A Tribute to Anne Mustoe
When people stopped us on our trip and told us how wonderful it was that we were cycling in our youth, since these things get harder with age, I always told them about Anne Mustoe – the British headmistress who, at age 54 and out of shape, set off to ride her bike around the world.
After telling this story to so many people, in the hopes of inspiring them too to reach for their dreams, I felt like I knew Anne.
I didn’t of course. I’d read a few of her books (A Bike Ride was my constant bedtime companion in the months before our trip began) and marveled at her ability to cover such great distances alone, without knowing how to fix a flat tire or carry camping gear, but I never had the pleasure of meeting her. That didn’t stop me from shedding a tear when I found out about her death in Syria, earlier this month at the age of 76.
Anne was still riding her bike when she died. She’d set off in May for her last journey, making it as far as Aleppo, where she passed away after a short illness, according to The Times. She was still riding Condor, the original bike she started on, about 100,000 miles ago.
We don’t know much more than that and it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that while Anne was pedalling her way around the world, following Roman Roads and tracing the footprints of historical giants like Alexander the Great, she was also teaching us a lesson.
Anne’s legacy, in my mind, is the proof that the most important thing for a successful bike tour is your strength of spirit and desire to make the journey. Everything else is secondary. For that Anne, I thank you and will miss you.
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I am very sorry to hear this sad news of M(r)s. Anne Mustoe’s passing away in Syria, shalom ‘al nafshah.
I had just sent her an email telling her of how she had inspired me. She will never have a chance to read it. I hope somehow that her spirit will know what her life’s work meant to me, anyway. May her memory live on in the hearts of many and may her story continue to lift the spirits of those whose spirits are floundering.
With great regard and heaviness of heart, Alex (Alon be Qeni)
I too am sorry to hear of Anne Mustoe’s death. She is the very reason I am now in India after cycling across Europe and some of the Middle East. I was fortunate enough to meet Anne last February and she told me she was cycling to Singapore this year, which meant that I would be following her for much of the way. As I cycled I often wondered how she was doing and where she was. So sad she didn’t complete the trip but perhaps fitting that she died doing what she enjoyed so much. Her memory will live on as long as her books continue to inspire others to take up the challenge.
Anne was a wonderful woman who inspired so many people to embrace their surroundings and educate themselves as they travelled by what we all recognise as the best form of transport to do so.
She will be missed but her work will go on to inspire many generations yet
How sad I am at hearing of Anne Mustoe’s death. Not only did she inspire me to contemplate cycling around the world, she is an example of one person’s ability to change the world’s view about what is possible, and what is possible for a “woman of a certain age”. Many of us limit our lives by what we believe is possible, not knowing that much larger possibilities and dreams are achievable.