She has biked more than 50,000 kilometres during the last four years alone. She has crossed the United States and Canada. Biked all the way around Australia and New Zealand, through 15 European countries in 47 days and she is soon off for her next adventure.

We met Marielle Jauring, who goes by the name of “The Biking Viking” on Instagram, to chat about why she believes that the world should be explored from the saddle of a bike. For Marielle, it has always been an obvious choice to use a bike as a mode of transport. She grew up on Frösön, in Östersund, with her mother Inger and her twin sister Annikki.

“Our family wasn’t always financially well-off, but we were rich in terms of love, conversation and always being there for each other, and as we couldn’t afford a car biking became our natural way to get around. I can clearly remember my Mum coming to pick us up from pre-school with her bike and cart whatever the weather, and going on 30-km day trips by bike when we were really young, finding pretty spots to put up our tent for the night, and biking home again the next day. Growing up like this shaped me as a person, girls can take care of themselves, nothing is impossible and with a smile on your face you can get far.”

The bike tour through the USA was the catalyst for Marielle’s biking adventure. She decided to bike through Australia the following year. But after further thought and a bit of research she felt that it was a little too short, and so chose to bike around the whole of Australia instead. A neat little tour of 16,000 kilometres.

Marielle emphasises how important it is to think about safety when you plan your adventures and travel.

“Health and safety must always come first. Just as you need good clothes to keep yourself warm when it’s cold, you must also be ready to re-plan, stop or pause if anything happens.”

After 12,000 kilometres on the saddle of her bike, the temperatures in Australia started to climb up towards 50 degrees Celsius during the daytime. So Marielle decided to have a break and wait for the cooler days of autumn. She took her bike and flew to Australia’s cooler neighbour New Zealand, and spent over a month biking 4,700 kilometres around both islands, before returning to Australia to bike the final 4,000 kilometres.

She’s now biked more than once around the earth in total, through more than 20 countries, and she calls herself an “adventure millionaire”.

“I have so incredibly many awesome memories from my travels. The feeling of coming the full circle after 109 days of biking in Australia. Waking up in the tent surrounded by what feels like a beautiful picture postcard. And all the fantastic people I’ve met! But of course, it wouldn’t all have been quite as fantastic if it weren’t for the challenges and trials I went through.”

The challenges Marielle talks about, albeit with a smile, include biking for 10 days in the Australian outback in 40 degrees heat surrounded by so many flies that she could hardly see the road. Or when she was almost crushed during a storm in Poland when huge trees fell like matchsticks around her tent.

“And that’s not to mention when I mistakenly ended up on Highway 407 in Toronto and had help from the police to get off it,” laughs Marielle and shakes her head.

Extract from diary

“I attach my two holdalls to the bike, and the dry bag with my tent, sleeping bag and portable cooker has its designated place on the luggage carrier. Notice that it’s starting to be chillier in the mornings. I’ve been warned by several lorry drivers that winter is in full force, with strong winds and loads of snowfall just 200 kilometres to the west, where I was the day before. Jump up quickly onto the bike and start peddling up a couple of steep hills, am amazed at the view and keep my fingers crossed that the hills down won’t be too steep as my rear brake is broken and it’s 780 kilometres until the nearest bike shop that has new brake pads that fit my brakes.

Well, here I am in the middle of the Canadian wilderness after peddling half-way across the country and now have my sights set on Halifax, the final destination of my Canadian crossing.” – Marielle Jauring