Bike – Dunkeld, Scotland
Nov 6, 2023
A beautiful day for a bike ride with my 2 beautiful girls – Rhona and Molly.
click to see through Dean’s eyes: 
Extreme Dreams is a showcase for Dean Dunbar, blind adventurer
Two years after being registered blind, at the age of 29, Dean did a charity tandem skydive which changed his life.
Since then he has notched up almost 150 activities and challenges around the world, ranging from adventure racing to zorbing, and set over 25 world firsts in activities ranging from open-water swimming to stand up paddle-boarding.
Below are more than 100 of Dean’s challenges
Click on any challenge for the full write-up:
VIDEO FEATURES 
Here are the latest videos featuring Dean’s adventures: Click here to go to the 
channel
Great North Trail BLOG
Bike (GNT) – Innerwick to Lochan Learg Nan Lunn, Scotland
Jun 25, 2023
There was heavy rain forecast for today, so our plan was to get as far as we could on this Great North Trail section before having to turn around. (Also, I’ve had an enforced lay-off from paddling due to a neck injury, so thought this route, all on tarmac, would
LATEST ADVENTURES 
With David, Gerry, and Rhona on the Infinity support boat on my left, and the very enthusiastic and highly motivated Niall, (back to help guide me for the 2nd time), on my right in his OC1, (Ocean Canoe), Read more…
LATEST NEWS 
- September 26th – Amelia Hilton talks to Dean about sea swimming, cycling, and prone boarding on RNIB Connect Radio. Read more HERE
- September 16th – Dean & Rhona were back for yet another Lamlash Splash. It was rather lumpy this time! Read more HERE
- September 9th – Dean & Rhona had a lot of fun at the Beadnell Belta. Read more HERE
- September 2nd – Along with a great support team of Niall, Rhona, David, & Gerry, Dean had another go at the North Channel crossing. Read more HERE
- September – As part of RNIB Connect Radio’s 20thanniversary, Amelia Hilton had her first ever prone board experience with Dean on The Blind Leading series. Read more HERE
- July 29th – Along with Amy, Lindsay and James, Dean took part in the Moray Firth Challenge. Read more HERE
- June 25th – Climbing hills and dodging storms on the Great North Trail. Read more HERE
- June 11th – Loch Venachar SUP & Prone race. Read more HERE
- May 18th – Dean & Rhona took another nibble out of the Great North Trail, but this was not a good map-reading day. Read more HERE
- April 15th – Dean took on his first prone race of the year, (and he wasn’t the only prone paddler there!) Read more HERE
- December 21st – Dean & Rhona took part in the Adaptive Riders Collective fundraising 24 hour bike relay at Aberfoyle. Read more HERE.
- September 17th – Dean was back for his 6th Lamlash Splash, with Rhona guiding him for the 2nd time. CLICK HERE
- September 10th – With the support of a great team, Dean attempted to cross the North Channel on his proneboard. CLICK HERE
- July 30th – With the help of his friend, Piotr, Dean took part in the Moray Firth Sea Kayak Challenge. CLICK HERE
- June 18th – Dean teamed up with fellow prone paddlers James Fletcher & Caorann Fosbrooke for a 16km sea paddle in some very challenging conditions. CLICK HERE
- March 27th – Dean entered his first race on a proneboard. How did he get on – CLICK HERE.
- July 25th – With the help of an amazing team, Dean took on the mighty Loch Awe on his prone. CLICK HERE
- May 22/23 – Dean took on another one of his long awaited adventures. (He’d been waiting for over 30 years!) CLICK HERE
- March 31st – Dean talks about some of his adventures on episode 42 of the Always Another Adventure podcast, hosted by Simon Willis. CLICK HERE
- March 22nd – Dean did an online Q&A session with the wonderful pupils from Dubeg Primary School about how his blindness affects both his daily life and his adventures.
- March 16th – Dean was on the Kaye Adams Programme on BBC Radio Scotland. CLICK HERE
- March 11th – A bumper 2hr Adventure Show including a couple of pieces in which Dean takes Patrick Winterton porneboarding before Patrick takes Dean wing foil boarding. Now available to watch again on the BBC iPlayer.
- March 6th – Graeme Ogston of BBC News wrote about Dean’s close call towards the end of last year. CLICK HERE
- December 11th – Dean did a short online talk for the Water Skills Academy.
- November 11th – Dean did a short online talk for the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.
- August – Dean was delighted to be invited to be part of the DofE Scotland Gold Award video CLICK HERE
- July 24th – Dean took on one of his 2020 adventures. Read all about it HERE.
- June 22nd – Grant Parker, at “A Broken World” podcast, chats to Dean about his life, adventures, and love of adrenaline. CLICK HERE
- June – Dean was chuffed to be included in the Royal Scottish Geographical Society’s “Inspiring People At Home” project. CLICK HERE
- May 23rd – Dean was interviewed by Jon Gericke for Sport Trax on SAfm. CLICK HERE.
- Due to COVID-19 all of Dean’s talks planned for the Spring and Summer of 2020 have been postponed. New talks will be posted when confirmed.
- January 25th – Dean & Rhona were back at the Ice Factor for some more indoor ice climbing. Read more HERE.
- October 19th – Dean did his “SUP to St Kilda” talk at the Tullynessle Hall in Aberdeenshire.
- September 21st – Dean & Rhona swam together in the Lamlash Splash. This was the first time Rhona had guided Dean in a swimming event. Read more HERE.
- September – Dean and Patrick Winterton had their Big Challenge planned, but things didn’t quite go to plan. Read more HERE
- July – Dean is chuffed to nuts to be included in the Palm 40th Celebrations SUP video. Watch it HERE
- June 21st – Read how a trip to find the midnight sun in Scotland, turned into the 3 Lochs Challenge.
- June 15th – Dean took journalist Gayle Ritchie out for a prone boarding session. Read more HERE.
- June 7th-9th – Dean and Rhona joined the Nairn Academy Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award group on their final training SUP expedition weekend. CLICK HERE.
- May 27th – Dean & Rhona rode Europe’s longest, and the world’s fastest zipwire. Click HERE.
- March 2nd – Dean did his first mountain bike trail blue route. Blind and daft? CLICK HERE.
- March 1st – Dean was one of the speakers at the Braemar Mountain Festival.
- February 26th – Dean & Rhona spent the day with the wonderful folk at Craggan Outdoors, doing some rock climbing and archery.
SPONSORS
These sponsors have been a tremendous help in supplying kit and support for my challenges.
PUBLIC SPEAKING
Having taken on almost 100 challenges around the world and set over 25 world firsts, Dean has a large repertoire to draw upon. Whether it be talking about becoming the first person to abseil the UK’s highest waterfall, or swim the UK’s highest loch, or being the first registered blind person to stand up paddle-board from the Scilly Isles to Cornwall, or bungee jump from a helicopter, Dean has many experiences to share.
First person in the world:
- Prone-boarding. UK’s longest freshwater lake/loch – 2021
- Stand Up Paddleboard, (SUP), to the archipelago of St Kilda, with Patrick Winterton – 2017
- Stand Up Paddleboard, (SUP), around the Isle of Bute, with Allistair Swinsco – 2016
- Stand Up Paddleboard, (SUP), the longest lakes of Scotland, England, and Wales, with Ian Cormack & Allistair Swinsco – 2016
- Stand Up Paddleboard, (SUP), the 150km long Argyll Sea Kayak Trail, with Allistair Swinsco & Ian Cormack – 2016
- Stand Up Paddle-board, (SUP), UK’s longest freshwater lake/loch – 2015
- Stand Up Paddle-board, (SUP), 50km from the Isles of Scilly to the UK mainland on an inflatable SUP, with Carl Sawyer – 2015
- Stand Up Paddle-board, (SUP), around the island of Kerrera, with Cathy Winterton – 2015
- Stand Up Paddle-board, (SUP), the UK’s highest loch, Loch Etchachan – 2014
- Speed ride two-up on 1 set of skis – with Ueli Kestenholz – 2014
- Swim the UK’s highest loch/lake – 2012
- Aquaseil the UK’s highest waterfall – with Ben Starkie & Graeme Reid – 2009
- Hydrospeed the full length of Scotland’s longest river – with Rhona – 2007
First blind person in the world:
- Stand Up Paddle-board, (SUP), 92km non-stop Great Glen Paddle Challenge – 2016
- Stand Up Paddle-board, (SUP), 50km from the Isles of Scilly to the UK mainland – 2015
- Flyboard – 2015
- Stand Up Paddle-board, (SUP), the full 92km of the Caledonian Canal – 2014
- Swim across the wonderful Firth of the Forth – 2014
- Stand Up Paddle-board, (SUP), Loch Tay, solo – 2014
- Participate in the exhausting Oban Sea Kayak Race – with Patrick Winterton – 2012
- Swim across the mighty Corryvreckan Gulf – 2011
- Traverse Sa Fosca, (1 of the world’s top 10 canyons) – 2010
- Set a Thundercat powerboat record around the Isle of Wight – 2006
- Participate in the gruelling 5 day Hebridean Challenge Adventure Race – 2005
- Be thrown by a Human Catapult – 2002
- White water sledge the world’s highest commercially rafted waterfall – 2001
- Bungee jump from a helicopter – 2000
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