© 2026
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Irish cyclists traveling the globe discuss journey while in Albany

Cyclists from Ireland, Mark Graham and Ellie O'Byrne, who traveling the globe, stop in studio at WAMC in Albany on Monday, June 22, 2026, to discuss their journey.
Maggie MacCallum
/
WAMC
Cyclists from Ireland, Mark Graham and Ellie O'Byrne, who traveling the globe, stop in studio at WAMC in Albany on Monday, June 22, 2026, to discuss their journey.

Two Irish Cyclists stopped in Albany as they circumnavigate the world.

Ellie O'Byrne and Mark Graham left the southern coast of Ireland in February 2025 and have since traversed over 17,000 miles of diverse terrain around the world.

O'Byrne says she and Graham see this trip as a "mid-life" gap year.

"While all my friends were off backpacking and hiking around and discovering themselves when they were on gap years. I was, you know, looking after babies and then running a business," O'Byrne said.

Graham and O'Byrne say some of the most meaningful experiences in the US have been the interactions.

"People are... It's the level of trust that people have," O'Byrne said.

Graham says they are both writers and document their experiences on their Substack, Spoke Yokes.

"So, we try not to let the writing or the photographing of things take over what we're doing, and I think we've been doing a better job on that, because of our Substack," Graham said.

After dropping down to New York City, the two will pedal up through New England as they finish their journey over the next few months.

MacCallum is an intern in the WAMC newsroom for the summer of 2026.