180days, 18,078 miles (29,093.72 km), two people, one bicycle, and an immense amount of support! That’s how Laura Massey-Pugh describes her record adventure — Mixed World Circumnavigation by Tandem Bicycle Record — with husband Stevie Massey through 21 countries.

Notably, circumnavigation covers the distance of the circumference of the world at its widest point.

The British couple from Derby, England, set off on June 5, 2022, and finished their ride at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on December 1, 2022. However, Guinness World Records will take another two months to confirm the record officially.

According to a CNN report, they beat the previous record by 83 days. Notably, according to the Guinness site, a female pair of tandem riders achieved the record in 263 days while a male pair completed it in 281 days.

laura While Stevie, who is on a sabbatical currently handled the steering, Laura did the planning (Source: Laura Massey-Pugh)

Now, Laura, who is currently recuperating with some “recovery and relaxation” sessions amid nature, spoke about the idea in an exclusive interaction with indianexpress.com. “We love riding tandem and also love the challenge of endurance events. When we saw the women get the female tandem record in 2020, it inspired us to set our own mixed record. The goal of completing it in 180 days motivated us to keep going on.”

On the “experience of a lifetime” pedalling through countries like Australia, Canada, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Georgia, New Zealand, Hungary, Czechia, Austria, Romania, Turkey, Georgia and Bulgaria, Laura, 36, who is a veterinary surgeon, said, “It was very tough, we had a lot to contend with.”

“We were hit by a motorcycle in Malaysia in August 2022 and got slightly injured. It was very challenging to be brave enough to get back on the bicycle after that,” added Laura, who met Stevie, a mechanical engineer, in 2015.

Battling nausea and “bad roads” in India while riding 100 miles or more every day was tough for the duo. “We broke it down to a day,” said Laura.

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Laura Laura and Stevie finished their 180 days journey on December 1, 2022 (Source: Laura Massey-Pugh)

While Stevie, who is currently on a sabbatical, handled the steering, Laura planned it all. The couple went on a tandem bike as part of their first date and took a liking to this adventure pedalling.

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