Race to Cycle to the South Pole 2013 // ICE Trikes race to the South Pole // Maria Leijerstam beats two other male contenders //

British adventurer Maria Leijerstam has braved savage conditions to become the first person to cycle to the South Pole from the edge of the Antarctic continent. Maria, aged 35 from Wales, raced two men for the title and arrived at the pole hundreds of miles ahead of her nearest rival.

After 9 days cycling Maria completed the 400 mile expedition at approximately 1am GMT on the 27th December 2013. Despite starting days later than her competitors Maria made quick progress on a recumbent trike designed specifically for the challenge by Inspired Cycle Engineering. The custom-made trike is stable and aerodynamic, which has allowed Maria to focus her energy on progressing through the gale-force winds and hazardous terrain.

The cycles design is based on a standard ICE Sprint recumbent trike with modifications to ensure it can tackle the rigorous challenge ahead. The frame is made, as standard, from aircraft-grade steel selected for its strength and fatigue resistance. It is fitted with 4.5 inch-wide snow tires for unsurpassed traction and float over snow and ice. The gears are effectively twice as easy as a standard mountain bike, which would allow Maria to climb 1-in-3 gradients.

The ability to climb hills with relative ease meant that Maria could take a shorter route to the pole than her competitors, which required scaling the formidable Transantarctic Mountains; a similar route to that of Scott and Amundsen in their legendary South Pole expeditions. On the recumbent trike Maria was able to ascend the Leverett Glacier, despite strong headwinds and deep snow, to reach the polar plateau.
"The trike is amazing. It's completely stable, even in extreme winds and I can take on long steep hills that I'd never be able to climb on a bike" said Maria.

With the mountains and glacier behind her Maria then faced over 300 miles of the polar plateau. The snow, wind and sastrugi made progress slow and arduous, but by cycling in 12 hour stints Maria continued to progress 25-35 miles (40-60km) each day.

After a well-deserved celebration, call home and rest, Maria will return to her home in Wales where she will no doubt start planning her next mammoth expedition. Huge congratulations to Maria from everyone at ICE Trikes!

Other South Pole Explorers on bikes:

The South Pole Epic, Daniel Burton

Juan Menendez Granados

Eric Larsen, Cycle South Expedition 2012

Post by Brian Perić.

Racing over 400 miles from the edge of the Antarctic continent Maria Leijerstam hopes to beat two other male contenders to claim the world record. 

Race to Cycle to the South Pole 2013 // ICE Trikes race to the South Pole // Maria Leijerstam beats two other male contenders //

British adventurer Maria Leijerstam has braved savage conditions to become the first person to cycle to the South Pole from the edge of the Antarctic continent. Maria, aged 35 from Wales, raced two men for the title and arrived at the pole hundreds of miles ahead of her nearest rival.

After 9 days cycling Maria completed the 400 mile expedition at approximately 1am GMT on the 27th December 2013. Despite starting days later than her competitors Maria made quick progress on a recumbent trike designed specifically for the challenge by Inspired Cycle Engineering. The custom-made trike is stable and aerodynamic, which has allowed Maria to focus her energy on progressing through the gale-force winds and hazardous terrain.

The cycles design is based on a standard ICE Sprint recumbent trike with modifications to ensure it can tackle the rigorous challenge ahead. The frame is made, as standard, from aircraft-grade steel selected for its strength and fatigue resistance. It is fitted with 4.5 inch-wide snow tires for unsurpassed traction and float over snow and ice. The gears are effectively twice as easy as a standard mountain bike, which would allow Maria to climb 1-in-3 gradients.

The ability to climb hills with relative ease meant that Maria could take a shorter route to the pole than her competitors, which required scaling the formidable Transantarctic Mountains; a similar route to that of Scott and Amundsen in their legendary South Pole expeditions. On the recumbent trike Maria was able to ascend the Leverett Glacier, despite strong headwinds and deep snow, to reach the polar plateau.
"The trike is amazing. It's completely stable, even in extreme winds and I can take on long steep hills that I'd never be able to climb on a bike" said Maria.

With the mountains and glacier behind her Maria then faced over 300 miles of the polar plateau. The snow, wind and sastrugi made progress slow and arduous, but by cycling in 12 hour stints Maria continued to progress 25-35 miles (40-60km) each day.

After a well-deserved celebration, call home and rest, Maria will return to her home in Wales where she will no doubt start planning her next mammoth expedition. Huge congratulations to Maria from everyone at ICE Trikes!

Other South Pole Explorers on bikes:

The South Pole Epic, Daniel Burton

Juan Menendez Granados

Eric Larsen, Cycle South Expedition 2012

Post by Brian Perić.

Racing over 400 miles from the edge of the Antarctic continent Maria Leijerstam hopes to beat two other male contenders to claim the world record. 

Race to Cycle to the South Pole 2013 // ICE Trikes race to the South Pole // Maria Leijerstam beats two other male contenders //

British adventurer Maria Leijerstam has braved savage conditions to become the first person to cycle to the South Pole from the edge of the Antarctic continent. Maria, aged 35 from Wales, raced two men for the title and arrived at the pole hundreds of miles ahead of her nearest rival.

After 9 days cycling Maria completed the 400 mile expedition at approximately 1am GMT on the 27th December 2013. Despite starting days later than her competitors Maria made quick progress on a recumbent trike designed specifically for the challenge by Inspired Cycle Engineering. The custom-made trike is stable and aerodynamic, which has allowed Maria to focus her energy on progressing through the gale-force winds and hazardous terrain.

The cycles design is based on a standard ICE Sprint recumbent trike with modifications to ensure it can tackle the rigorous challenge ahead. The frame is made, as standard, from aircraft-grade steel selected for its strength and fatigue resistance. It is fitted with 4.5 inch-wide snow tires for unsurpassed traction and float over snow and ice. The gears are effectively twice as easy as a standard mountain bike, which would allow Maria to climb 1-in-3 gradients.

The ability to climb hills with relative ease meant that Maria could take a shorter route to the pole than her competitors, which required scaling the formidable Transantarctic Mountains; a similar route to that of Scott and Amundsen in their legendary South Pole expeditions. On the recumbent trike Maria was able to ascend the Leverett Glacier, despite strong headwinds and deep snow, to reach the polar plateau.
"The trike is amazing. It's completely stable, even in extreme winds and I can take on long steep hills that I'd never be able to climb on a bike" said Maria.

With the mountains and glacier behind her Maria then faced over 300 miles of the polar plateau. The snow, wind and sastrugi made progress slow and arduous, but by cycling in 12 hour stints Maria continued to progress 25-35 miles (40-60km) each day.

After a well-deserved celebration, call home and rest, Maria will return to her home in Wales where she will no doubt start planning her next mammoth expedition. Huge congratulations to Maria from everyone at ICE Trikes!

Other South Pole Explorers on bikes:

The South Pole Epic, Daniel Burton

Juan Menendez Granados

Eric Larsen, Cycle South Expedition 2012

Post by Brian Perić.

Racing over 400 miles from the edge of the Antarctic continent Maria Leijerstam hopes to beat two other male contenders to claim the world record. 

Outer Mongolia - by Mountain Bike // Mongolia X Project 2012 HD

Outer Mongolia - by Mountain Bike // Mongolia X Project 2012 HD from Brian Perich on Vimeo.

This video is a 13 minute trailer part of the MongoliaX2012 expedition project on a mountain bike.
Last summer, I completed a challenging 2500 km overland expedition across Outer Mongolia between Russia and China. The expedition lasted 45 days, 38 days actively mountain biking across the Steppe grasslands and mountainous deserts and forests of the northern rim.

Accumulating approximately 40,000 meters (131, 234 feet) vertical altitude change across 2500km of arid Mongolian Steppe on a unique route I planned myself.  I wore through 10 replacement rubber truck tube soles I glued on a single pair of SPD-Shimano compatible Pearl Izumi mountain biking shoes and underwent a years physiotherapy following the expedition in the summer of 2012.

I went for adventure, cultural experience, endurance and to experience the world learning through experiencing life on a mountain bike.

For a comparison of altitude changes across Mongolia's rugged mountains:
"Scientists supported by the National Geographic and Boston's Museum of Science were able to operate Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite equipment on the very top of Mount Everest last May and have determined the precise height of the world's tallest mountains. The revised elevation - 29,035 feet (8850 meters), two meters or seven feet higher than the previously accepted figure - was announced Nov. 11, 1999" This article is reprinted from the Mountain Zone web site (mountainzone.com)

My expedition was supported by LYNSKEY PERFORMANCE, USA using their hand-made titanium frame, the M240S. I would like to thank them all for supporting and encouraging expeditions globally.

Over the last several years, I have been working with two amazing foundations working in community, the first is IDEAS which touches very close to my heart.  IDEAS is led by global explorer/mountaineer Robert Hill of Canada, who successfully completed his No Guts, Know Glory 7 Summits Campaign (including Mount Everest in 2010) with an ostomy as a measure to improve his life living with IBD.

IBD is the collective name for Crohns Disease or CD and Ulcerative Colitis ,UC which are chronic, long-term conditions requiring serious medical treatment or surgeries to help those millions of patients around the planet inflicted with this debilitating disease. Inspiration is the key to survival on Earth, no matter what circumstances we live through, there is always a cure to struggles with dedication, determination, positivism and personal growth that comes with overcoming the biggest and almost impossible odds against us.

DO NOT GIVE UP HOPE IN YOU, JUST TRY HARDER NEXT TIME.

Since there is a long road to find a cure, I am in to ride for others who can share my triumphs, and I hope to spread the word about INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE IBD because it's a voice to a community that needs hope and support, I admire Rob Hill for continuing his community work with the IDEAS Foundation of Canada.

The second foundation is linking schools and formal education with exploring - this is innovative and something I strongly believe in. I explored in partnership with Education Through Expeditions, founded by Arctic and Polar Explorer friend, Antony Jinman of Plymouth, UK. Antony has overcome enormous obstables in his life to bring forth adventure into the classrooms, while undertaking expeditions in Arctic regions of Canada. He is an inspiration and a true leader in his community. I was proud to represent his valuable foundation through Adventure mountain biking the globe as an Explorer Ambassador with ETE in 2011.


I am now affiliated with the Ted Simon Foundation, as a Jupiter Traveller as of late 2012. I look forward to supporting the foundation and sharing expeditions with the world, as I ride mountain bikes.

I hope you enjoy the amateur videos, it's a short and I am not a film maker. But I do enjoy new adventures.

Post by Brian Perić.

Outer Mongolia - by Mountain Bike // Mongolia X Project 2012 HD

Outer Mongolia - by Mountain Bike // Mongolia X Project 2012 HD from Brian Perich on Vimeo.

This video is a 13 minute trailer part of the MongoliaX2012 expedition project on a mountain bike.
Last summer, I completed a challenging 2500 km overland expedition across Outer Mongolia between Russia and China. The expedition lasted 45 days, 38 days actively mountain biking across the Steppe grasslands and mountainous deserts and forests of the northern rim.

Accumulating approximately 40,000 meters (131, 234 feet) vertical altitude change across 2500km of arid Mongolian Steppe on a unique route I planned myself.  I wore through 10 replacement rubber truck tube soles I glued on a single pair of SPD-Shimano compatible Pearl Izumi mountain biking shoes and underwent a years physiotherapy following the expedition in the summer of 2012.

I went for adventure, cultural experience, endurance and to experience the world learning through experiencing life on a mountain bike.

For a comparison of altitude changes across Mongolia's rugged mountains:
"Scientists supported by the National Geographic and Boston's Museum of Science were able to operate Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite equipment on the very top of Mount Everest last May and have determined the precise height of the world's tallest mountains. The revised elevation - 29,035 feet (8850 meters), two meters or seven feet higher than the previously accepted figure - was announced Nov. 11, 1999" This article is reprinted from the Mountain Zone web site (mountainzone.com)

My expedition was supported by LYNSKEY PERFORMANCE, USA using their hand-made titanium frame, the M240S. I would like to thank them all for supporting and encouraging expeditions globally.

Over the last several years, I have been working with two amazing foundations working in community, the first is IDEAS which touches very close to my heart.  IDEAS is led by global explorer/mountaineer Robert Hill of Canada, who successfully completed his No Guts, Know Glory 7 Summits Campaign (including Mount Everest in 2010) with an ostomy as a measure to improve his life living with IBD.

IBD is the collective name for Crohns Disease or CD and Ulcerative Colitis ,UC which are chronic, long-term conditions requiring serious medical treatment or surgeries to help those millions of patients around the planet inflicted with this debilitating disease. Inspiration is the key to survival on Earth, no matter what circumstances we live through, there is always a cure to struggles with dedication, determination, positivism and personal growth that comes with overcoming the biggest and almost impossible odds against us.

DO NOT GIVE UP HOPE IN YOU, JUST TRY HARDER NEXT TIME.

Since there is a long road to find a cure, I am in to ride for others who can share my triumphs, and I hope to spread the word about INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE IBD because it's a voice to a community that needs hope and support, I admire Rob Hill for continuing his community work with the IDEAS Foundation of Canada.

The second foundation is linking schools and formal education with exploring - this is innovative and something I strongly believe in. I explored in partnership with Education Through Expeditions, founded by Arctic and Polar Explorer friend, Antony Jinman of Plymouth, UK. Antony has overcome enormous obstables in his life to bring forth adventure into the classrooms, while undertaking expeditions in Arctic regions of Canada. He is an inspiration and a true leader in his community. I was proud to represent his valuable foundation through Adventure mountain biking the globe as an Explorer Ambassador with ETE in 2011.


I am now affiliated with the Ted Simon Foundation, as a Jupiter Traveller as of late 2012. I look forward to supporting the foundation and sharing expeditions with the world, as I ride mountain bikes.

I hope you enjoy the amateur videos, it's a short and I am not a film maker. But I do enjoy new adventures.

Post by Brian Perić.

Outer Mongolia - by Mountain Bike // Mongolia X Project 2012 HD

Outer Mongolia - by Mountain Bike // Mongolia X Project 2012 HD from Brian Perich on Vimeo.

This video is a 13 minute trailer part of the MongoliaX2012 expedition project on a mountain bike.
Last summer, I completed a challenging 2500 km overland expedition across Outer Mongolia between Russia and China. The expedition lasted 45 days, 38 days actively mountain biking across the Steppe grasslands and mountainous deserts and forests of the northern rim.

Accumulating approximately 40,000 meters (131, 234 feet) vertical altitude change across 2500km of arid Mongolian Steppe on a unique route I planned myself.  I wore through 10 replacement rubber truck tube soles I glued on a single pair of SPD-Shimano compatible Pearl Izumi mountain biking shoes and underwent a years physiotherapy following the expedition in the summer of 2012.

I went for adventure, cultural experience, endurance and to experience the world learning through experiencing life on a mountain bike.

For a comparison of altitude changes across Mongolia's rugged mountains:
"Scientists supported by the National Geographic and Boston's Museum of Science were able to operate Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite equipment on the very top of Mount Everest last May and have determined the precise height of the world's tallest mountains. The revised elevation - 29,035 feet (8850 meters), two meters or seven feet higher than the previously accepted figure - was announced Nov. 11, 1999" This article is reprinted from the Mountain Zone web site (mountainzone.com)

My expedition was supported by LYNSKEY PERFORMANCE, USA using their hand-made titanium frame, the M240S. I would like to thank them all for supporting and encouraging expeditions globally.

Over the last several years, I have been working with two amazing foundations working in community, the first is IDEAS which touches very close to my heart.  IDEAS is led by global explorer/mountaineer Robert Hill of Canada, who successfully completed his No Guts, Know Glory 7 Summits Campaign (including Mount Everest in 2010) with an ostomy as a measure to improve his life living with IBD.

IBD is the collective name for Crohns Disease or CD and Ulcerative Colitis ,UC which are chronic, long-term conditions requiring serious medical treatment or surgeries to help those millions of patients around the planet inflicted with this debilitating disease. Inspiration is the key to survival on Earth, no matter what circumstances we live through, there is always a cure to struggles with dedication, determination, positivism and personal growth that comes with overcoming the biggest and almost impossible odds against us.

DO NOT GIVE UP HOPE IN YOU, JUST TRY HARDER NEXT TIME.

Since there is a long road to find a cure, I am in to ride for others who can share my triumphs, and I hope to spread the word about INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE IBD because it's a voice to a community that needs hope and support, I admire Rob Hill for continuing his community work with the IDEAS Foundation of Canada.



The second foundation is linking schools and formal education with exploring - this is innovative and something I strongly believe in. I explored in partnership with Education Through Expeditions, founded by Arctic and Polar Explorer friend, Antony Jinman of Plymouth, UK. Antony has overcome enormous obstables in his life to bring forth adventure into the classrooms, while undertaking expeditions in Arctic regions of Canada. He is an inspiration and a true leader in his community. I was proud to represent his valuable foundation through Adventure mountain biking the globe as an Explorer Ambassador with ETE in 2011.


I am now affiliated with the Ted Simon Foundation, as a Jupiter Traveller as of late 2012. I look forward to supporting the foundation and sharing expeditions with the world, as I ride mountain bikes.

I hope you enjoy the amateur videos, it's a short and I am not a film maker. But I do enjoy new adventures.

Post by Brian Perić.