“I like the action and riding fast”: Jonas Deichmann, marathon man, on his latest endurance epic

German adventurer Jonas Deichmann is a legend of the ultra-cycling world, and has just finished a mammoth bikepacking ride across the USA, which he followed up with a solo run back in the opposite direction, finishing in New York – where he promptly took part in the Big Apple’s world-famous marathon… for ‘recovery’ purposes, he says. We catch up with the German Forrest Gump to learn more about his love for all things extreme.

[Credit: Markus Weinberg]

As he emerges from the vast nothingness that characterises much of the geography of the midwestern United States, German adventurer Jonas Deichmann is easy to spot.

With his bushy and often unruly beard and broad, beaming smile – not to mention his penchant for smashing world records – Deichmann has, through hard graft, determination, and ingenuity, become something of a living legend in the tough old world of endurance, unsupported ultra-cycling.

One glance at his ever-lengthening list of exploits confirms that he’s very much the real McCoy when it comes to extreme athletic feats.

Among his tally of mammoth two-wheeled and self-supported records, spanning three different continents, are the iconic Pan-America route from Alaska to Patagonia (which he completed in 97 days), the Eurasian landmass (64 days), and the North Cape to Cape Town ride, which saw him cycle from Norway to South Africa in just 72 days, a whole month faster than the previous record holder.

> Check out the Scott Addict Gravel HMX that Jonas Deichmann will ride across America (before running back)

And in September 2020, in the midst of the Covid pandemic, Deichmann set off to circumnavigate the planet by cycling, running, and swimming. Needless to say, thanks to the travel uncertainty which defined that gloomy period, the odds were stacked against him, and his “triathlon around the world” – covering the equivalent of 120 Ironman races – soon turned into an epic 430-day challenge of a lifetime.

After cycling across the Alps to Croatia, the man from Stuttgart broke the record for the longest swim without a support boat, travelling 456km along the Adriatic coast. Back on his bike, he then braved the Siberian wilderness – the entrance to which was held back by Covid-related delays – riding 10,000km on icy, snowy roads and in temperatures of as low as -40 degrees Celsius to reach the Pacific.

With the US and Canadian borders closed, Deichmann then ran Forrest Gump-style across Mexico, where he was accompanied by everyone from drug cartels to armed police, with hundreds joining in beside him on his epic journey. Those jubilant Mexican scenes captured the imagination of many, and he duly became a national hero not only in Germany, but also throughout Latin America.

Globetrotting triathlon ticked off, Deichmann still wasn’t finished and, aiming to put right the wrongs of his aborted American journey in 2021, he set off in June this year for a 5,500km cycle across the United States from New York to Los Angeles, taking in the rugged Appalachian Mountains, the extreme heat of Death Valley, and the vast expanse of the prairie.

[Credit: Markus Weinberg]

Less than 24 hours after arriving in LA, the German was back on the road again, this time on foot – and sporting Forrest Gump’s iconic red hat – as he covered one ultra-marathon a day to arrive right back where he started, in New York, on 4 November.

After reaching his finish line in the Big Apple, his ‘Trans America Twice’ epic completed, Deichmann declined a day of sightseeing to instead immediately take part in the city’s iconic marathon, a light leg loosener he nonchalantly described as a “cool down”.

We caught up with the indefatigable German as he trimmed his by-now legendary beard at the end of yet another colossal journey.

[Credit: Jonas Deichmann]

road.cc: What was the idea behind your latest American trip?

Jonas Deichmann: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, and when I was doing my triathlon around the world, I couldn’t get into USA as I’d been in Iran. Plus, it was during the pandemic and the borders were closed, so I ran across Mexico, and it was fantastic.

And I’d always had this dream of running across the US, and so there was unfinished business. But because people had done it before, I didn’t just want to run across the US. So, I thought why not do the double – cycling across it on a gravel bike and then running back.

Was the cycling leg a bikepacking-style trip?

Yes, bikepacking-style and with the gravel bike. I didn’t go the usual route, I did a nice one, with mountain passes and some off-road, which took a bit more than three weeks, and then I ran back.

So you weren’t attempting to break any speed records, then?

I was fast, but it wasn’t an endurance record, because I didn’t want to go on highways or do the fastest possible route. The US has been done so many times, and I didn’t want to go on the main Interstate.

[Credit: Markus Weinberg]

What were the highs and lows of the cycling leg?

The lowest is pretty simple – for both the bike and the running, it’s always the Midwest. With the cycling I also wanted to start in New York. It’s always easier from west to east because of the wind direction, but I was doing the opposite. Nebraska was the low, you’d be doing a boring flat road for 1,000km into the wind, and mentally that was a low.

The Rocky Mountains were certainly a high, I was partly on the Tour Divide route [an annual ultra-distance mountain bike ride traversing the Rocky Mountains from Canada to the Mexico border] and riding the mountain passes, and I saw all sorts of wildlife.

I also loved the Mojave Desert, and I was there on one of the hottest days in the world. It was up to 48 degrees Celsius, which is very hot, so I always had to wake up at 3am to start. But once the sun sets and it drops below 40 degrees and you’re in the desert and it’s so peaceful, it’s incredible, something I’ll never forget.

The total cycling distance was about 5,400km and I averaged about 220km a day. Some days I averaged 300km, but as I went off-road a lot some days and rode in the mountains – sometimes having to push my bike – the distances covered overall lowered. It was about ten to eleven hours a day of riding time.

[Credit: Markus Weinberg]

Compared to your other feats, how does this one rank?

It was a very important project for me, and a huge challenge – because of the heat, and the Midwest was incredibly mentally tough, especially with the running. Cycling once across the Midwest is enough for a lifetime, but running… You have nothing in terms of scenery for weeks, and it was so monotonous. You run for hours every day and there’s no change. I averaged 54km a day on the run, which was more than I did in Mexico, but the overall round-the-world trip was much longer.

Of course, crossing the Siberian Desert in winter by bike [while circumnavigating the globe] is a bit different, but it was a tough and important project – and, of course, the triathlon around the world was a different level.

You’ve come from real grassroots adventures to a highly successful level over the past six years or so. What have been the key factors in getting to this point, and how different is it for you now that it has become so big?

Actually, it all started in Mexico, during the round-the-world triathlon. Although a few years ago I was well known in the ultra-cycling community, it was just the cycling world. The cyclists in Germany, most of them know me, but it’s still a bubble.

But with the triathlon around the world, I kind of became a national hero in Germany, and now it’s not just cycling media, it’s mainstream news and TV channels that cover it, and now I’m recognised by people. That changed everything, and now my books and everything else sell ten times more than before, and I have my speeches too.

This kind of makes PR easier, when you are listed as a kind of prominent person then the media is even more interested in you. But of course, then there’s always the challenge, as I also still want to be authentic, and so want to do the projects that I want, and that’s also important.

Actually, I only do projects that I love, that I really want to do, for my passion – even if I won’t make money from it, and it’s really important to remind yourself of that at times.

[Credit: Sammy Deichmann]

With so many ultra-cycling records to your name, what stands out and means the most?

The one form Cape North to Cape Town, because it was so difficult. I had food poisoning three times, and other issues. It was a challenge, and I still made it – just in time.

What has been your toughest ever time on a bike?

Two things spring to mind immediately. First, crossing the Sahara Desert with food poisoning during the Cape-to-Cape record. There’s a stretch of more than 1,000km with nothing, and with food poisoning and 45-degree Celsius temperatures, it was tough. Then, crossing Siberia in winter, that was also pretty tough.

And what about your best ever days on a bike?

The Peruvian Andes – I was doing a two-week expedition with Axel Carrion from BikingMan [in 2019], and there was something like 20 passes over 5,000 metres. I remember we started at 4am at around -15 degrees Celsius and climbed up to almost 5,000 metres for sunrise, and the sun came up over these peaks one after another, and that was the best day on my bike.

[Credit: Jonas Deichmann]

What do you prefer personally – bikepacking or touring?

I’m a bikepacker, as I do like to be fast and flexible, and if I am then I need even less. People always ask me how I do it without carrying too much food and water, and I tell them that if they ride 50km a day they may have to carry provisions for three to four days, but if they ride 200km a day they don’t, and so all those issues don’t exist.

I bikepacked across Siberia in winter, which meant carrying lots of gear, doing long distances and dealing with the cold, so if I can bikepack across Siberia and get everything in there that I need, then there’s never any need for me to go back to normal panniers and touring.

Touring is also nice and different, and maybe when I get a bit older and slow down I’ll go back to touring, but for now I like the action and to be fast and flexible.

[Credit: Markus Weinberg]

You already have a book coming out about your American journey?

Yes, it comes out 16 December, called Crossing America, but it’s only in German. There will be a video about the journey in English, which will be on YouTube next month.

You can see this and other films of Jonas’ adventures on his YouTube channel.