Mark's story is a personal rollercoaster of mental and physical endurance as well as a fascinating insight into the world we live in. He is an accomplished motivational speaker, his experiences of planning and executing a two successful expeditions enabling him to talk with great insight on motivation, team management, logistical planning, risk assessment and successful project management.

On February 15th 2008 Mark Beaumont arrived at the Arc de Triomphe, Paris after spending 194 days and 17 hours cycling solo around the world. His epic journey, which would see him break one of the last great circumnavigation World Records, took him over 18,000 miles, across four continents and through 20 countries. Through an unbeatable display of sheer determination, Mark beat the previous record by 81 days, cycling at a speed of 100 miles a day for over half a year.

Watch a 10-minute documentary about Mark here.

Facing hostile encounters on the border lands of the Helmand Province, monsoon rains in South East Asia and an unrelenting headwind for 3,500 miles across the desolate Australian Outback, Mark’s will to succeed kept him going. Despite being mugged in Louisiana, locked up by police in Pakistan, and nearly washed away by torrential rains in Thailand, as well as being knocked off his bike three times, Mark said he never felt like giving up.

"There were long stretches where I didn't speak to anyone and had no contact. I took a lot of strengthfrom the fact that a lot of people were watching a little dot on a GPS map and knew where I was."

With a mixture of tremendous determination and successful goal setting, Mark spent 2 years planning his expedition. Despite developing chronic tendinitis and being turned down by hundreds of potential sponsors, he continued fundraising remaining focused on his goal.

Just 16 months after returning from his first epic trip, Mark set out on a new challenge: to cycle the length of the American Cordillera - the longest mountain range on the planet. Setting out from Anchorage in Alaska in June 2009, Mark not only cycled all the way down the spine of the Americas to Ushuaia in Argentina, but he also stopped along the way to climb the continent’s two highest peaks, Mt McKinley in Alaska and Aconcagua in Argentina.

Mark successfully completed his Americas expedition in February 2010, filming his second documentary for the BBC – The Man who Cycled the Americas – which aired in March-April 2010. Mark has just finished his first national theatre tour in which he talked about his two expeditions to over 12 500 people.

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Mark has been highly commended for his filming for the BBC (his first documentary received a nomination for a Scottish BAFTA in 2008) and his ability to share his journeys in a captivating and entertaining way.

His first book, The Man who Cycled the World, was published by Bantam Press in May 2009. He is currently working on his second book due for publication in 2011. Mark is based in Edinburgh.