Sean Gallagher and Benjamin Schuessler Set 83-Hour Great Wall Of China FKT
Sean Gallagher and Benjamin Schuessler set a Fastest Known Time on the great wall of china in just under 83 hours, covering a 2,457km route that cut the previous mark of 10 days by a wide margin. The ride turned a historic endurance line into a far faster target and gave the pair a time that sits well under the eight-day goal they set for themselves.
Gallagher And Schuessler On The Wall
The pair, both Chinese expats and members of the Beijing West Cycling Club, rode from Jiayu Pass to Shanhaiguan if they did not follow every bend. Gallagher, an ultra-distance cyclist who has lived in Beijing for 20 years, said the scale of the challenge sank in on the flight to Jiayuguan as he looked out over the mountains, deserts and Tibetan Plateau.
“And flying over the terrain for two and a half hours, I was looking out the window, looking at the mountains, looking at the deserts, looking at the Tibetan Plateau. And it was slowly starting to dawn on me exactly what we were about to do because I thought, ‘I've got to cycle all the way’.”
Eight Days, Then 83 Hours
Gallagher said the duo set out with an eight-day target. “We set ourselves a target of eight days to complete the ride.” He also said the effort was never meant to be a race: “It wasn’t a race. We were doing it for the experience and wanted to see as much of China and the Wall as possible. But once the goal was set, every day had to be planned around it.”
The route carries more weight because the recognised endurance line from Jiayu Pass to Shanhaiguan is about 3,000 kilometres, and the Wall itself took shape over 2,000 years, with the earliest sections dating back to the 7th Century BC. The pair’s ride also unfolded in blustery conditions at 5,500 feet above sea level, which added a practical edge to a route that already stretched through remote parts of China.
Remote Miles, Real Risk
Gallagher described the challenge in direct terms: “The challenge came from riding that distance eight days in a row through some incredibly remote parts of China and dealing with the conditions along the way.” He added, “I genuinely questioned whether we’d be able to finish.”
He also spelled out the hazards that sat in the background of the ride. “You start thinking about accidents in the middle of nowhere, mechanical failures, what happens if something goes wrong far from help.” That reality hung over every day of the attempt, even as the pair kept moving fast enough to finish with a time just under 83 hours.
For riders looking at the Wall as an endurance line, the new standard is clear: the benchmark is no longer 10 days. Gallagher and Schuessler have pushed it to under 83 hours, and the route now has a faster number attached to a path that runs across 2,457km of some of China’s most difficult terrain.
