Matthew Fairbrother is young, very persistent and has a head full of exciting adventures, which he also carries out impressively. The New Zealander took part in the Enduro World Series at the age of just 18, but always managed the journey from one race location to another under his own steam in bikepacking style. Or he impressed last fall with his Summit-to-Sea project. Back then, the now 21-year-old biked from the 3751-metre-high Aiguille de la Grande Sassière in France to Finale Ligure on the Mediterranean - within 15 hours!

However, sometimes the New Zealander also has other fantasies on his mind. On 1 January 2025, he covered 425 kilometers by riding around a traffic circle for over 15 hours. On December 25, Fairbrother once again put one of his hilariously absurd ideas into practice and rode around the closed McDonald's drive thru in Rolleston, southwest of Christchurch, for 20:29 hours. This time he covered 503.62 kilometers and, according to Strava, a whopping 2270 meters of elevation gain. With around 2770 laps, the short lap should have a difference in altitude of around 80 centimeters - so it could work. However, Burger didn't have any after the effort.

He explains his motivation, or rather his reasons for completing the circuit, as follows: "My life is usually built around goals, purpose and processes. Big projects with a thousand moving parts, like logistics, terrain, weather, risk, schedules and always the need to think five steps ahead. Every now and then it's nice to strip all that back and do something just for the sake of it. Without meaning, without a goal to achieve. Just turn up and let my stubbornness do the work. What makes a challenge like this strangely appealing is its simplicity. Physically it is doable, mentally it is merciless. The same lap, the same impressions and a million different thoughts - keeping your inner peace becomes the real challenge. Somewhere in all the silliness is a controlled space to test patience, self-talk, boredom and resilience. Skills I will need when it really matters and the consequences are real. It'll probably take a while to process it all, but in the meantime I can't wait to get the tires back on the road!"

The fact that there is no YouTube video of Fairbrother's McDonalds tour is understandable. His filmed trail adventures are much more worthwhile.

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