69-year-old bikes 30,000 km around globe to take record, raises $70k for cancer research
A 69-year-old man has crossed the world on his bicycle, travelling over 30,000 km (18,641 mi) across foreign roads to take a Guinness World Records title and honour his beloved late wife, Jackie.
Mark Herbst (b. 3 June 1956, Canada), set off from Bangkok, Thailand on 8 January 2025, and rode through a total of 25 countries over 324 days before returning back to his starting point on 27 November 2025.
At the end of his journey, he officially became the oldest person to circumnavigate by bicycle (male) in history – taking the title from Christopher Bennett (New Zealand, b. 3 September 1959), who was 66 years old when he finished.
Driven to ride after the early passing of his wife, Jackie, due to cancer at the age of 55, Mark said his inspiration was two-fold: showing seniors that anything is possible, and that we must take advantage of our good health while we have it.
“Jackie was my everything, my soul mate and best friend!” he said to GWR. “We first met scuba diving and had an incredible 25 years together. She nearly always had a smile on her face, lived life to the fullest and inspired everyone who came in contact with her.”
In his application, he further explained that: “Both of us always believed that we were given great gifts of physical and mental health that enable us to achieve whatever we dreamed. But we also knew that these gifts were only on loan to us and that at some point in time they would be taken away, so use and enjoy them while we can. Her life and death are a testament to this.
“At the end of the day, I will not look back and say ‘I wish I had done more.’”
When Jackie passed in 2021 from squamous cell cancer, she was – in Mark’s words – “an Ironman, a Triathlon World Championship competitor, a CrossFit beast and one of the most beautiful people you could ever hope to meet. But cancer didn’t care.”
She had bravely fought the disease for seven years through rounds of chemo and radiation, and in her honour Mark wanted to display the same passion and vitality that she had for life. He threw himself into bike riding, telling GWR that he was “using grief to fuel my drive and focus on something other than loss.”
“At the end of the second year, I had achieved my major goals (winning several Provincial and National titles) and started to search for some new goals that would give me direction and help fill the void I felt,” he continued. So he started reading about other successful endurance racers, thereby discovering the circumnavigation records held by other professional bikers.
Prior to this, Mark had no interest in racing around the world. He’d already completed a number of ultra endurance bike races, saying that his drive to win made him overlook the scenery around him: “I'd ridden by the entrance to the Grand Canyon four times and I still hadn't seen it, because I was racing,” he said. “I figured if I was going to ride around the world, I'd like to be able to see some of it.”
So he gave it a little more thought… and eventually decided: “Heck, I can do that!”
With Jackie in mind, he set up a fundraiser for his journey through the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation in Canada, hoping to raise as much funds and awareness as possible for the war against cancer. By the time he finished his ride, he was able to donate an incredible $67,746 CAD ($48,000; £36,000) cheque to the organization, delivered in the hopes that nobody else has to go through the pain his family went through.
And finally, after a year of planning and training, Mark set off on his journey in January 2025, taking off in Asia for what would become a 324-day voyage. With all of his belongings on his back, and not much else besides his body and his bike, he rode through all types of terrain – spreading Jackie’s ashes in places they always wanted to visit when she was alive.
He rode down the Australian coastline and up through southern Asia, cruised through central Europe, and peddled all the way across America. Yet no matter where he went, on a regular basis he says he was reaffirmed of the kindness of strangers – a heartwarming reminder that the world is filled with so many incredible people.
“From people opening up their homes to me, to buying me meals, and driving hundreds of kilometers to bring me a new tyre, it never ceased to amaze me,” he said. “Sadly, I think as a species we're hard-wired to focus on the negative. I hope I will always remember that the vast majority of people are extremely kind and very similar in who we are and what we want.”
Two anecdotes stood out in particular – one, when the police in Malaysia gave him a full escort down the highway, and filmed videos (complete with music!) for his Instagram page.
Another occurred in Western Australia, when a woman offered him a spot to sleep for the night in her small cafe. Mark, shocked, said: “You don’t even know me, I could be a serial killer!” before she cheekily responded with “so could I!”
“We both agreed that it was a win-win night when neither of us were rolled up in plastic on the living room floor the next morning,” he joked.
After nearly a year on the road, Mark says that these little interactions were his favourite part of the journey – making his arrival back in Thailand after 324 days “a little anti-climactic”.
“Unlike my departure, there was no one to greet me and it felt more like checking off a task done than a feat accomplished,” he said. “It wasn't until the next day, while I was relaxing poolside at my hotel, that it hit me.
“Holy cow! I just rode around the world! I know I said I was going to do it, but I actually did it!”
So as he continues to enjoy his retirement – and his life outdoors, including bicycle coaching – Mark says that he hopes his journey acts as a motivator to everyone (yet particularly seniors) that anything is possible when we put our minds to it.
“I strongly believe that we need to continually challenge ourselves physically and mentally in order to continue growing,” he said in his application. “If we're not growing, we're dying.
“It doesn't have to be riding around the world. It can be going for a daily walk, working in the garden, learning a new language, or anything that would create some kind of challenge/growth that isn't there now.”
And even though most people would take some well-deserved rest after biking across the world, Mark is determined to maintain his promise to Jackie – that he keeps moving, and growing, as long as he’s able.
He’ll continue to explore the outdoors – via skiing, hiking, scuba diving – and other hobbies like reading and playing guitar. He’s working to obtain his motorcycle license, and still attends CrossFit several times a week. Perhaps most of all, he’s dedicated to writing a book about his circumnavigation adventure, hoping to share his motivation with others as they go through their own troubles.
So as this record holder continues to spread goodwill, we wish him all the best on his quest to live a life without regrets.
Congratulations, Mark – you are Officially Amazing!