Dr. Kate Leeming | |
|---|---|
 Kate Leeming, cyclist | |
| Born | 1967 (age 56–57) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation(s) | Cyclist, explorer, real tennis professional |
| Notable work | Out There and Back (2007, book), Njinga (2014, book and film), Diamonds in the Sand (2021, TV series) |
Kate Leeming (born 1967) is an Australian extreme endurance cyclist and explorer, known for several long distance cycling expeditions. She has cycled more than twice around the world at the equator. [1]
Leeming was raised in Northam, rural Western Australia, graduating from the University of Western Australia in the 1980s and qualifying as a teacher (Geography and Physical Education). She spent 12 years (1990-2002) in the UK and France, initially as a hockey player, then a fitness trainer before becoming a Real Tennis professional. During this time she cycled 15,000 kilometres (9,300 mi) through Europe, from Spain to Turkey, and on to Nordkapp, Norway. [2]
Leeming is divorced. As of June 2024 [update] , she lives in Melbourne, Australia and is a professional in real tennis at the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club. [3]
Leeming undertook the "Trans-Siberian Cycle Expedition" (with Greg Yeoman) in 1993, becoming the first woman to cycle across the new Russia unsupported, ending in Vladivostok on a bike that was suffering metal fatigue. The 13,400 km journey took 5 months and included long stretches following the Trans-Siberian railway in swampy conditions. Sponsorship was donated to support the children of Chernobyl. [2]
The "Great Australian Cycle Expedition" (2004/2005) was 25,000 km, largely unaided, and following a circuitous route beginning and ending in Canberra. It included the first bicycle crossing of the Canning Stock Route by a woman. The book Out There and Back (2007) documents the trip.
On 16 August 2010 she became the first person to cycle an unbroken line from Africa's most westerly to its most easterly points; from Pointe des Almadies, Senegal to Cape Hafun, Puntland, Somalia. She cycled 22,040 km over ten months, supported by a small team for some of the journey. Crossing 20 countries in 299 days, access through the final stretch in Somalia was granted by breakaway states, including Puntland where al-Shabaab rebels threatened the convoy. Sponsorship was used to support "Breaking the Cycle in Africa", highlighting development needs and activities of war-torn and poverty-stricken nations, particular the education of girls. [4] A prizewinning documentary awaits wide distribution and the book Njinga documents the journey. [5]
In June 2019, she became the first person to cycle the entire Namibian coastline, 1,621 km largely on sand, crossing extensive dune fields as well as beaches. She began at the mouth of the Kunene River on the Angolan border, and traversed the Skeleton Coast heading south and the Namib Desert to the Orange River mouth on the South African border. She used an all-wheel drive bike with a pinion drive and clutch to the front wheel and oversized tyres. The first of several of these Christini bikes was built in Philadelphia in 2013. [6] The expedition was captured in a documentary series, Diamonds In the Sand, shown on Outside TV, National Geographic Asia and CNBC. [7] [8]
Recent expeditions have included "The Andes, the Altiplano & the Atacama" (2020 and 2022, from Cusco, Peru across the Bolivian Altiplano and the Argentinian Puna de Atacama), "The Lights of Ladakh" which brought solar power to the most remote community in the Zanskar Range, the Indian Himalaya (film, 2018 [9] ), along the course of the Finke River in central Australia, down the Baja Divide in Mexico and training in Svalbard, Northeast Greenland, Arctic Canada and Iceland for a proposed expedition across Antarctica. [1] In February 2023 she completed her first brief Antarctic venture—a 201 km cycling trip from Wolf's Fang Runway to Whichaway Camp, with vehicle support. [10] [11] On 19 September 2023 she completed a trip from mainland Australia's most easterly point, Cape Byron, to its most westerly, Steep Point, covering 8,617km. [12]
Leeming was ranked number 2 in the world for Real Tennis, reaching the finals in women's doubles four times between 1997 and 2019. [13] [1] She is a former Australian women's singles champion, winning 5 titles between 1996 and 2013, and coaches the sport.
Transport in Antarctica has transformed from explorers crossing the isolated remote area of Antarctica by foot to a more open era due to human technologies enabling more convenient and faster transport, predominantly by air and water, but also by land as well. Transportation technologies on a remote area like Antarctica need to be able to deal with extremely low temperatures and continuous winds to ensure the travelers' safety. Due to the fragility of the Antarctic environment, only a limited amount of transport movements can take place and sustainable transportation technologies have to be used to reduce the ecological footprint. The infrastructure of land, water and air transport needs to be safe and sustainable. Currently thousands of tourists and hundreds of scientists a year depend on the Antarctic transportation system.
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A bicycle rider is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
A motorcycle is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat.
The Canning Stock Route is a track that runs from Halls Creek in the Kimberley region of Western Australia to Wiluna in the mid-west region. With a total distance of around 1,850 km (1,150 mi) it is claimed to be the longest historic stock route in the world.
The Namib is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and northwest South Africa, extending southward from the Carunjamba River in Angola, through Namibia and to the Olifants River in Western Cape, South Africa. The Namib's northernmost portion, which extends 450 kilometres (280 mi) from the Angola-Namibia border, is known as Moçâmedes Desert, while its southern portion approaches the neighboring Kalahari Desert. From the Atlantic coast eastward, the Namib gradually ascends in elevation, reaching up to 200 kilometres (120 mi) inland to the foot of the Great Escarpment. Annual precipitation ranges from 2 millimetres (0.079 in) in the aridest regions to 200 millimetres (7.9 in) at the escarpment, making the Namib the only true desert in southern Africa. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55–80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world and contains some of the world's driest regions, with only western South America's Atacama Desert to challenge it for age and aridity benchmarks.
Bicycle touring is the taking of self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure or autonomy rather than sport, commuting or exercise. Bicycle touring can range from single-day trips to extended travels spanning weeks or months. Tours may be planned by the participant or organized by a tourism business, local club or organization, or a charity as a fund-raising venture.
An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat that is straddled by the operator, and has handlebars. As the name implies, it is designed to handle a wider variety of terrain than most other vehicles. It is street-legal in some countries, but not in most states, territories and provinces of Australia, the United States, and Canada.
The Skeleton Coast is the northern part of the Atlantic coast of Namibia. Immediately south of Angola, it stretches from the Kunene River to the Swakop River, although the name is sometimes used to describe the entire Namib Desert coast. The indigenous San people, of the Namibian interior called the region "The Land God Made in Anger", while Portuguese sailors once referred to it as "The Gates of Hell".
An electric bicycle, e-bike, electrically assisted pedal cycles, or electrically power assisted cycles is a motorized bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fall into two broad categories: bikes that assist the rider's pedal-power and bikes that add a throttle, integrating moped-style functionality. Both retain the ability to be pedaled by the rider and are therefore not electric motorcycles. E-bikes use rechargeable batteries and typically are motor-powered up to 25 to 32 km/h. High-powered varieties can often travel more than 45 km/h (28 mph).
The 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series is an annual series of four 250-kilometer (155-mile) races across deserts around the globe. The races were recognized as the world's leading endurance footrace series by TIME magazine in 2009 and 2010, as the "Ultimate test of human endurance". The series was founded by American Mary K Gadams who founded RacingThePlanet in 2002.
Odyssey: Driving Around the World is a documentary television series. It follows the 66,000-kilometre (41,000 mi) driving expedition of seven Americans, including travel writer Rolf Potts. They depart from San Francisco and head south through 26 countries of North America, South America, Australia, and Asia, and back home 15 months later. The team's experience include encounters with a Pol Pot survivor in Cambodia, a Buddhist orphanage in Myanmar, and the Dalai Lama in India. Guest appearances include actor Michael J. Fox and director James Cameron.
Juliana Buhring is a British-German ultra-endurance cyclist and writer. In December 2012, she set the first Guinness World Record as the fastest woman to circumnavigate the globe by bike, riding over 29,000 kilometres (18,000 mi) in a total time of 152 days.
Jill Heinerth is a Canadian cave diver, underwater explorer, writer, photographer and film-maker. She has made TV series for PBS, National Geographic Channel and the BBC, consulted on movies for directors including James Cameron, written several books and produced documentaries including We Are Water and Ben's Vortex, about the disappearance of Ben McDaniel.
The Washington Backcountry Discovery Route is a 600-mile (970 km), mostly off-road trail traversing the Cascade Mountains in the U.S. state of Washington. The entire route is double track suitable for motorized users and non-motorized users. The route was created by Bryce Stevens and Andrew Cull. In 2007 Steve Bisig of Pacific Northwest Adventures successfully completed and published a 4x4 route from the Oregon to Canadian border that consisted of more off-road trails.
Maria Leijerstam is a British polar adventurer. In 2013 she became the first person to cycle to the South Pole from the edge of the continent. Leijerstam started her expedition on the Ross Ice Shelf at the edge of the Antarctic continent, and cycled for 10 to 17 hours each day with no rest days, and the total distance cycled was 638 km (396 mi). Leijerstam's cycle was a three wheeled design, and she reached the pole faster than any previous skiing expedition.
Algirdas Gurevičius is a Lithuanian adventurer, touring cyclist and filmmaker.
Rebecca Rusch is an American endurance professional athlete, seven-time World Champion, author, entrepreneur, Emmy Award winner, and motivational speaker. Rusch's career has spanned adventure sports including rock climbing, adventure racing, whitewater rafting, cross-country skiing and mountain biking.
Kristof Allegaert is a Belgian cyclist who specializes in ultra-distance cycling races and lives in Kortrijk, Belgium.
The 2023 Real Tennis Australian Open was the 91st edition of the Australian Open. The event was held at the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club in Melbourne between January 3-11, 2023 and was organised by the Australian Real Tennis Association, forming part of the qualifying series for the 2025 Real Tennis World Championship. It was held concurrently with the 2023 Boomerang Cup. The event was the first grand slam event of the year.