Rune Monstad (born April 14, 1973), also known as ''The Viking Biker'', is a Norwegian cyclist who cycled around the world on a 27-speed Gekko

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

from 2005 to 2010. Born in Tønsberg,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, Rune went to

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

in 2004 to work with homeless children for a year. After returning to Norway, he decided he wanted to cycle all over the world, so he started in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

in December 2005, then cycled through

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and then across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In November 2006, Rune started his trip to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and cycled across Canada (from west to east) in the winter, the first known person to do so. He was fully equipped with winter camping gear for sub-freezing temperatures. In May 2007, he left for

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, cycling through

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He completed his trip in 2010, returning to live in Norway. In

, Rune was called "Paco", as it was too difficult for the locals to pronounce his name. Rune never paid for accommodation, and lived off $5–$10 per day USD. He carried a tent with him, but hardly had to use it, as many people offered him a place to stay in their homes. A few motels, lodges and

hostels A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...

also offered him free accommodations as well as meals. Rune operated mostly on donations as cycling every day did not allow for time to work a regular job. He occasionally takes a few days off to see the local sights, attend special events and to meet with people in bicycle shops and cafes.

Personal life

Rune is now married to Amelia Monstad with three children, and lives in the Yukon, Canada.

Canada Trip

On February 3, 2007, while he was in Regina,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, he was invited to give a talk about

winter cycling Cold-weather biking, cold-weather cycling, or winter biking is the use of a bicycle during months when roads and paths are covered with ice, slush and snow. Cold weather cyclists face a number of challenges in near or below freezing temperatures. ...

to a group of about 60 people with Regina EcoLiving Inc., a non-profit organization located in Regina. In areas where there is snow and/or ice in the winter, this is also called

Icebiking Cold-weather biking, cold-weather cycling, or winter biking is the use of a bicycle during months when roads and paths are covered with ice, slush and snow. Cold weather cyclists face a number of challenges in near or below freezing temperatures. ...

. On February 15, 2007, Rune arrived just west of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, battling 50 kilometer per hour side winds with near whiteout conditions. He was featured in the

Winnipeg Sun The ''Winnipeg Sun'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia following its acquisition of Sun Media, and shares many characteristics typical of Sun tabloids, including an emphasis on local news sto ...

and

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

over the weekend. While in Winnipeg, he was also invited to several events including a local Icebike event on February 18, which was sponsored by Woodcock Cycle Works. On March 3, he was invited to the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's ''Northern Landscape'' concert and was introduced on stage by the conductor of the symphony, Alexander Mickelthwate. The Norwegian Canadian Club of Winnipeg hosted a display in the lobby of the

Centennial Concert Hall Centennial Concert Hall is a 2305-seat performing arts centre located at 555 Main Street in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, as part of the Manitoba Centennial Centre. The concert hall opened on March 25, 1968. It is the performing home of th ...

. The Norwegian Club promotes arts, crafts, foods and language of Norway as well as encouraging community among Norwegians. Rune's bicycle was placed on the Norwegian display that evening, and during the intermission and after the concert, he met many symphony patrons. Rune met several cyclists during his stay in Winnipeg and gave a brief talk about his trip. The Norwegian and Scandinavian Clubs held a luncheon for him, and he gave a talk to those groups as well. He also met the Ambassador of Norway to Canada, His Excellency Mr. Tor. B. Naess. On March 4, Rune left Winnipeg to continue his trip east. He arrived in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...

on March 13 and in

Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie is a cross-border region of Canada and the United States located on St. Marys River, which drains Lake Superior into Lake Huron. Founded as a single settlement in 1668, Sault Ste. Marie was divided in 1817 by the establishment of ...

on March 23. He arrived in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

on March 27. CTV Northern Ontario and News 10 Persona in Sudbury filmed a story about him. On Thursday, March 29, he left Sudbury, arriving in North Bay on Friday, March 30. To view the photos from his Thunder Bay trip, visit the Thunder Bay cycling club web site at http://www.tbaycc.ca, then click on "The Viking Biker Visits Thunder Bay" on the left under "News at a Glance". On April 8, Rune arrived in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and was featured on CBC TV. On May 5, he arrived in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

and on May 24, 2007, he arrived in

Corner Brook Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Rune's plan is to cycle to

L'Anse aux Meadows L'Anse aux Meadows ( lit. Meadows Cove) is an archaeological site, first excavated in the 1960s, of a Norse settlement dating to approximately 1,000 years ago. The site is located on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Ca ...

, where the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

first settled in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Rune's twin brother will be picking him up in a sailboat, and they will then sail to

, where Rune will continue his cycling adventure. Rune has been interviewed on

Conrad Schmidt Conrad Schmidt (born 1969) is a social activist, filmmaker and writer living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, who is best known for his role in founding the Work Less Party of British Columbia and for creating the internationally known World ...

's ''Pedal Revolutionary'' radio show in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, BC,

KOMO-TV KOMO-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Seattle, Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue-licensed Univision a ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, CBC Calgary and

Global Winnipeg CKND-DT (channel 9) is a television station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, part of the Global Television Network. The station is owned and operated by network parent Corus Entertainment, with studios on the 30th floor of 201 Portage in downtown ...

. Two television stations in Sudbury, Ontario also interviewed him. You can view these film clips on his web site. Several newspapers in the US, Canada and Norway have published stories about him. Rune kept a daily diary with photos, thank-you credits, videos and stories about his adventure, which he updated weekly.

External links

Rune Monstad's Website and Blog

Rune Monstad's Credits

Rune Monstad's Guestbook

Rune Monstad on Facebook

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monstad, Rune 1973 births Living people People from Tønsberg Sportspeople from Tønsberg Norwegian mountain bikers Sportspeople from Vestfold og Telemark