Autism-friendly events in the North East this Christmas
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Fundraising story
Meet the North East biker braving the Arctic's frozen frontier for NEAS
A Newcastle biker will ride across one of Earth’s last frontiers this month, in the latest leg of an epic challenge raising money for causes close to his heart.
37-year-old dad-of-two Gordon Stuart, also known as The Arctic Rider, will spend part of his summer traversing mountains, fording streams swollen by melting snow, and dodging man-eating polar bears as he crosses Greenland, with funds raised on this adventure going towards the North East Autism Society.
The adventure will be the seventh time Gordon has taken on the inhospitable climates and rugged terrain of the far north, in his bid to cross the Arctic Circle from every possible country.
Gordon started the challenge in 2011 to fundraise for a brain injury charity that had supported his brother.
He set out with the goal of riding through the Arctic Circle in Norway, but a motorcycle accident in Sweden cut the journey short.
“In 2014 I tried again and managed this time to make it right the way to Nordkapp, which is the most northerly point in Europe,” Gordon said.
“I’d been planning this trip for five years,” He added. “And when you’ve been building something up to something for so long, and you actually complete it, I felt really empty. I knew I wanted to do something different.”
It was the premature birth of his daughter weeks later, and the support the family received from another charity that inspired Gordon to keep the challenge going and fundraise for more good causes.
Gordon added: “I probably never thought in 2014 that 12 years later I’d be on the cusp of my seventh arctic ride.”
Since then, Gordon has reached the Arctic in Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Canada, and Alaska, leaving just Russia and Greenland to go, each presenting some unique obstacles.
“Obviously Russia is out for the foreseeable future, and then when I was planning this trip, I found out that motorcycles have actually been banned in Greenland since 1970.”
Instead, Gordon will take on Greenland’s wilderness on four wheels, using a 500cc ATV to cross the harsh landscape between the coastal city of Sisimiut, and the edge of the Greenland ice sheet, the second largest body of ice in the world.
Gordon said:
“It’s just exposed, bare landscape. One of the last frontiers on earth. It hasn’t been massively traversed, so there’s going to be plenty of challenging terrain to get over.”
The ATV means a rougher ride over bumpy ground, and Gordon, who got plenty of off-road biking experience through Iceland, Canada, and Alaska, would still prefer his trusty bike.
“I definitely would feel more comfortable on the motorbike, but this is my only option so I’m going to have to give it a go,” he added.
With no GPS signal, and minimal markers along his route, means that Gordon will also have to brush up on skills he learned as a navigator on ships in the Royal Navy Reserves.
As well as the landscape, wildlife also poses significant risk, and Gordon will need to use hikers shelters to stay safe overnight as he crosses the wilderness.
“There’s a genuine challenge with polar bears, because this is their season to hunt and get themselves padded up for next winter, and they’re one of two animals in the world that actively hunt humans.
“That’s one of the things where I’m quite concerned, I’m going to have to be on my toes around that.”
Now a full time IT professional at software company Sage, Gordon balances his adventures with work and his family life, and has just a week to complete the planned route.
“A contact I’ve got over there thinks the ride’s going to take about five days,” Gordon said.
“But we’ve got a couple of contingency days just in case the weather turns, or in case there’s any delays with the flights.
“Because it’s so far north, the weather can change on a sixpence even in the summer.”
As all his rides are completed solo, isolation is the biggest challenge Gordon faces, and where he draws the most strength from his family, and the causes he supports through the rides.
“This time with the North East Autism Society, both my children are autistic and it’s honestly like Popeye with spinach. I just have to keep going,” Gordon said.
“When you’ve got autistic people in your life and you see the challenges they go through every day, it’s no joke.
“It’s genuinely really important to me to be able to support something on a local level, knowing it’s going to help autistic people like my children. There couldn’t be a better charity to support in my opinion.”
As much as they’ve inspired his efforts, Gordon also hopes these challenges can inspire his children one day.
“With the way autism can be particularly challenging with the way the world’s set up, I want to show them that even when things are hard, you can still go and achieve your dreams and ambitions.”
Despite the risks and challenges he faces, Gordon is keen to set out for Greenland and complete another location for the Arctic challenge, which he documents on social media and YouTube under the name The Arctic Rider.
Gordon said: “There’s so few people in the world who have ever actually been to Greenland.
“I’m looking forward to the scenery, I’m looking forward to the people, I’m looking forward to seeing what the culture’s like over there, and I’m looking forward to making it to that ice cap and getting it done.”
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