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Bruce Berkeley rides nearly 10,000km in January to set new Guinness World Record

London-based bike mechanic headed Down Under to Australia where he averaged more than 300km a day

London-based cyclist Bruce Berkeley has set a Guinness World Record for riding the longest distance in a month. Once ratified, it will be the second time in a year he has got into the record books – last June, he set one for the most distance covered in a week.

The mobile bicycle mechanic, originally from New Zealand but living in the UK for more than two decades, rode 9,750 kilometres during the month, at an average speed of 29 kilometres an hour and with 45,000 metres of climbing thrown in.

Given the UK is in the depths of winter, Berkeley set off for Australia to undertake an endeavour that saw him average more than 300 kilometres a day during January, even hooking up with Team Sky as they undertook a training ride for the Tour Down Under.

Berkeley, a former elite rider who now runs mobile mechanic business Cycledr, rode a Canyon CF SLX bike with a Noble wheelset, Continental tyres and Shimano drivetrain.

As was the case when he set the Guinness World Record for distance ridden in a week last year, there was no existing record ratified by the organisation for Berkeley to aim at.

He told Wade Wallace of Australian website Cycling Tips that Guinness World Records had suggested he ride at least 5,000 kilometres, but he was aware other people on Strava were posting greater monthly distances so decided to aim for 10,000 instead.

That’s actually some distance short of the 13,813 kilometres that Tommy Godwin rode in 1939 on his way to establishing a new record for distance ridden in a year, and the likelihood is that Berkeley’s mark will be beaten at some point this year by Steve Abraham and Kurt Searvogel.

Both of those riders are aiming to break the 'unbreakable' Year record – but their attempts aren’t recognised by Guinness World Records, which considers the feat too dangerous to attempt.

While they covered less distance than Berkeley last month, as the days lenghten in the Northern Hemisphere over the coming months, so too will the distances they put in.

Likewise, the 2,825 kilometres Berkeley rode to establish that weekly record last year is less than the distance covered in the Race Across America (RAAM), though Guinness World Records doesn’t tend to recognise events where sleep deprivation may be an issue.

We’re aware of other examples of riders putting in more than 3,000 kilometres in a week – Mike Hall during the first seven days of last year’s inaugural Trans Am Bike Race for instance.

None of that is to disparage Berkeley’s achievements – almost 10,000 kilometres is something many cyclists would be happy to be able to ride in a year let alone a month, and being able to put in a daily distance greater than that of the longest one-day pro race, Milan-San Remo is beyond all but a handful.

You can follow Berkeley to keep up to date with his exploits on Facebook, Twitter and Strava.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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13 comments

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Steve K | 1 year ago
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A bit of a random bump, but I had the pleasure of riding with Bruce this weekend from Selhurst Park in South London to St Mary's, Southampton, on a charity ride in aid of the Palace for Life Foundation. He was one of our guide riders and was great fun to ride with and fascinating to talk to. (Oh, and if anyone is feeling generous and fancies sponsoring me - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stephen-kingdom1 )

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Tom D | 9 years ago
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What's happening this year is extraordinary. Bruce Berkeley's 9,750 km in January is incredible. However, has this record already been eclipsed by Kurt Searvogel, as he clocked 10,015.6 km over the past 31 days on his quest for the HAM'R?

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Cyclist in Exile | 9 years ago
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I expect he has a long playlist on his ipod...that's a lot of time on the bike!

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RTB | 9 years ago
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Incredible feat, I don't even drive that in a year. Equivalent of riding Mallorca312 at ~11 hours every day for a month. To me that defies belief.

His name pops up on a number of Strava sectors down my way, nice to know you are in exalted company. Good luck to him.

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Alan Tullett | 9 years ago
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I was following his rides as well. Very hot at the beginning, lots of bush fires. I'm going to train as a bike mechanic in March, maybe I can earn more money doing that than teaching!!

Steve Abraham only 500k behind in cold old blighty though, so I don't think the record will last come June if all goes well for him. There is a Strava group for the Ultramarathon people as it's going to be a close battle between him and Kurt.

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DrJDog | 9 years ago
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I was watching his rides on Strava, he seemed to be really enjoying himself. Not like me in January, where every pedal turn is a real slog

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don simon fbpe | 9 years ago
1 like

A feel good story for once.  4

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jollygoodvelo replied to don simon fbpe | 9 years ago
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don simon wrote:

A feel good story for once.  4

Yes... nice to see that riding a bike isn't just about how long you go before you get killed, isn't it  4

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Jamminatrix | 9 years ago
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A bike mechanic job pays well enough to take whole month vacations to other countries just to ride bikes!?  13

I think I'm in the wrong business...

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bikeandy61 | 9 years ago
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Yep beats my not quite 5000km last year!

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Welsh boy | 9 years ago
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"...their attempts aren’t recognised by Guinness World Records, which considers the feat too dangerous to attempt."

Please do not keep regurgitation this myth, the truth is that the year record has never been formally sanctioned or approved by any official cycling body (http://oneyeartimetrial.org.uk/tommy-godwin)

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dassie replied to Welsh boy | 9 years ago
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Welsh boy wrote:

"...their attempts aren’t recognised by Guinness World Records, which considers the feat too dangerous to attempt."

Please do not keep regurgitation this myth, the truth is that the year record has never been formally sanctioned or approved by any official cycling body (http://oneyeartimetrial.org.uk/tommy-godwin)

Apparently the UltraMarathon Cycling Association now officially validate the Highest Annual Mileage Record (HAM'R) which Steve and Kurt, mentioned above, are currently attempting...

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cyclotripper | 9 years ago
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Amazing, most cyclists have probably never even done 300 in a day, I know I haven't. I can only imagine the discomfort one might have after 10000 km.

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