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Riding Everest 100 times
Riding Everest 100 times

A humble Aussie doctor recently notched his 100th 'Everesting' bike ride – a feat of such extreme individual endurance and dedication that it will most likely never be attempted again, let alone bested.

What is Everesting? The following is taken from the official website everesting.cc:

The concept of Everesting is fiendishly simple: Pick any hill, anywhere in the world and complete repeats of it in a single activity until you climb 8,848m – the equivalent height of Mt Everest. Complete the challenge on a bike, on foot, or online, and you’ll find your name in the Hall of Fame, alongside the best climbers in the world.

Similar to Burbing (riding every street in a suburb) the fad caught global attention during lockdown when pro cyclists with clear calendars took to the streets to entertain themselves.

Everyone from Mark Cavendish to Nathan Earle and Alberto Contador had a crack, and while the pros were battling for fastest time, Jonathan Egan – a children's intensive care doctor who divides his time between Sydney and Adelaide – was doing about one a week.

A terrific article published by The Australian tells the story in detail through snippets of conversation between the undisputed King of Everesting Jonathan Egan, columnist (and keen bike rider) Jason Gagliardi and one of the founders of the phenomona, Melbourne rider Andy van Bergen.

Between the three of them they account for over 110 Everests, an untold number of failed attempts and a few of Bicycle Network's own Peaks Challenge Falls Creek rides.

In an attempted interview while Egan rides up and down a hill repeatedly (as he tends to do) the article discusses his early morning start tactic, being swooped by owls, knocked off his bike by kangaroos and the plethora of other physical and mental challenges associated with climbing 8,848 metres 100 times (104 at time of writing).

And of course the burning question: WHY?! To which Egan answers: 

“I don’t know. I just enjoy it," before touching on the balance to the stress and strain of work and the simple benefits of pushing yourself to the limits.

If you're one of the suckers-for-punishment who is inspired by this story, you may want to consider cutting your teeth at Peaks like the aforementioned riders.

Entries are now open for Peaks Challenge Falls Creek 2021, taking place in just under one month and encompassing 235km and 4000+ metres elevation within 13 hours.

Read The Australian article here.

Learn more about Peaks Challenge Falls Creek here.