The following are the guidelines originally received from Guinness:

 

• The same commercially available, unmodified bicycle must be used throughout the attempt. Repairs, such as tire replacement and chain replacement, etc. can be made but the frame must remain the same. If the bicycle is damaged beyond repair, video and photo evidence and an explanation of what happened must be submitted. It is up to Guinness World Records to decide if the reason is accepted.

• Any route can be taken during the attempt.

• There is no minimum daily distance but participant must cycle unaided. This means there must be no slipstreaming or drafting behind other riders or vehicles at any time.

• The rider must ride for the complete year (365 days) from start to finish - i.e. should a rider not be able to go on for whatever reason, he/she may not be replaced.

• The cyclist may be followed by a support vehicle but at no time between the start and finish of the journey may the participant or his/her bicycle be transported by this vehicle. If any of the support vehicles must travel in front of the cyclist they must be at least three vehicle lengths in front.

• The name of the organisation, company or person(s) making the attempt must be given, along with the date and place.

• The event must take place in a public place or in a venue open to public inspection.
  Accurate professional equipment e.g. GPS equipment (and associated printout) must be used and .kml files (on a disc or USB flash drive) must be sent in as part of the evidence required. Sending in any other type of file will ultimately delay the outcome of your claim or lead to its rejection.

• The event is continuous. The clock does not stop. One year means a complete 12-month cycle including rest breaks. For example, if the event starts at 12 noon on January 1st, it must finish at 12 noon the following January 1st.

• The participant may take as many breaks as he/she wishes, but the clock must not stop at any time for any reason.

• Details of how the distances will be calculated must be given before the attempt starts so the GWR can confirm these measurements are acceptable.

• Any attempt must take place in view of the public, wherever possible, and a book made available for independent witnesses to sign.

• Log book - This book should give an adequate description of the event and full details of the participant(s) daily/overall performance. It must be clear from the book the exact start and finish points of each leg of the attempt, the exact start and finish times and calculation of daily and total distances traveled. All rest breaks or stoppages for whatever reason must also be fully detailed in the log.

 

Questions and answers between Guinness and myself at various times before and after the beginning of the attempt:

 

• Q. 'What does 'unmodified' bicycle mean? Is that the frame? Can accessories be added to the bike? Can mudguards, etc. be fitted? Can items, e.g. handlebars, saddle, chain, etc. be upgraded, if commercially available?' A. You may use commercially available accessories to modify the bike, as long as they are the kind of accessories available to anybody (i.e. no specially commissioned accessories).

• Q. 'If the bicycle is damaged beyond repair, and the reason is accepted, can a new bike be used? Must it be the exact same make/model of bike? If the reason is not accepted, what happens?' A. A new bicycle may be used, but it must be the same make and model. If the reason for replacement is not accepted, the claim will be rejected.

• Q. 'If being overtaken by vehicles there may be a few second of slipstreaming, though not intentional. Is this allowed? What happens if slipstreaming happens? Will the whole attempt be cancelled, or will the daily distance just for that day be rejected? Can another cyclist ride beside me?' A. Brief and unintentional slipstreaming is allowed. A cyclist may ride beside you.

• Q. 'What happens if the bike breaks down at 100 miles and I have to get in the support vehicle to get home? Does this mean that the whole attempt is rejected, or the daily mileage, or would the 100 miles still count?' A. You would have to restart the journey at the point where the breakdown occurred. You could drive from your starting point to the point where the breakdown occurred, and resume the journey by bicycle from that point.

• Q. 'Could I travel somewhere with my bike, e.g. the train or in a car, and then start a bike leg from wherever I have travelled to?' A. If the use of other forms of transport is unavoidable (for example, crossing an ocean) then this is permitted, but this part of the journey would not count towards the record. Only distance covered whilst cycling is counted.

• Q. 'Please give an example of 'accurate professional equipment'. Would a Garmin Forerunner 920XT count as accurate professional equipment?' A. Any GPS device that generates evidence of route taken and mileage (as a printout, and as .kml files) may be used. If the Garmin Forerunner 920XT uses Garmin Connect, then this will be acceptable.

• Q. 'It states that "all rest breaks or stoppages for whatever reason must also be fully detailed in the log.". Does this include toilet stops? Is it just for stops within each daily leg? I.e. I don't need to log that I'm sleeping overnight. Should the GPS be paused during breaks?' A. You should log all stops, including toilet stops. You must give details of start and finish points, start and finish times, and daily mileage. You should not pause the GPS during breaks – the printout will show both “moving time” and “elapsed time”.

• Q. 'So I must film every leg of the journey in its entirety, is that correct? Or does someone need to film me? Can I have a camera on my helmet, or do I need to have the camera on the bike to film me? Can the supporting letter be replaced by the log book that I need to keep or does it have to be a separate document?' A. You don’t need to film the entire journey, but it would be good to film the beginning and end points, as well as the point where the current record is broken. You may also like to fil yourself passing by significant or interesting places or landmarks. It is up to you whether you use a helmeted-mounted or bicycle-mounted camera. You may wish to alternate – it is nice to have footage of the rider.

• Q. 'If I am accompanied by another cyclist for an entire leg, can they be witness to the whole leg, or do they need to fill in the log book every so often? If so, what frequency/distance do they need to fill in the log book?' A. Your witnesses should fill in the witness book – the log book is a different document, to be completed by you. The witness book may be completed at the end of each leg, with the following information: a) Date & Time; b) Location; c) Name; d) Signature. The witness should provide the distance for which they rode with you.

• Q. Do I need to start on 1 Jan, or can I start on any date? A. You can start on any date.

• Q. It says that "any route is acceptable"; does that mean that I can do e.g. 100 miles in a loop from home and return home the same day? I just have to start and finish each leg from the same point? A. You may cycle X number of miles each day and return home afterwards. Please ensure that, as per the Guidelines, you do record all your mileage by GPS tracker.

• Q. Can I take part in cycling events during the attempt? For example the cycling part of an ironman triathlon? A. This is at your discretion. You can include the distance cycled during the triathlon as long as we receive the evidence for it.

• Q. What happens if my bike is stolen? A. In this case we would ask for a police report confirming the theft, and upon receipt of this proof we would allow a replacement to be purchased.

• Q. Can this record be attempted on a recumbent bicycle? A. This record must be attempted on a standard bicycle.

• Q. Do I have to start the next day's ride from the location that I finished the previous day's ride? A. You do not have to start from the same place as you stopped the previous day - the route is up to you. If you wish to continue the disrupted ride the same day, you would have to return to the place you broke down and resume that day's cycling. When we say you do not have to start from the same point every day, this is because we realize that people will cycle several different loops as part of this attempt, so we do not insist you cycle the same loop (with the same start and end point) each day.

• Q. Just to clarify - if I want to, I could cycle from home in an easterly direction for 100 miles, and then be driven back home, and start again from there the next day? E.g. cycle from Luton to Norfolk, and then drive back to Luton to start again the next day? Or would I have to start from Norfolk? Today it was too dangerous to continue my ride, due to the wind, so I am starting the ride tomorrow from that same place, but is that really necessary? A. You can be driven back home - that would not be against the rules. Your GPS files should show the speed you have traveled at, so we can see that you were cycling and not driving.