Video: Preparing for the first ever bike trip across Antartica
Austrlian adventurer prepares for the world first 1,850 kilometre cycling expedition across Antarctica via the South Pole
Australian adventurer Dr. Kate Leeming is preparing for a 1,850 km cycling expedition across Antartica via the South Pole. In order to test her equipment and her limits, Leeming is currently undertaking a three-week journey through Jameson Land and Liverpool Land in Northeast Greenland.
Leeming’s trips have taken her around the world, she has cycled the 22,000 km width of Africa, pedalled 25,000km around Australia and was the first woman to cycle unsupported across Russia, a 13,400 km journey that took her five months.
Leeming is testing a custom made Christini all-wheel-drive fatbike and ensuring the reliability of her ride in polar conditions is one of the reasons a test run was so important. Her trek in Antartica is planned for the end of the year and is set to take 45 days. The trip was delayed because of funding shortfalls.
In the teaser for the film by Claudio von Planta, Leeming says, “I really wanted to make this trip through Greenland a really good physical test to really prepare myself for Antarctica. I really want to understand how much my body will take.”
Already, she has had to face the realities of harsh arctic conditions with the Greenland exhibition delayed due to a blizzard. She will face temperatures of between -5 C and -20 C.
In an interview with The Courier Mail, Leeming was asked which kilometres of her countless trips have been the hardest. She answered, “The Vasyugan Swamp in eastern Siberia was 1500km of muddy side tracks beside the Trans-Siberian Railway. While in Western Australia about 1600kms of the 1800km Canning Stock Route were sand corrugations, around 1000 dunes done in 40C heat.” A trip across a frozen continent will no doubt present some of her most challenging moments.
Leeming uses her trips to raise awareness and fundraise for causes often linked to the regions she rides through. She hopes to use her Breaking the Cycle South Pole expedition to raise funds to fight AIDS in Africa.
You can follow Leeming’s progress on her website.
