“We Knew It Was Something Exceptional”: Derby Couple Defies Odds, Survives Motorcycle Crash, and Breaks Tandem Bike Record in Epic Global Adventure

Quitting is never an option. The inspirational couple set their goal on a world record and considered chasing it themselves! The couple came across the information of Raz Marsden and Cat Dixon from the UK, who hold the record for being the fastest circumnavigation by tandem bicycle. Such a piece of news sparked a fire inside the duo. Lo-and-behold! They embarked on their journey.?

While striving towards overcoming the staunch challenge, Laura and Steven navigated through a whopping twenty-one countries. They traveled to Holland, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany and Czechia. Unfortunately, just as the couple thought everyone was running smoothly, they met with a bike crash in Malaysia!?

Laura and Steve on top of the world?

Laura and Steven met at the most unexpected place- a beer festival in Derby! However, soon, the 2015 meeting transformed into a deep-rooted relationship, and three years later, in 2018, the duo tied the knot. The couple embarked on several journeys together until they decided to try their luck at this grand one. After working relentlessly towards their goals for 179 days 12 hours and 25 minutes, the couple proudly held the world record title of fastest circumnavigation by tandem bicycle(mixed).?

Looking back at how it all started after seeing the female world record, Laura reflected, ?After seeing the women’s record, we knew it was something exceptional, but it got us thinking about how long we could sustain a greater distance. That led us to our 100 miles/day target, although it ended up being more than this to account for time off the bike. The clock never stops.??

During their tour, the couple raised a significant amount of money for charity. They donated ?12000 to charities like Vetlife, Mind, and Sustrans, located in the UK. However, this journey was full of perils and challenges. One of the most significant blows came when the couple had a brutal collision in Malaysia.?

Defying the odds to chase cycling glory

Laura stressed on the difficulties they had to encounter during their 180-day-long journey. She mentioned how Steve fought with his saddle sores and also suffered a painful knee injury in Canada. The duo also had time challenges as they were detained for 72 hours due to closed land borders in Azerbaijan.

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While traveling in India, a gastrointestinal issue would mean further delay in their pursuit of glory. Apart from that, there were also mechanical challenges that the vibrant cyclists had to cope with. However, in the end, the duo stuck together strongly and came out victorious as they culminated their ride in Berlin, Germany, in December 2022.?

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