Austin Cyclist Becomes First Openly Gay Man to Bike Around the World
Along the way, he raised money for the Trevor Project
By Hannah Uebele, Fri., March 22, 2024
After 280 days, Andrew Mortensen, a UT-Austin alum, has completed an epic bicycling odyssey, spanning 27,461 miles across 37 different countries. The 32-year-old is the first openly gay man to officially cycle around the world.
The journey unfolded in two distinct phases. The first segment began in August 2020, when Mortensen pushed off from the Pacific Ocean, in Neah Bay, Washington. He traveled eastward and greeted the Atlantic Ocean, on the opposite side of the country, 43 days later in Yorktown, Va. The adventure, of course, didn’t end there. Venturing further, Mortensen pedaled down the coast to Key West, Florida, where he decided to continue on and complete the entire continent. So he biked back up into the Bible Belt, through Texas, and then down into Mexico. From there, he pushed onward through Central America and South America, until he rolled into the southernmost point of the Americas – Patagonia, Chile – eight months later and 17,000 miles from where he began.
But remember, that’s just the first phase of his globe-spinning journey. Before starting the second phase, Mortensen took a pause on the pedals to go to grad school in Austin. In July 2023, he was back on the bike to begin the second phase – a 10,400-mile jaunt from Spain to Singapore.
Mortensen kicked off from Pamplona, Spain, and traversed across Europe the mountainous way, pedaling up and over the Pyrenees, West Alps, Dolomites, and Dinaric Alps. After cycling through Turkey, he continued on through Central Asia, Kazakhstan, and eventually into western China. From China, he went onward into Pakistan and India. He pushed into the last remaining countries of the journey – Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia – and then, at long last, the journey was completed in January of this year, when he pulled into Marina Bay, Singapore.
Throughout the journey, Mortensen raised nearly $19,000 for the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ suicide prevention nonprofit. The organization’s mission has always been close to Mortensen’s heart, especially following the loss of two friends to suicide. “I’ve seen many of the difficulties coming out, both with myself and with some of my close friends, so it just felt right.”
Mortensen says he experienced an incredible amount of hospitality through his journey but also reflected on the weight of riding around the world as an openly gay man. “As I got to the end, I thought back on all of the challenges that I faced that someone who was straight wouldn’t have had to face. I had a lot of fear and anxiety over my well-being and safety because of who I was.” Nonetheless, he met countless strangers who quickly became allies. He spent over 60 nights in the homes of folks he’d just met, and experienced an overwhelming amount of support and acts of kindness from people along the way.
Back in Austin since completing his world tour, Mortensen finds himself surrounded by a vibrant community of cyclists. “I’ve met more cyclists here than I’ve ever met in my life,” he said. “They’re all affirming of travel, adventure, and biking far, so this environment is the best place to incubate another cool trip.”
His message to aspiring globe-trotters (or, rather, globe-pedalers): “The typical cliche. It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey,” he says. “You have to be really content with just enjoying every day as its own distinct adventure.” Sage advice for cyclists and non-cyclists alike.
To learn more about Andrew’s travels, you can read his ride log at t.ly/UD4QR.
Editor' Note Thursday, March 21, 12pm: This story has been updated to correct that Mortensen did not go through Myanmar. The Chronicle regrets the error.
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