Kate Leeming
Joined Atlas Obscura in 2026
Dr. Kate Leeming OAM - bio
As an explorer/adventurer, Kate has so far pedalled 106,000km - more than 2.5X the
Earth’s circumference - and attained several world firsts. Her major journeys include the
Trans-Siberian Cycle Expedition, 13,400km from St Petersburg to Vladivostok, the
25,000km Great Australian Cycle Expedition and Breaking the Cycle in Africa -
22,000km from Senegal to Somalia.
Kate’s long term project, Breaking the Cycle South Pole, will be the first bicycle crossing
of the Antarctic continent via the South Pole. In preparation she has completed five polar
training expeditions and a preparatory expedition - in polar conditions, on sand or at
altitude - on all seven continents.
Kate’s latest expedition, 9001km following the great rivers of Central Asia, ended in the
Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan where she discovered the true source of Central Asia’s
greatest river, the Oxus, solving a 3000 year mystery.
Kate always uses her expeditions to make a difference. She has set up Breaking the Cycle Education to help prepare our future leaders to make informed decisions to create a better
world, and is currently creating the Breaking the Cycle Foundation to help alleviate extreme poverty, support equality and care for the environment. The foundation will also serve to foster global citizens with the power to be brave and ignite positive action within themselves and others through immersive expeditions & experience.
A Fellow of both The Explorers Club and the Royal Geographical Society, Kate’s most significant awards include an Honorary Doctor of Education degree (The
University of Western Australia, 2016), a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM, 2023)
and Australian Geographic’s prestigious Spirit of Adventure Award (2023)
