Rune Monstad (born April 14, 1973), also known as ''The Viking Biker'' and "Dr Monstar", is a Norwegian

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

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 biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

from 2005 to 2010. Born in

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, Rune went to

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

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 considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

in December 2005, then cycled through

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and then across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In November 2006, Rune started his trip to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, cycling through

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

, Congo,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. 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 sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

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. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, he was invited to give a talk about winter cycling 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 Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

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 ...

, 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 format), tabloid newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is owned by The Klein Group circa 2024.Following its acquisition of Sun Media, opinion plus an emphasis on local news stories, and ex ...

and

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Free Press'' (or FP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press''; previously known as the ''Winnipeg Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, natio ...

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 The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1947, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at the Centennial Concert Hall. Including travelling performances, the WSO presents an average of ...

's ''Northern Landscape'' concert and was introduced on stage by the conductor of the symphony,

Alexander Mickelthwate Alexander Mickelthwate (born 2 June 1970 in Frankfurt, West Germany) is a German-born conductor who is the current music director and principal conductor of Oklahoma City Philharmonic. Early life and education He is one of three sons in his fam ...

. The Norwegian Canadian Club of Winnipeg hosted a display in the lobby of the

Centennial Concert Hall Centennial Concert Hall is a 2,305-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 o ...

. 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 i ...

on March 13 and in

Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie may refer to: People * Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Native American tribe in Michigan Places * Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada ** Sault Ste. Marie (federal electoral district), a Canadian federal electora ...

on March 23. He arrived in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

on March 27.

CTV Northern Ontario CTV Northern Ontario, formerly known as MCTV, is a system of four television stations in Northern Ontario, Canada, owned and operated by the CTV Television Network, a division of Bell Media. These stations are: * CICI-TV - Greater Sudbury (fl ...

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 is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

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

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

and on May 24, 2007, he arrived in

Corner Brook Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,316 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 Labrado ...

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

. Rune's plan is to cycle to

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

, where the

Vikings Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

first settled in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. 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'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 cit ...

, BC,

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

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, CBC Calgary and Global Winnipeg. 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