cyclist takes on the world at 69 in memory of late wife
4 minute read
orillia native mark herbst poses with his bike at the home of pauline and richard kniaziew in leamington tuesday.
brian macleod
/
windsor star
it takes certain kinds of motivation to bicycle around the world at age 69.
one to get started, even more to keep going.
orillia native mark herbst started his 30,000-kilometre, 10-month-long quest in memory of his late wife, jackie, who died at 55 in 2021 from cancer.
his 13-country mission is to raise money for toronto’s princess margaret cancer centre, a leading research and treatment facility.
jackie was a healthy person, participating in ironman and crossfit competitions, but she was diagnosed with cancer at 48.
“jackie and i used to say we’ve got all of these great physical and mental abilities and gifts that are given to us. but they’re just on a loan. one day we’re going to wake up and in the blink of an eye they’re going to be gone,” herbst told the star during a stop at the home of his overnight hosts pauline and richard kniaziew, in leamington tuesday.
so he took his passion for bicycling – he had raced across north america four times – and put it together with his dedication to his wife to choose a global conquest.
“i discovered that there was a record for the oldest person to bike around the world. and i thought, okay, that’s a cool goal.”
the current guinness world record holder completed the feat at 56 years old.
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riding an open cycle bike and carrying about 100 pounds of supplies and camping equipment in his saddle bags, herbst started in bangkok, thailand in january. “i was really trying to co-ordinate the time of year, so i was trying to avoid running into snow at any place,” he said. “the consequence of that, of course, is getting into stuff that’s super-hot. but i figure that’s probably better than snow.”
still, the sun is a significant stressor, particularly in australia, where herbst crossed the 1,200-kilometre, semi-arid nullarbor plain.
“there’s a couple of sections where it’s 200 kilometres between a water stop, or convenience store or gas stations. i had to rely on total strangers to offer me water as they were coming by. or i would go into a pull-off and i’d ask if they had water to spare. and thank god everybody did, because i couldn’t have finished.”
orillia native mark herbst (second from right) poses with his bike at the home of pauline kniaziew (left) and richard kniaziew (right) in leamington tuesday. they are joined by daughter blaire kniaziew-gervais and her husband matt. (brian macleod/windsor star)
herbst has found the kindness and company of strangers to be a pleasant part of the trip, especially when riders tagged along at certain parts.
in new zealand herbst kept coming across three riders every few days, so they decided to journey together. and in the united states, another rider joined him.
“just before i was crossing the mojave desert, i bumped into a young guy from san diego. he’s in his early 20s and he was starting out to ride across the u.s., so we decided we’d stay together just because we’re going across the desert. we were together for seven days. it was so enjoyable to have somebody else to talk to and to suffer.”
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the only major problems herbst has run into so far are three flat tires. he must also change the cassette – a set of gears on the rear wheel – every 1,500 kilometres.
and the heat has been persistent. after experiencing all that heat in australia, it got the best of him near st. louis recently, where he suffered from heat exhaustion, which he detailed on his instagram account.
“i’ve been riding in the heat for two months, so i’m kind of used to it, right? and i’m really careful about drinking lots and lots of electrolytes. but it was just a matter of there’s no cover. the sun was beating on me all day. and then suddenly it was like, gee, i’m feeling a little lightheaded. and by that point it’s too late. it really did catch me off guard.”
among other challenges herbst has faced, he hit headwinds for two weeks, rode a 20 per cent incline, and tackled a 20-km hill in new zealand.
he has so far travelled for 18,000 kilometres, riding 100-160 km per day.
yet, there have been days when the journey seemed to be too much.
“every day i want to stop. honest to god, every day i wake up, i go. ‘oh my god, i have to do this again. i really do want to stop.’”
but then he asks himself a couple of questions: “how will i feel when i’m done? and what would i feel like if i just gave up?”
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herbst embraces jackie’s philosophy of using whatever skills and motivation he has to do something significant.
“people need to realize that they’re capable of so much more than what they do on a regular basis,” he said. “we all need to be challenged. i think it every day: use (your skills) while you can and challenge yourselves. don’t sit there and look back and go, oh, i wish i’d done that.”
he advises people to start with challenges that are a little more than they’re used to.
“challenge yourself in that incremental amount. it’s accomplishable. you know you can do it. so i did 5,000, kilometres (across north america). so what’s another 25,000?”
rather than a big adventure, herbst advises people to “knock it back to something that you’re feeling a little uncomfortable about.” and ask yourself: “what if i did that? what would it feel like if i did that? how would i feel about myself and my accomplishment?
he wants people to define their ambitions. “i get people coming up to me and say ‘you really inspire me.’ … i’ve got to start asking, ‘inspire you to do what?’”
for more information and to donate, visit: linktr.ee/marksepicride1.
bamacleod@postmedia.com
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