P.E.I. senior injured in 2016 wipeout goes on to cycle the globe — virtually

Not much can slow down 72-year-old Jan Meulenkamp — not the COVID-19 pandemic, and not a bone-shattering cycling accident that almost sidelined him permanently seven years ago. 

The challenge to cycle around the world came from a friend.

"A friend of mine that I've done a lot of cycling with, Paula Clark, read about someone that rode virtually around the globe, and she says, 'I bet you we could do that,'" Meulenkamp said.

"She challenged me. I accepted the challenge."

They started on July 1, 2019, with Meulenkamp's goal to finish by his 75th birthday, in 2025.

But he is about to reach the finish line, having travelled the equivalent of Earth's circumference of 40,075 kilometres, more than two years ahead of schedule.

"I needed something to do during COVID," he said. "I focused not on the end goal, but just setting goals, and steps along the way."

Meulenkamp has a close-knit group of supporters who have cycled many kilometres by his side, including friend Kevin (Boomer) Gallant. 

"Jan is an inspiration to many, including myself," Gallant said.

"We call him, a few of us here, Superman. And he has all the credentials to be Superman, just watching this trek around the world."

A big part of Meulenkamp's recent story is an accident that sent him to hospital, and almost ended his time on the bicycle.

"I crashed in Las Vegas seven years ago this week, and it was a setback," Meulenkamp said.

"It was eight weeks in bed. [I] broke my pelvis in several places, and had to be medevac-ed to Halifax for surgery, and I had to spend eight weeks in bed. But three months to the day of my surgery, I was back on the bike."

Meulenkamp said doctors weren't sure he would make a full recovery.