Kate Leeming on Exploring the Planet by Mountain Bike

Singletracks Mountain Bike Podcast

Dr. Kate Leeming is an explorer and adventurer who has biked tens of thousands of miles around the world, including 15,000 miles around the Australian continent in 2004 and 2005 and 22,000km across Africa from Sengal to Somalia. In 2019 she became the first person to cycle 1600km through the sands of the Namibian coast and is working toward the first-ever Antarctic bicycle crossing via the South Pole for her educational outreach organization, Breaking the Cycle.

In May of this year Leeming completed her latest expedition, The Andes, the Altiplano & the Atacama. The 4,400km adventure began just as Covid-19 hit, forcing her to end her trip after 1,100km of riding. She returned earlier this year to successfully complete the trip.

In this episode, we ask:

• What is your first memory of going on an adventure?
• Were you a good student in school? Did you enjoy learning?
• Have you always considered yourself an explorer?
• How does Breaking the Cycle: Education connect with your expeditions? What is the goal?
• What got you interested in the traversing the Skeleton Coast in Namibia by bike?
• Tell us about the all-wheel-drive fat bike you used. Was this a custom set up, or something you were able to find off the shelf? How did the bike perform?
• Were there any surprises along the way?
• How do you prepare for such massive expeditions, especially ones that no one else has completed before? How much of the preparation involves physical training versus research and logistics? How do you prepare yourself mentally?
• What are the challenges that women continue to face in the world of adventuring and exploring today?
• Are there ways we can be “explorers” in our day-to-day lives? What is the value of staying curious?

Learn more and connect with Kate at KateLeeming.com and BreakingTheCycle.Education.

✏️ A written transcript of this conversation is available at singletracks.com.

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