and they varied in quality.

“In Canada we weren’t able to camp because of the temperature and the bears, so we were in quite a lot of grotty motels a lot of the time. We ended up roughing it a bit for a few nights, not getting enough sleep which wasn’t ideal for our recovery.”

As for the bears, Laura says they didn’t see any but were aware of the risks: “We’d been told that if we stuck to the main highways we should be okay. It was something that was in the back of our minds.”

Laura admits that the most frightening thing on the journey was the traffic.

“We were on the road for ten hours a day and by the law of averages that made us more at risk than normal. Being on a bike you’re vulnerable. That was the biggest concern and it was a massive relief to get back safely.

“The place that surprised us was New Zealand, particularly in the north island. We got quite a lot of road rage there for no particular reason, sometimes just for being on a bicycle on the road and that wasn’t very nice. 

“It was quite surprising because otherwise it was a lovely country and everybody was really friendly. But they seem to have a very low tolerance for sharing the roads with bicycles. That was a bit odd.”

Laura says she and Stevie are “massively proud” of what they achieved which meant not seeing family and friends for six months.

“It was strange because I was able to keep people updated through blogs and social media. There’d be people watching and following every day and making comments. But because it was all virtual, it didn’t quite seem real. 

“We had people who came out to Berlin to meet us. That was just amazing. We had a big welcome in Mickleover as well. It was fantastic to see people in the flesh again, people who’d been supporting us on the way.”

So the big question: did they have any arguments during the trip?

“I’d be lying if I said it was flowers and roses all the way. We were both very tired. We both got very grumpy. At the end of the day we were both focussed on the challenge so we worked as a team and pulled together to achieve our goal.”

Laura and Stevie met at a Derbyshire winter beer festival. “I was volunteering and serving the beer and Stevie was drinking it!” she laughs.

During the trip they celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary, in Georgia.

“That was the one day where we did have a break. We went to a restaurant and had a look at some of the touristy things. That was the only day we took off for pleasure during the whole trip.”

Laura, a veterinary surgeon, and Stevie raised more than £12,000 for the mental health charity Mind; Vetlife, a charity that supports the veterinary profession; and Sustrans which looks after the national cycle network.

Laura says she and Stevie are adamant they won’t do another round-the-world tandem ride: “It was our Everest. We put everything into it. I don’t think we’d ever want to go away for that long again and it was massively expensive. I don’t think we could afford to do it again.

“I think we’ll look at doing different things. We’re certainly going to keep riding bikes and we like to ride a long way. I think it’ll take us a while to engage with any more tandem challenges but I’m sure there’ll be bits and bobs in the future.”