In the summer of 2010, Leigh Timmis pedaled away from his home in England to begin an around the world cycling adventure. Somewhere along the way he realized that cycling every painstaking and dangerous mile of the journey is not as important as enjoying it. Leigh cycled in support of the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, a charity that provides week-long holidays to children in need. After 7 years Leigh wrapped up his adventure a few days ago and you can learn more about it at his website pedal360.com. Leigh Timmis, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

34,000 km, 26 countries, 1 gear. In 2015 Markus Stitz began his round the world cycling adventure on a single speed bike. For the sake of simplicity, he abandoned not only the gears, but the traditional racks and panniers in favor of a bikepacking setup built on top of a Surly Ogre frameset. Iceland, New Zealand, Australia, and Iran provided the backdrop to some of the best experiences on the year-long journey. Markus is also the developer of a long distance off-road cycling route around Edinburgh known as the Capital Trail. You can learn more about Markus at his website markusstitz.com. Markus Stitz, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

For 6 years beginning in 2010, Stephen Fabes cycled 86,000 km across 75 countries, from the scorching deserts of Syria and Afghanistan to the freezing Mongolian steppe. He survived blizzards, landslides, marauding school children, and a run-in with a gunman.   Along the way Stephen slept in the homes of people in more than 50 countries and is convinced that goodwill is global. He also raised more than 20,000 pounds for an NGO to help prevent disease and establish local health services. You can learn more about Stephen and his adventure at cyclingthe6.com and stephenfabes.com. Stephen Fabes, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

Most musicians tour in a van, but not Ben Weaver. The bicycle is his mode of transportation. With custom bike bags for his guitar and banjo, Ben has toured 1,500 miles from St. Paul to New Orleans and recently spent 16 days cycling 1,400 miles around Lake Superior for his Surrounding Water tour. In addition to his eight studio albums he has published 4 books of poetry and he partners with organizations to help raise awareness around water and land issues. You can learn more about Ben at his website benweaver.net. Ben Weaver, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

In 2015 Adam Sultan ran 15 marathons. It was part of a project he created called #LifeYears aimed at making every single year of his life memorable and unique. In 2016, Adam is setting out on a new challenge and multi-year cycling adventure called #RideTheWorld. After years of working in a job that wasn’t satisfying, Adam has devoted himself to living a purposeful life pursuing adventure and sport. While cycling, Adam plans to participate in Citizen Science and fundraise for several charities including SEED Madagascar which does humanitarian and conservation work in one of the poorest countries on the planet. You can learn more about Adam at his website adamtsultan.com. Adam Sultan, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

Andy Welch and two friends set off from England on a planned around-the-world cycle tour in the summer of 2007. Their journey to Armenia is chronicled in Andy’s book Weave of the Ride. After Armenia, Andy went solo and continued his cycling into Georgia, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. His second book, Between Worlds, tells this part of the story. Eventually, Andy cycled his way back to Tiblisi Georgia and co-founded GeoRiders, a company offering mountain biking tours in Georgia. You can learn more about Andy at his website andrewwelch.info. Andy Welch, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.