He is at home on two wheels, the road is his terrain. But now the adventurer and extreme sportsman Jonas Deichmann is venturing into a new record-breaking project that includes sailing for the first time.
The Swabian has set himself the longest triathlon in the world: from Munich to Munich, once around the world. He wants to cover the 120 Ironman distance with minimal CO2 emissions and cross the North Pacific and North Atlantic under sail.
Cycling, swimming, sailing - and not giving up
The adventure is set to begin in Munich this summer. Deichmann wants to cycle to Croatia and from there swim 456 kilometres along the coast towards Montenegro. Back on his bike, he will cycle across Europe and Asia to China and then sail across the Pacific to San Francisco.
The next stage will take him 5040 kilometres across North America to New York. He then wants to cross the Atlantic on a yacht and finally cycle the last 2,500 kilometres from Portugal to Munich. Almost 40,000 kilometres, including several thousand nautical miles, lie ahead of him.
"I'm running out of challenges"
This is not the first extreme project for the multiple world record holder. The Munich native already holds records for all three major continental crossings by bike: Eurasia from Portugal to Vladivostok in 64 days, the legendary Panamericana from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego in 97 days and last year the route from the North Cape to Cape Town in 72 days - a whole month faster than the previous world record. "I'm slowly running out of challenges on the bike. And I've long dreamed of travelling around the world without an aeroplane," says Deichmann.
As with his last projects, the extreme athlete is travelling without an accompanying vehicle. When swimming, he pulls a specially developed raft behind him and swims to the beach in the evening. He also carries his own luggage on his bike and on foot and camps along the route.
Sailing opportunity wanted
Deichmann still has to finalise the planning of the ocean passages. He also doesn't have much sailing experience, as he tells YACHT.
"My father is a passionate sailor and I've already sailed with him a few times. But I don't have much experience yet. I don't yet have a boat for the Pacific crossing and I'm hoping to get a lift here for January or February. The route goes from South East Asia or China to the American east coast. I will adapt to whichever harbour I find a boat in. I already have a boat lined up for the Atlantic crossing, and the plan is to go from New York to Lisbon next spring."
With his extreme project, the motivational speaker is collecting donations for the protection of the rainforest. He is planning to return to Munich in spring 2021 and wants his round-the-world triathlon to significantly surpass Zimbabwean Sean Conway's longest triathlon to date, a circumnavigation of Great Britain.
Summary of the tour from the North Cape to Cape Town. The book about the adventure will be published by Delius Klasing Verlag in September 2020
