Adam Sultan shares his mission and the challenges of cycling the 46,000 mile route which will take around five years:
Since the age of 16, I’ve worked for London Underground. It’s not been a bad job, but I’d never wanted to do it forever and after nearly a decade of working in the same role, I was beginning to wonder whether ‘this was really me’. Then in 2014 two things happened which gave me that final push to make a change. My father sadly passed away from lung cancer and I signed up for an adventure called Exploring Mindset.
On paper, Exploring Mindset involved a week of sailing in the Caribbean, but it turned out to be so much more. We had workshops and life-changing discussions about what was truly important to us and what we wanted in life. This is where my ambitions started to come to the fore, it gave me a fresh perspective, freedom and belief.
I returned home eager to combine adventure with helping those less fortunate than myself and a project I’ve called #LifeYears was born. Looking to make every single year of my life memorable and unique, #LifeYears started with me running 15 marathons around the world in 2015; a year in which I also set up the London Fun Run series, allowing me to share my love of running with others and raise funds for charity in the process.
Throughout 2015 the ‘big one’ started to come together in my mind and my dream of cycling round the world began to take shape. For me the ride was never going to be about trying to set a record or a world first, I wanted to put into practice some of the philosophy I’d come to appreciate in the Caribbean – life every day of the trip to the fullest, take in the world around me and help the environment and people I meet.
So I’ve decided to set myself a few extra challenges on the way round. Added physical challenges on the 46,000 mile route, which I expect to take around five years, will include cycling the 2014 Tour de France route, avoiding the ‘quick’ route and instead heading through the great mountain ranges of the Himalayas, Andes, Alps, and Rockies and of course continuing my #Lifeyears challenge, in 2016 cycling at least 100 miles for 16 days.
The challenge has involved rigorous training
Aside from the riding I’m looking to participate in Citizen Science, hoping to feed information back to researchers that will help in the fields of astronomy, light pollution and conservation. I’ve committed to going ‘Around the World in Eighty Ways’ working in eighty different jobs, mainly voluntary, as I travel, to immerse myself in different cultures and help where I can. I’m also hoping that through my social media channels I can tell the stories of those I meet who don’t normally have a voice and raise money and awareness for charities working in the different countries I travel through.
I’ve been planning for this for almost two years now, at least in my head, and whilst I’ve done some fairly tough training, such as cycling Land’s End to John O’Groats solo and from Paris to London. A lot of the stamina you need for a ride like this is gained along the way and it’s been the non-physical preparation that’s been the toughest part; planning the route, getting hold of the right equipment and more recently starting to say my goodbyes to friends and family.
Adam will cover 46,000 miles over five years
I’ve had some great support around me, especially from friends in YesTribe and Project Awesome (a positive free fitness movement, with its roots in London), and a big driver when things have started to get too much has been knowing I’ll be supporting some awesome causes through the ride.
I’ve picked some charities that I feel very strongly about such as SEED Madagascar (Sustainable Environment, Education and Development in Madagascar), who have had a huge impact on the community and conservation of South East Madagascar. The charity really encapsulate the holistic approach that I think needs to be applied in a country that is one of the poorest in the world and yet is one of the most biologically diverse. For example, the charity would never simply tell a villager not to cut down a tree in a rainforest because it is home to an endangered animal, because they appreciate these people rely on the wood to make houses, to cook with and to keep them warm. Instead they will help them plant quick growing sustainable trees in their villages and educate them on the benefits of having a diverse ecosystem. All of their projects, which are based in the areas of community health, education, sustainable livelihoods and the environment, work together to make a greater impact on their overall aim of eradicating poverty, suffering and environmental damage.
They’re also particularly close to my heart because I spent a few weeks with them working on an environmental project, which involved an awesome adventure searching for lemurs, chameleons, frogs and snakes, helping plant a tree nursery and working on their education programme. If anyone is even vaguely thinking about where to go on their next adventure I’d hugely recommend checking out Madagascar and in particular the projects SEED Madagascar run.
Now as I set off, any worry about dealing without material things or the unknown that lies ahead having been replaced with excitement about living every day as it comes and experiencing life to the full – I can’t wait!
To keep track of Adam’s progress and learn more about the charities he’s helping support visit www.adamtsultan.com.