Around The World In 79 Days: British Cyclist Smashes Record

PARIS, France - A British cyclist set a new world record Monday By traveling around the globe in 79 days -- beating the fictional exploits of Phileas Fogg by a day.

Scottish adventurer Mark Beaumont rode into Paris 78 days, 14 hours and 14 minutes after he set off from the French capital, smashing the previous record of 123 days for a round-the-world bike trip.

Arriving in evening rush hour traffic under light drizzle, the 34-year-old rode the last cobbled mile to the Arc de Triomphe with a 20-strong entourage on wheels, including a man in a top hat on a penny-farthing bicycle.

Some 50 supporters were at the monument to greet him, including his tearful wife Nicci and his daughters Harriet, four, and Willa, one.

"I doubt I'll ever do anything like it again," said Beaumont, describing the journey as "definitely the longest two-and-a-half months of my life".

Bouncing his grinning one-year-old in his arms, Beaumont said the world record was "an absolute dream come true".

A Guinness World Records judge was on hand to present him with his two framed records -- he also beat the previous time for the farthest distance cycled in a month -- while he was still in the saddle.

Beaumont had held the round-the-world record until 2009 when it was beaten by a New Zealander, leaving Beaumont to conclude he simply had to have the title back.

"I have taken myself beyond anything I have ever done physically and mentally," he said.

3:30 a.m. starts

Fogg took 80 days to complete his voyage by train, ship and balloon in Jules Verne's classic 1873 novel, "Around the World in 80 Days".

Although Beaumont was able to fly over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, he did the rest with his own muscles.

He spent 16 hours a day in the saddle for 76 days to cover the 29,000 kilometers (18,000 miles), getting up at 3.30 am every morning.

The three remaining days were spent on flights.

"I am quite looking forward to not getting up at half-past three every morning," Beaumont joked as he set out in the dark on the 180-km final stretch in the Loire valley southwest of Paris.

Childhood dream

Beaumont set out from Paris on July 2 and crossed Europe, Russia and Mongolia before arriving in Beijing.

From there he flew to Perth in western Australia and crossed the country as well as neighboring New Zealand before flying on to Anchorage in Alaska.

His trans-American journey ended in Halifax in Canada, where he boarded a flight for Lisbon.

Beaumont said being the fastest man to cycle round the world has been his dream since childhood.

This is "the culmination of me as a 12-year-old boy pedaling across Scotland 22 years ago and going on lots of adventures, going further every time," he told his followers on Twitter.

Problems walking

Beaumont set the world record in 2008 when he cycled around the world unsupported in just short of 195 days. That was bettered by New Zealander Andrew Nicholson doing it in 123 days two years ago.

In the meantime Beaumont had taken on other adventures, and was part of a team who tried to break the record for rowing across the Atlantic in 2012, only to capsize after 27 days.

Although his latest escapade has not been so obviously dangerous, spending so long in the saddle has taken its toll. Beaumont told reporters that even walking up airport stairs "really hurt".

And he predicted that his record may not last forever.

"I'm 6 foot 3 inches (1.9 meters) tall and 90 kilos (14 stone). Someone who is 75 kilos and a 'proper' cyclist might do it faster. We shall see," he said.

"But I'll always be the first who did it (in under 80 days). No one remembers who was second up Everest." — Agence France-Presse

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Finding The Keys To Life With “Unlocked Lifestyle”

At an early age, Dakota Achin was taught a paramount life lesson that ultimately shaped his own personal philosophy - and his future.

“When I was younger, my grandfather would always remind me that if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. And that’s something that has really resonated with me and really developed more meaning over the years as I’ve thought more about it.”

Following his first year of college, the then 19-year-old Achin found the time passing by him at a blistering pace and quickly discovered how easy it was to succumb to the pressures that come with the working world. For a long time, the Cohasset High School alum knew that he was not willing to compromise his happiness for a paycheck. So when the opportunity presented itself, Achin knew he had to pursue his passion.

Achin began making t-shirts after his freshman year of college in 2015, starting with hand-me-down clothing and one-step kits as he attempted to master the craft. Now a senior at the University of Vermont, Achin has expanded his brand “Unlocked Lifestyle” father than he had originally imagined. In addition to selling his product on campus, Achin now sells his product online as well as at the Cohasset Farmers Market held weekly on the Common.

Like most successful brands, “Unlocked Lifestyle” is centered on a general theme typically personified though some sort of logo or imagery. The keyhole, the brand’s signature design, embodies Achin’s personal philosophy regarding the pursuit of life-long happiness. Achin said he always gravitated toward the design as it represented the idea that “anyone can unlock happiness and the peace of mind that has been inside you all along.”

Staying organized was one of the original roadblocks Achin faced as he began to grow his business. Finding a balance between his education and his business, which is now his main source of income, also proved to be a challenge for him as he pursues prosperity. Yet one of Achin’s biggest goals all along has been to encourage people to find their happiness and explore their own personal pleasures.

“I really wanted to pick a career and a lifestyle that I love and that allows me to encourage others to do what they love as well,” he said.

Achin has sold his unique clothing line to all walks of life from coast to coast. The young entrepreneur took his products along for a cross-country road trip in 2016, peddling them as far as the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone Park on his journey. Now in his third year of business, the 21-year-old has his sights set on the future of “Unlocked Lifestyle”.

Achin recently completed one of his biggest orders to date, customizing shirts for a band based in Burlington, VT known as Two Percent. The senior at the University of Vermont plans to bring his business to more farmer’s markets and festivals in the future and hopes to extend his brand into local stores and retailers. Achin shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

“I’m really just getting started,” he said.

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Lifestyle Is At The Heart Of Heart Health

But the deadly disease is preventable, either totally or partially, said Dr Alex Teo, medical director of Providence Clinic.

Generally used to refer to conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels, CVD is associated with a build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries and an increased risk of blood clots. It can also be associated with damage to arteries in organs such as the brain, heart, kidneys and eyes.

Health screening is an important tool for early recognition and prevention of CVD, said Dr Teo, adding it is advisable to go for medical check-ups at least once a year.

Family doctors also play a pivotal role in instilling the importance of regular blood monitoring for early intervention.

This is especially so for patients with chronic medical conditions - regular monitoring can help prevent cardiovascular complications, said Dr Teo.

"Your general practitioner (GP) can have a detailed consultation and ensure you receive the most appropriate screening tests," he added.

Since last Friday, eligible Singaporeans can pay $5 or less for health screenings and the first post-screening consultation under the Screen for Life programme, depending on whether they are under the Community Health Assist Scheme or Pioneer Generation subsidy.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CVD?

• Coronary heart disease, which occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is blocked or reduced. This puts an increased strain on the heart, and can lead to angina - caused by restricted blood flow to the heart muscle - heart attacks and failure.
• Strokes, where blood to part of the brain is cut off. This can cause brain damage, transient ischaemic attack (where the blood flow to the brain is temporarily disrupted), and even death.
• Peripheral arterial disease, which occurs when there is a blockage in the arteries to the limbs, usually the legs.
• Aortic diseases, which are a group of conditions affecting the aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body. It carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body.

WHAT ARE SOME LIFESTYLE HABITS THAT CAN LEAD TO CVD?

The more risk factors you have, the greater your chances are of developing CVD.

These include high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes and inactivity, which increases the likelihood of hypertension, high cholesterol levels and being overweight. Obesity also raises the risk of developing diabetes and high blood pressure.

Other risk factors include age, gender, diet and excessive alcohol consumption.

HOW CAN CVD BE PREVENTED?

• Have a healthy diet.
• Quit smoking. Your GP can provide you with support and prescribe medication.
• Regular exercise of at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, such as cycling or brisk walking. Visit your GP for a health check if you have not exercised before, or if you are returning to exercise after a long break.
• If you are overweight, a combination of exercise and a healthy diet can help you lose weight. Aim to get your body mass index below 25. If you are struggling, your GP can help you come up with a weight loss plan and recommend services in your area.
• Try not to exceed the recommended weekly limit of 21 alcohol units for men and 14 alcohol units for women. Aim to spread your drinking over three days or more. Your GP can help you if you are finding it difficult to cut down your drinking.
• If you are at a particularly high risk of developing CVD, your GP may recommend taking medication to reduce your risk. This may include statins and low-dose aspirin.

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Don’t Treat Love Or Leisure Like A Job

In an old cartoon by the American Roz Chast, a waiter approaches a woman with food on her plate. “Are you still working on that?” “No, in fact, I’m completely exhausted,” she replies. “Maybe if you wrap it up, I can finish working on it at home.” The title is Another Day In The Salt Mines. The idea that eating a delicious meal – cooked by someone else! – constitutes work remains largely confined to the US, mercifully. But the general enthusiasm for describing things as work is more widespread. Marriage, we’re endlessly informed by relationship gurus and divorcing celebrities, is work. Parenting is “the hardest job in the world”. Even leisure has been remade in the image of work, as we strive to reach 10,000 daily steps on our wearable fitness monitors; or check off experience after experience on “bucket lists” – a form of to-do list you’re not even permitted the pleasure of moaning about, because they’re meant to be fun.

In recent decades, of course, one major reason for defining more things as work has been to call attention to burdens that still fall disproportionately on women – cooking, toddler-chasing, caring for ageing relatives – and that are no less arduous, or crucial to the economy, simply because they’re unpaid. But as theology professor Jonathan Malesic wrote recently in the New Republic, there’s a dark side even to that worthy goal: in extending the logic of the workplace to life outside it, we implicitly concede that workers are the only kind of people worth valuing. “If everything is work,” Malesic writes, “then talk of work/life balance is a sham.” And we start judging parents, partners and others by their work ethic. “We shame mothers who don’t perform ‘best practices’ like breastfeeding, or initiating skin-to-skin contact with their child within seconds of birth,” he says, while the childless are seen as self-indulgent slackers.

The idea of “emotional labour” is an intriguing case in point. In the 1980s this useful phrase, coined by the sociologist Arlie Hochschild, referred to the exhausting requirement faced by people in certain jobs – again, usually women – to act smiley or solicitous, how they felt inside. But in the past few years, it’s been popularised to include, say, the “job” of listening to your spouse or friend unburden themselves of their problems. It’s undoubtedly sexist when men take it for granted that women will listen obligingly while they moan. But isn’t it rather strange to characterise the underlying act – listening to someone you love – as an imposition from which you’d rather be free? If something so fundamental to a relationship counts as work, it’s hard to imagine what wouldn’t.

It’s hard to disagree with Malesic that, in an ideal world, we’d value all these interpersonal activities – and introduce policies permitting plenty of time for them – not because they’re jobs, but just because they matter. Things surely shouldn’t need to be work, and people shouldn’t need to be hard workers, in order to count.

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