Update – We have our Winner!
Keith and I were thrilled with the quantity and quality of entries for the competition to win Keith’s bike, some Alpkit gear, and a year’s subscription to Komoot. Thank you to everyone who entered, and to those companies for their support. And, of course, thank you to Keith!
Keith in particular commented on the generosity of spirit and the adventurous nature of the ideas – and these helped frame his decision of the winner.
Obviously with only one bike available, there could only be one winner (sadly). Please remember though that you are ALL winners to an extent in that you have shown to yourselves that you have an idea for adventure, you have the appetite, and all you need to do now is get out there and do it…
And there is another way in which there can be more than one winner… Enter Matt:
“Hi, My pitch is to spend a week cycling from Charing Cross to anywhere in the UK mainland to deliver the bike for its next adventure. Most of my adventure cycling ideas end up being sanitised into something with shorter distances, nice hotels and good pubs. This would force me into doing something more spontaneous and challenging. I would add in a side quest each day, which could include a day riding without any maps, a day spending less than £5, a day where I find a non league football match to watch, a day where I find a brewery to get a beer to toast the end of the ride, and a day or two where I let Al’s Twitter followers decide what I do. I’m not sure if I actually want you to pick this idea or not, but love the idea and the thoughts it prompts.”
Both Keith and I LOVED the idea of Matt having an adventure to deliver a bike to someone for their adventure. So we chose Matt.
But who would he deliver the bike to?
Keith was drawn to those entries that were full of adventurous spirit, but which would genuinely benefit from his bike. After much deliberation, he chose Lydia’s idea:
“Hello! :) first-time bike adventurer here! In January I will be taking on the Trans-Norte Mexico route with one of my close friends, Amy. Amy is a cycling superstar with various bike adventures behind her. I, on the other hand, haven’t ridden a bike since I was about 15 years old… I’m now 25! It does seem a bit crazy that the 2000-ish kilometre bikepacking route across northern Mexico will be my first cycling adventure, but when Amy asked me if I’d like to go with her, my dad’s famous phrase popped into my head; “say yes to everything”. So I did!
Despite not owning a bike or even knowing if I can still ride one, I have agreed to take on this challenge, one in which I hope will get me hooked on the bike packing lifestyle like Amy. I still don’t own a bike, and to be honest my knowledge of bikes is extremely minimal.
If I were to win this bike, I’ll give her a name and document our journey together on TikTok, hopefully to give others some proof that you don’t need to know everything about bikepacking, or bikes, or cycling, to take on big, exciting adventures and explore this beautiful planet we call home!!”
It was very hard to narrow down the entries, so we then decided to channel a bit more of our inner-Matt and try to get someone else involved too. Lydia’s adventure is this January. Then next summer a teenager who seems full of adventurous spirit but has been having to face more than his fair share of life’s ups and downs and knocks and struggles is planning an adventure too.
Dominic and two friends will bikepack The Hebridean Way completely unsupported. 185 miles, 10 islands, 6 causeways, 2 ferries (+ 2 ferries to get to the islands and then back to mainland). All three of these lads are epic and they have worked so hard to enable this expedition to happen. They have all completed outdoor first aid training, they have asked our local mountain rescue to provide a training event for them to learn how to manage in an emergency situation and all of them volunteer in our local cycle hub, where they work alongside bike mechanics, learning bike maintenance.
He also helps with Kitsquad, the UK’s only nationwide scheme that supplies donated secondhand outdoor adventure gear to people living in poverty. He is often found in the warehouse helping to sort through donations.
Keith thought it would be brilliant for Dominic to get to use the bike too. We don’t know how Lydia will get the bike to Dominic (I’m sensing that might be Matt’s job… ?), but I hope that you feel these are good choices.
And then, after Dominic’s adventure, passing it on again through Kitsquad feels like the perfect thing to do.
Incidentally, if you have any spare or unused adventure-related kit, please do send it to Kitsquad so that other people can enjoy adventures with them.
I will keep everyone posted with how all these adventures unfold.
I’m sorry if you didn’t win, but good luck with all of your adventures!
I recently received a fantastic email from a gentleman called Keith Stock.
He wrote:
“I have a Chas Roberts Rough Stuff bike which I would like to give away. Chas made the bike himself for me just before he retired. [It is a perfect bike for adventures – Al]
My plan was to tour all around Europe when I retired.
A healthy dose of cancer, 6 or 7 knee operations, and old age have scuppered my plans. So the bike has just been gathering dust for a while.
I wonder if you might be interested in running a competition with the bike as a prize, perhaps with the simple condition that a blog post be written afterwards? To be sure, I’d love to read about who gets it and where the bike ends up.
What do you think?
Thanks so much,
Keith”
What a generous and kind idea!
I love the idea of someone being gifted the opportunity to have a fantastic adventure, to take up the reins and head off on an adventurous bicycle journey with the only stipulation being to tell Keith (and me, and all of us) about the experience. (It’s an idea we’ve shamelessly pinched from Tom Allen, by the way…)
What’s included
- Chas Roberts Rough Stuff/Expedition bike (images below)
The bike is designed and built to be able to ride around the world, and to be able to be fixed anywhere in the world. It’s the bike of choice for legendary cycle tourers Josie Dew and Bettina Selby. It could do with a full service. The standover height is about 79cm. There is room for manoeuvre in the saddle height so I can’t see why a woman shouldn’t use it perfectly well. It was built in 2011. Chas Roberts himself made the frame. The bike won best touring bike category at the Bespoke Bike show in 2012. It is a bit heavy (16kg) but built with a Shimano XT group. The handlebars and stem can be changed to drops/butterfly or moustache if wanted.
- Alpkit are also generously offering:
- A free year’s subscription to komoot Premium to solve all your navigation challenges. (Worth £60)
- And I’ll throw in my cycle touring books, Moods of Future Joys and Thunder and Sunshine, plus whichever is more relevant for the winning adventure, Microadventures or Grand Adventures.
What’s not included
- Spirit of adventure (bring your own)
- Any guarantee about what will happen!
The Rules
Because there is just one bike, we’re obliged to run a competition of sorts to choose who gets it. The rules are very simple:
- Just tell Keith, me and the rest of the community here about the plans you’ve got for it. Anything at all.
- Do this by posting your ideas in the comments section of this post.
- Finally, share this article (social media buttons below) to spread the word and make things fair.
The terms and conditions are equally simple:
- Keith and I will choose the winner, with no obligation to explain our choice. If it captures the imagination, it wins!
- You’ll send me a write-up and photos of your trip (to be published on this blog). Alpkit may also choose to feature your adventure in their Outpost magazine.
- You’ll pass on all the gear to somebody else (for free) when you no longer need it, so that someone else can benefit and have an adventure.
- Keith can hand over the bike at Waterloo or Charing Cross Station.
- Keith will pay for a full bike fit at Cyclefit, London, up to the value of £400. And only there, because they are the best.
- The bike is a gift, taken as seen.
Adventures mean different things to different people. And the ‘best adventure’ is entirely subjective! It is not necessarily the furthest, the toughest, the longest, or the fastest. Go with your heart, and use your imagination!
The deadline is breakfast time on Monday October 2nd, 2023.
And if you don’t win, remember that you’re still a winner — because you now know there’s an adventure that you are dreaming of and that you’re motivated to make it happen. No more excuses!
Good luck!
I have a goal of cycling around Ireland, a chance for me to show off the incredible nature and culture of Ireland and also showcase why it is important to protect natural spaces and the impacts we humans have had on these places.
Dear Keith and Al, what a wonderful competition. So here’s my idea and it’s something I’ve been planning since I discovered bikepacking during Covid and also discovered Alpkit and the great gear (on a friends recommendation).
In a nutshell it’s the “Tour d’Alpkit”; a ride across the UK to visit all of their stores and see the best of the UK on and off road. You can view the current plan here on my komoot profile: https://www.komoot.com/collection/1359102/-tour-d-alpkit
I’ve learnt that to be at my best I should spend time in the outdoors, be that walking, cycling or gardening at home.
As a school teacher this is a plan I’d like to execute during the summer holiday and would love to take my 12 year old daughter on. We both love cycling and it would be amazing to show her more of the country and spend some quality time with her before she’s too grown and cool to want to hang out with her Dad!
Hi Alastair and Keith,
What an awesome idea!
I hope this is allowed but I am entering on behalf of someone else .
I fell in love with cycle touring last year when I spontaneously decided to cycle the length of England. This ignited a fire in me and opened the door to the whole world and community that is bike travel. Since then I have cycled the length of New Zealand and done some smaller overnighters.
The only thing my trips are missing is company. The alone time is great and very fulfilling but having someone else to travel with would bring an element of fun I just can’t seem to muster with me myself and I.
But… I have finally convinced one of my friends to join me on my next adventure, Tran Mexico Norte!! Lydia and I will be setting off in January after I have finished the Baja Divide and I cannot wait! Only problem is Lydia has never done anything like this and does not even own a bike…
I am a believer that you shouldn’t let a lack of fancy equipment hold you back on an adventure so we have been scouring all the usual second hand sites. But with Lydia’s minimal bike knowledge and small budget and
me currently working in Australia to save for the trip it’s proving to be the first big challenge of our adventure!
To win this competition would mean Lydia could get fully set up on an incredible bike and therefore have no excuses not to join me in Mexico in January (). Lydia is brave, determined and loves to travel and I just know that once she has experienced what bike life has to offer she will be hooked and I will have a bike buddy for life.
Thank you for reading and like you said even if we don’t win we will still find a way to do this trip somehow and I will have won a bike friend
Wow, what a beautiful and classic bike!
Here’s my adventure plan, the inspiration for which comes from a couple of previous wacky challenges that I cobbled together…
A ‘straight-line’ crossing of north Donegal, visiting the highest points on each peninsula (on foot) and cycling, rafting and taking ferries on the dangerous bits (I’m not that daft!) on the wet & dry bits in-between; wild camping in some stunningly wild and beautiful locations.
(The straight-line theme is just a bit of fun to see how close in relative terms I can travel along a line between two points on the map. It’s provided some incredible Doorstep Adventures for me in the past!)
The adventure would start at Magilligan Point in Northern Ireland (I’d cycle there from my home in Ballymoney, County Antrim – a little bit further east), and take the ferry across the horribly tidal Lough Foyle and international border to Greencastle. From there I’d cycle across the gorgeous Inishowen Peninsula, climbing Slieve Snaght (its highest summit and a wild and remote peak) en-route. Red cheeks and quite a bit of puffing and panting are guaranteed over this very hilly bit of countryside, which has a famous circuit around its perimeter for touring cyclists: The Inishowen 100.
If I told you that many years ago on a previous tour I pulled the back wheel right out of the frame on the climb up to Mamore Gap, you might get some idea of just how hilly it is…
From there, another ferry would take me across the much wider and even more horribly dangerously fjord of Lough Swilly to Rathmullan, where I’d follow the famous Flight of the Earls and cycle up to Ballymastocker Bay, taking in the highest point off the side of the route on the way up there.
(I don’t think the Flight of the Earls involved any bicycling, btw)
From there, I’d paddle across the slightly less horrible but no less dangerously tidal Mulroy Bay on a packraft that I’ve begged, borrowed or stolen, arriving on the painfully gorgeous Rosguill Peninsula; home of Murder Hole Beach.
Here on Boyeeghter Bay – its proper name – everything is super-sized, making humans who visit feel very small indeed. The mountain directly behind the beach offers one of the best views in all of Ireland, following a particularly steep climb up to its summit from the crashing waves below!
From Rosguill, its an incredibly scenic pedal round the many inlets of Sheephaven Bay, past Doe Castle lookout and Ards Forest Park, to Marble Hill Strand and Harry’s Hole (I’ll be sure to pack chamois cream).
Harry’s Hole may just be one of the best places to go swimming on the entire Irish coastline, with crystal-clear water, and I’d ask some of the locals to join me in a leap off the rocks there!
North of Marble Hill are the precipitous battlements of Horn Head. An old coastguard lookout here, perched hundreds of feet above a really wild stretch of Atlantic Ocean, would be a perfect wild camp for the night. Despite its remoteness, the lighthouses of Tory Island and Fanad Head would keep me company as they blink through the darkness.
From here we need to cycle up to the Miner’s Track and climb Muckish; the highest mountain in this part of Donegal. This spectacular track – more akin to something you’d find in the Dolomites rather than Donegal – took miners up to access a peculiar band of soft sandstone amongst the diamond-hard quartzites, which they subsequently sent tumbling down the mountainside in chutes, to be used for building works locally. Their legacy – and the dizzying paths they built – has created one of the most exciting mountain days out in Ireland!
A lovely wild camp on the beach near Falcarragh just north of here and we’d have to make a decision – based on the weather – whether to take a ferry 10 miles offshore into the deep Atlantic to visit Tory Island – with the incredible natural battlements of Balor’s Fort, or keep on truckin’ west and south to Errigal, Queen of the Glens here and the highest mountain in all of Donegal.
If it’s Tory, then we can visit the cardinal points of the island on our bike, and take time to be thoroughly gobsmacked by the cliff architecture at Balor’s Fort.
If it’s Errigal (and why not do both if the fickle Atlantic weather permits!), I fancy a crack at its north ridge, which is a pretty good scramble! Errigal’s twin summits are linked by a kind of One Man’s Path which provides the most incredible 360 degree views on a clear day!
And from there – now deep in the mystical Gaeltacht of northwest Donegal – we’d be approaching journey’s end.
The logical place to finish would be by dipping a toe in the Atlantic at Carrickfinn, although on a good day it would be tempting to continue on south through the granite lochans of The Rosses to Burtonport. From here I could catch another ferry offshore to Arranmore Island.
Here, on the largest inhabited island off the coast of Ireland, we could finish our adventure with a cycling lap, visiting the lighthouse on the northwest point, before a final overnight camp, celebrating our remote position on one of the farthest margins of Europe!
So you might ask, “If you know so much about these places (and yes, I have visited some but not all of them), what’s adventurous about the trip you propose?”
Well, linking them together in a human-powered endeavour is one thing, for a start. Travelling across countryside always gives you a different feel and perspective than any other mode of travel, and walking and cycling is something that I’ve done to get to know places all around the world.
And this kind of a trip – where you are linking separate elements and activities into a semi-coherent whole (the ‘straight line’) – gives a completely different flavour to the entire endeavour. The individual pieces both link and relate to the whole in a way that individual visits to these places would not.
Wild camping too is an important element. Wild camping – like cycling – gives an intimate feel for the land you are lying on, and the weather that sweeps across it, in a way that no AirBnB or Glamping site can replicate!
And finally, the water that links the land here…
Crossing these bodies of water – that now separate but used to link societies on these peninsulas together – is another piece in the puzzle of deeply and genuinely tasting what this country is about.
The Atlantic spills into these bays – some of which penetrate the land for miles – twice a day, every day, bringing nutrients and the smell of fresh sea air deep into the landscape. Sampling them as part of the trip – by getting up close and personal with them – is as essential to the essence of this trip as the bicycle is to moving across the landscape.
Doing a tour across this land without crossing its inlets – some by paddling across; the more serious sections using larger boat services – would omit a primary flavour from the trip. The adventure would be so much less because of it.
So there you have it: Cycling the Line through the ancient Dalradian kingdom of Donegal; linking lough, shore, hill and mountain across multiple peninsulas and fjords: that’s what I’d like to do if I won the bike!
My first adventure would be to get the train to meet Keith, pick up the bike in London and bike pack my way back to Yorkshire
To win this would be amazing. After two decades of being in a relationship where I was not allowed to do anything, and going away on my own was restricted, I am finally free and living life again. Where would I go? Everywhere I could. I have a lot of catching up to do. I think I would load up my bike, lock the front door behind me and head west and see where the bike takes me!
What a generous gift from you and Keith. Thank you.
Thanks, Becky! Sounds like you would use it well.
Please can you give some more details about your plan?
Please can you give some more details about your plan for the adventure itself?
A great idea!
A great idea!
A great idea!
Please can you give some more details about your plan?
Wow, anything I suggest seems a little pedestrian after reading everybody else’s, and I would probably vote for one of them.
My plan is simple, I am due to move house in a weeks time, and I want to combine a couple of ideas:
I really want to do Sean Conways 496 challenge, but I don’t think I can do the running. But cycling on the other hand, makes it possible. Combine this with traveling every street of my new (very large village) and surrounding villages. Also I was inspired by the seven summits of my neighbourhood video in your last Shouting from the shed. From my new house I can see a few summits, including: the Malvern’s, Cotswold escarpment; Painswick Beacon, plus a few others. I could take the kids (they already have bikes) and explore the ‘peaks’. Beyond that only the adventure that is cycling on school drop offs and beyond.
All the best and good luck to everyone.
That’s a really nice idea.
Please can you explain the 496 challenge for people?
Hiya Alistsair and Keith. Got a pretty tame plan compared to others but it’s really straight out of the door. Using old OS maps from 1890-1940 I plan to ride from my house and visit some spots , and find things , old spa wells, old railway lines , bits of old Roman roads that are marked up, packhorse bridges and tree plantations just to see how immense they have become over the years . I’ll take in some proper railway heritage on the way and have some surprise finds . Not sure which way I’m headed out of the house yet , but I’ve got all my kit for a few nights away. I could go any direction from home and find some cool spots , Hadrian’s wall , rinblehead viaduct…. Old engineering and proper history . Might even hop on a train to get to places quicker , who knows , that’s the spirit of the adventure . Not far from home but miles away from everything
Hello Alastair,
My adventure has been underway for a couple of months now. I set off from Southeast England on my cycle tour (around the world perhaps – elements, health, pocket permitting). I’m currently in Greece heading towards Turkey. I’m a cycle touring noob, with limited technical skills, but appreciating the thrill of the ride and my newly found freedom. I keep a diary of my experiences on the road and I regularly post in the FB groups if Bicycle touring for beginners and Bicycle travellers. My bike is called Ulysses and is a trusty companion, however having looked at the above described specs of the bike built by Chas Roberts, I cannot help but contemplate the idea of finding a partner for Ulysses. I could call her Cassiopeia:) And although Ulysses is resilient enough, it would probably be a different matter to ride on a bike that is hand built and come with a background story. Perhaps the real thrill of my journey will start from Turkey onwards. I’m flying to Malaysia on the 15th of November to cycle through Southeast Asia and then head to Korea and Japan. I’m thinking of eventually writing a book. For the past 20 years I have worked looking after people with learning disabilities so naturally I’ve got a couple of charities of my choice that I’m intending to raise money for. I’m an adventurous soul by nature and the niche of my adventure will most likely be the numerous cultural encounters, tales from the road and anecdotes. I don’t shy away from challenges either. My journey is open ended and a lot can happen or intervene. Every new day I head into the world with new found enthusiasm. Naturally I’m also looking for a lot of encouragement and support on this journey of mine.
This was a plan from my youth, that’ll probably never do – so don’t enter me.
An adventure race between 2 points in the UK, either coast to coast or John O Groats to Lands End. The catch? You only have X amount of money (maybe £100) to kit yourself out for the trip, and you can’t have friends drive you anywhere.
Cue all sorts of train hopping schenanegans and hiking / sleeping rough.
Could this be modified for a bike race? I feel there’s almost more danger on a bike, but as a group absolutely this could be done. I seem to recall some guy once rode around the entire world on his bike from his shed!
They say adventures can start when you walk out of your door, and that could be true in this case, as I like just a mile or so from the end of the Roman Wall and the Hadrian Cycleway stretches past my house.
The first stage would be to follow the route of the Roman Wall west, through the rolling fields and rugged moorland of Northumberland and Cumbria until I reach Bowness-on-Solway. But that’s just one C2C route. One of the most renowned routes is the one Wainwright took from St Bee’s to Robin Hood’s Bay. So my second stage would be to cycle south along the Cumbrian coastline to St Bee’s, and then turn inland and follow a second coast to coast route across the Pennines and North York Moors until I reach the coast at Robin Hood’s Bay.
Finally, I’d follow the North Sea Cycle Route north, to home.
Hi,
My pitch is to pick this idea and one other. I will then spend a week cycling from Charing Cross to anywhere in the UK mainland to deliver the bike for its next adventure (and potentially having to find a way to cheat if the next one ends up being in John O’Groats).
Most of my adventure cycling ideas end up being sanitised into something with shorter distances, nice hotels and good pubs. This would force me into doing something more spontaneous and challenging.
I would add in a side quest each day, which would include a day riding without any maps, a day spending less than £5, a day where I find a non league football match to watch, a day where I find a brewery to get a beer to toast the end of the ride, and a day or two where I let Al’s Twitter followers decide what I do.
I’m not sure if I actually want you to pick this idea or not, but love the idea and the thoughts it prompts.
Great idea!
Hello, Alastair,
Here’s an idea that’s slightly different from that proposed by Keith Stock, but inspired by what he wrote. How about a kind of bike relay, where the bike, bags, tent and whatever other free gear, are the baton. In it the first rider rides the distance they want to, up to, say, two thousand Km and hands the bike and gear to the second rider, who rides the distance they wish to, to the third rider, and the first rider makes their own way back home or wherever. And so on; each rider still posting to the blog. Then we could really see ‘where the bike gets to’.
Unfortunately, the bike may be quite limited to the size of riders, but I imagine there could still be quite a range.
I haven’t thought this totally through, but, well, braincellstorming.
r
Dear Alastair and Keith,
In the spirit of sharing, how about a bike relay that may just never end…
Picking the bike up at Kings Cross, I will do a stint to cycle to mainland Europe via the ferry from Harwich. From there the challenge is to pass the bike, and basic kit, on for someone else to enjoy and see how far we can get the bike (I’ll put a tracker on the bike to follow it’s journey, and ensure we get updates and photos of the bikes journey).
The far east? Australia? Antarctica? How far can we get the bike and how many people can we get involved in the adventure?
The story is all about the bike, the spirit of adventure, and showing people that’s it’s possible to be part of something greater. It’s a journey into the unknown.
After completing the 282 largest freshwater lochs… I am considering walking the Highland Trail 550, I have split it up into walking portions but it is long (550 miles! ) so requires some time. It goes through some of the most beautiful parts of Scotland and can be used in combination with packraft as well as bike.
I would also like to walk the main rivers source to sea, walking and packrafting as able.
Still have 140 lochs to do for my Loch bagging challenge first though
Not sure if this quite qualifies!
I have been struggling with agoraphobia for the last 7 years.
It has made my world very small and every trip I take is fraught with stress, adrenaline and the intense impulse to get back home.
I have been daydreaming about tackling the pilgrimage route from Southwark cathedral in London to Canterbury and then home to Margate. A pace slow enough to settle, be mindful, connect my surroundings, camp, essentially exposure therapy!
I know on an adventure scale this quite small for some!
I have been loving reading everyone’s suggestions and glad my partner sent me the link!
Great idea! And anything qualifies as an adventure if it feels like an adventure to you.
Great idea! That would make a nice book…
Great idea!
Great idea!
Great idea!
My middle-aged mum dream is to be brave enough and take my 14 year old daughter on a bike packing adventure from our home in flat old Suffolk to London on the train, cycle across London (we don’t like busy roads) to get the train to Plymouth to get the overnight ferry to then cycle down the West coast of France with forests on our left and sea on our right.
Stopping as and when and where we want, to take in French France and the opportunities to swim and surf as often as we like.
Reminding me, and teaching her, to allow ourselves to enjoy the journey and not focus on the results, or the end point. Then catch a train back to the ferry port as and when we run out of time.
One day… before she grows up too much.
Thanks Alastair and Keith. You have both reminded me to live a life well lived and get on with it!
The adventure I would do is to cycle from my home in Stevenage to Glasgow where two of my 3 daughters live. Since re-locating to the South East of England last July, I have hardly seen my daughters in Glasgow. I am a 56 year old woman who has never been bike packing but I have wanted to for aaaages. Would I be allowed to have a friend with me for some of the way?
I think I would probably average 45 miles of riding per day. So that would take me 9 days. The most cycling I have ever done was over two days on the Isle of Arran with Cycnlink UK friends, when I managed about 60 miles on day1 and perhaps 30miles on day two. I was knackered.
If I won I would be forced to actually get bike-packing and acquire some mechanical skills.
I think it’s fantastic that any of the gear which is no longer useful must be donated, or passed on. Roll on the circular economy! Thank you Keith Stock for making this fun contest possible!
This would be a massive adventure for me both physically and in terms of having to fend for myself. I would camp at proper campsites.
And the discipline of writing it all up, taking pictures along the way would be excellent for me. I am an ill-disciplined blogger atm…
Great idea!
Great idea!
Morning Al, I had a couple more thoughts last night that I wanted to share with you, Keith and all my fellow entrants here, on the subject of ‘re-cycling’!
This competition definitely has ‘A Re-Cycled Adventure’ theme at its core, so I wondered if, at this early stage, a couple of slight modifications might be in order?
What about – instead of giving the bike to just one person, who may or may not use it – the bike is awarded for a period of one year, during which the winner can have as many or as few adventures on it as they like, or can manage?
In that way, Keith’s gift becomes a kind of perpetual travel bursary or scholarship!
You could present the bike to the current years’ owner at Stanfords* in London – I know it’s one of your favourite shops (mine too!) and as a source of maps, the home of adventure.
The only stipulation on the awardee would be that they carry out any repairs necessary and leave it back in a condition so it can be properly used by the next recipient.
I see several people have suggested a kind of relay for the bike; this suggestion is similar, differing only in that it is time-based rather than distance-based.
The idea for this came to me from seeing the scratches on the bike frame; it occurred to me that each new recipient would add their own marks to the bike, and it would end up with a patina of marks from all the various adventures it had been on. You could have a photo gallery and blog page on your website here for all the various adventures the bike had been on!
That was part of my thinking behind saying I’d give the bike back after I’d finished with it; I’d rather someone else get to enjoy it too, rather than it sitting in a shed while I’m potentially off doing other things.
Doing this certainly ticks a lot of boxes in terms of sustainability, recycling and self-reliance. It extends the legacy of the gift, too. It would create a small travel community linked by the bike; in future years we might even meet up for a dinner in London to celebrate the bike and enjoy a presentation by the current curator!!
Just some thoughts on this that I thought you might appreciate sharing with you and my fellow participants.
Best wishes for a great day!
Robin
*outside Stanfords, although it would be a shame if they weren’t involved!
Firstly, thank you so much Keith, Al and Alpkit for providing this opportunity.
For the last five years, since moving back across “the pond” from New York, I’ve live in Farnham, Surrey. Whenever I move somewhere I read up on the local history. In doing so I came across “In Pursuit of Spring”, which the poet Edward Thomas wrote after cycling from London to the Quantock Hills in Somerset, just over 100 years ago as ‘The Great War’ loomed.
He left Clapham in London and headed south west, passing Box Hill, through Guildford, over Salisbury Plain to Trowbridge, Shepton Mallet, Bridgwater, entering the Quantocks and ending at the beach near Kilve.
I would like to recreate this ride. Picking up the bike at Waterloo I would take the train to Clapham, where I would disembark and begin my adventure. Riding out from Clapham would take me along some of the 20212 Olympic cycling route, through Surrey’s Hills and to the North Downs Way. I’ll cycle past Guildford and onto the Hog’s Back, which will take me past my own home in Farnham, and out through Hampshire, Wiltshire to Somerset.
Perhaps ‘recreate’ is the wrong word. I want Thomas’ route to guide me, but to leave myself open to serendipity and other roads. Thomas’ observations, through his writing and photography, are worth revisiting in our own time. I want to write, photograph and record what I observe on the way.
My work bio says: “Ed left the research lab to help scientists tell their stories through print, digital and social media. He is also a documentary photographer and aspiring bikepacker”.
I’m still in the aspiring camp, but this opportunity could help me become, simply, a bikepacker.
Great idea! I’ve always intended to do that ride as well.
Hello! :) first-time bike adventurer here!
In January I will be taking on the Trans-Norte Mexico route with one of my close friends Amy. Amy is a cycling superstar with various bike adventures behind her. I, on the other hand, haven’t ridden a bike since I was about 15 years old… I’m now 25! It does seem a bit crazy that the 2000-ish kilometre bikepacking route across northern Mexico will be my first cycling adventure, but when Amy asked me if I’d like to go with her, my dad’s famous phrase popped into my head; “say yes to everything”. So I did! Despite not owning a bike or even knowing if I can still ride one, I have agreed to take on this challenge, one in which I hope will get me hooked on the bike packing lifestyle like Amy. I still don’t own a bike, and to be honest my knowledge of bikes is extremely minimal. Winning this Chas Roberts Rough Stuff bike would enable me to take on this challenge with some confidence.
I’m not a total stranger to adventure. This year I took part in the Sierra Leone half marathon and lived in Ghana prior to the event to train and get used to the climate. While I was there, I started a vlogging journal on TikTok (@lydiahogg22) which gained a bit of traction, and I plan to document my cycling journey and all the mishaps in the lead up to and during the trans-Norte Mexico route.
If I were to win this bike, I’ll give her a name and document our journey together on TikTok, hopefully to give others some proof that you don’t need to know everything about bikepacking, or bikes, or cycling, to take on big, exciting adventures and explore this beautiful planet we call home!!
Thanks :)
Great idea!
Taking a career break to be around for my kids has given me a lot of thinking time to dream up adventures that fit around mum life. An idea started to tick over in my mind about the adventures I could have between school pick up and drop off. That’s 6 hours for me to fit an adventure starting and finishing at the school gate!
Each day, each week, each term could be a new route discovering and exploring more of the area I live in, The Chilterns.
The idea could even be turned on its head by seeing what adventures my kids and I could have from school pick up to school drop off! I wonder how well school uniform fairs in a pannier?!?
Great idea!
I love stuff like this, and after the adventure of collecting the bike as I’m from Manchester and never taken a bike on a train. I’d buy the best bike lock I can afford. I would plan a trip to Scotland, I’ve never been and at this moment it’s just a bucket list idea. I’ve never done wild camping or wild swimming so I could get these ticked off the list while on my adventure. I love planning so would relish in it and having something to look forward to. This would also aid my fitness training as I am im not in state of fitness to do it now, as I’m an office worker with low level fitness.
Then after my amazing adventure, I would hope it would spur me on to many more, as I was one of the many people who fell back in love with cycling as a lockdown hobby. I got the cheapest mountain bike Halfords had. Instead of keeping the bike I would like the opportunity to pass it on to a member of the Love Her Wild group and continue this so the bike itself goes on many adventures, giving many people happiness. Then when it’s finally ready to retire I would love it to be returned to me so I could use it as a flower planter in my garden so I can remember my happy times on it.
Now writing all this I’ve no idea of the practicalities but having the bike would be the accountability I need to get out there and get adventuring in the wild.
Hi,
I love all kinds of adventures and have taken many different kinds: cycling from Europe to New Zealand, walking through NZ, skydiving, road trips, bungee jumping, surfing… the disappointment of those was always having to focus for one thing at a time instead of doing them simultaneously.
As I already cycled half the world, I would love to tour the other half. Only this time I want to combine it with side adventures: climbing, skiing, slack-lining, high lining, scuba diving etc. and if the financial situation allows, turn skydiving into base jumping.
Regardless if I win or not, I love this idea to inspire people to do more adventures. If the gear is donated, there is really no excuse not to do something big or small!
Best regards,
Markus
Hi Keith and Alastair,
I’ve been a big fan of Alastair Humphreys for many years ever since I read his books on cycling around the world. I never had the time to go on any big adventures because of work and being a keen runner in my free time. Unfortunately (and kind of fortunately) in May this year, due to overtraining I suffered a stress fracture in my leg but luckily was able to cycle (doctor’s permission). The CEO of my company I work for leant me his old mountain bike and inspired by Alastair Humphrey’s Microadventures book, I’ve been doing weekend adventures including some listed in his book such as cycling to the oldest tree in England and cycling the South Downs Way, to name a few. These journeys have awakened my sense of adventure and shown me how much more interesting and fun travelling is on a bicycle. Taking in all the details you’d miss in a car as well as chatting to the all the people you meet along the way. And of course, the sense of accomplishment you feel after a full day’s bike ride.
My plan is to cycle a circular journey from southwest London stopping in France, Ireland and Wales along the way.
I’ll leave from London cycling southwest to Portsmouth Harbour following the National Cycle Network routes. I’ll take the overnight ferry to Caen, arriving early the next morning.
I’ll start my trip in France by going for a dip in English Channel. Then begin my journey towards Roscoff, cycling along the coast over three days, camping two nights along the way. I’d like to stop in Mont Saint Michel, followed by Saint Malo, a walled city right on the coast and then onto the Granit Rose coastline. Of course, just cycling through small villages and towns I would come across so many amazing spots. Luckily, I know a bit of French, so this journey is a perfect opportunity for me to practice and meet some interesting people.
Once in Roscoff, I’ll catch the overnight ferry to Cork, arriving the next morning where I’ll cycle to my hometown of Clonakilty. Arriving in the afternoon, just in time for a mandatory pint of Guinness in De Barra’s pub. In Clonality I’ll stay at my family home for the night and go kayaking in the Atlantic Ocean at one of the best beaches in Ireland, Simon’s Cove on the wild southwest coast.
The next day I’d head towards Rosslare harbour cycling along the beautiful Irish coast over two days, camping one night. I’d follow the Wild Atlantic Way cycle route out of Clonakilty to the coastal town of Kinsale and then onto Youghal and camp overnight in the sunny southeast town of Dungarvan, just in time for a dip in the Atlantic Ocean. The next morning I’d head towards Rosslare stopping in Waterford along the way. I think a dip in the Irish sea would be a good way to end my journey in Ireland before catching the ferry to Pembroke in Wales.
Once in Pembroke I’d follow the National Cycle Network routes back to London for four days, camping along the way. I’d head slightly north to cycle alongside the Brecon Beacons National Park with its mountains and moorland. Then onto Newport, cycling past Newport Transporter Bridge over the river Usk and then over the Severn Bridge into England, ending my journey in Wales.
I’d pass through Bristol cycling over the Clifton Suspension Bridge and onto Bath via the cycle way that connects the two cities. In Bath I’d go through longest cycling tunnel in the UK, the Combe Down Tunnel. Next, I’d cycle through the remote villages of the North Wessex Downs, stopping at a village pub to enjoy a well-deserved meal. At the east end of North Wessex Downs, I’d reach Reading with only a short cycle back to where it all began.
I’ve been looking into getting a good steel framed touring bike to go on this adventure for the past few months so a highly renowned Chas Roberts Rough Stuff bike would be perfect. Alpkit gear is excellent quality and exactly what I’d need for my journey. When the gear is no longer needed, I’d happily pass it onto someone else for their adventure.
Above all, to be gifted an opportunity to undertake such an adventure with the motivation that I’ll get tell Keith, Alastair and everyone else about it would be amazing.
Good evening,
My name is Bridget and I just want to runaway ( well, cycleaway) & have an amazing adventure, write, tell & share stories.
I’m currently living in a Caravan as I’ve let my niece & her family stay in our ancestral home, as she needs it more than me. This has given me the impetus to get down to hatching my bike adventure, although I’m only 51, think it’s time to break loose & follow a few dreams.
Dervla Murphy, the great Irish biking travel writer, was a huge influence on me as a Teenager, but so far I’ve only bikepacked around Ireland and had a mighty time of it, so much so, I keep going back each summer, covering every nook & cranny and having a ridiculous amount of great craic ( Fun!). But..it’s time to spread my spokes & go further afield. I did do 3 weeks all along the South Coast of England, from Bristol to the Minack Theatre a good few years back, camping all along, but if I’m honest, although it was wonderful cyclying, the routes, cycle ways, scenery, weather, I have no real memories of meeting memorable characters…..not sure why, I’m sure they must exist! Perhaps the good weather kept them indoors – every bike trip I’ve had in Ireland seems to be full of folk that have stayed in my thoughts, from drunken sailors, obsessed fiddle players, wild dancers & oddballs looking for the meaning of life.
As I speak Spanish from a period of time in South America, I plan to get the Ferry to Spain, go across to Portugal, head out to the Azores by another Ferry as I want to try not to fly…. back to the mainland, train across to Germany, which has hreat cycling I believe, down to Austria, into Slovenia, Croatia as Montenegro my destination of sorts…I’ll be open however to route deviations.
I’m heading of on 1st April for 3 months initially, maybe 5…but will somehow have to nip back to Ireland the first full week in July for the best Traditional Irish Music festival in Co.Clare.
My life has become a bit dull, predictable & bogged down in the mundane & mediocre. Tax returns are due, I love my work as a Yoga Teacher, but need an injection of devilment & adventure. I will be heading off with my crappy bike, battered panniers, good enough tent, thermarest & sleeping bag regardless, but wouldn’t the chance to get a snazzy bespoke bike in exchange for telling my stories & those of the folk I’m sure to meet be something worth sharing with Keith & Yourself. Who knows, ye might join me & show me how to fix a puncture. I’ve never had to do it, as there was always some young fella or ole fella along any of my routes that did it when it happened and all they wanted was a pint, a kind ear, a laugh and a pat on the back.
I’m a very amature Irish Dancer, ( Sean Nos style) so want to improve & learn regional steps as I go around the place & develop a Bike Yoga programme for serious bikers.
Here’s to reading more reasons why others deserve to win, that in itself is an inspiration.
Best of Luck to us all.
Bridget.
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Stop your scroll! Imma tell you what imma do! First, I’ll come get it from you (fly there in a jiffy from USA), and finally get some of your books while I’m there (because my classroom needs your books in it). Then!!!! When I bring it back I’m going to ride it hundreds of miles, maybe over a thousand, on Route 66. I’m not sure which direction yet. I’m in Oklahoma. So, I could ride to California and leave it with somebody who needs it for the End AIDS Bike Ride in California, or with somebody who needs it in Chicago for their Fifth Ride event to help bring awareness to improving walking, biking and public transit. I’m not totally sure yet which direction to go (maybe Keith has a direction he’d prefer to read about in the blog), but it sounds kind of fun to stop and host knitting workshops along the way, too…I know several knitting stores near or on Route 66 between Oklahoma and California, I’m sure there are some the other way, as well. I’m still debating…I carry the gear with me, or someone (like a camera man documenting the journey) meets me at the daily destinations with the camping gear. Ack!!!!! This sounds like the best summer break ever as a teacher! And perfect way to bring awareness to #cancersucks #makeyourownadventure #etc
I plan to use it to commute to work which will take approximately the same time as taking the bus, but I’ll also get the benefit of it keeping me fit and active
I love your commitment to community and helping others experience adventure!
I am a solo mum and am determined to keep the joy of adventure and exploration going with my little boy.
Our plan is to cycle from home in Devon, UK to Bulgaria next spring / summer over a few months making the most of many of the off-road cycle routes and a mix of wild camping and local hosts.
Why Bulgaria? Just because someone asked me where it is and I really didn’t know other than Eastern Europe! Looking it up on a map got me fascinated with a whole swath of countries I’ve never been to and don’t know much about. I’m excited to meet locals and explore.
I’ve been looking at trailers (which I’ll need for my little one) and I think Chad would approve of turning the bike into a mini touring procession, piled with hopefully not too much gear!
This would MASSIVELY help finances wise but also inspirationally. I’d love to make everyone proud, share the whole story, and for sure pass it on (maybe to another single mum?).
I love your commitment to community and helping others experience adventure!
I am a solo mum (donor conceived) and am determined to keep the joy of adventure and exploration going with my little boy who will be nearly 1.
Our plan is to cycle from home in Devon, UK to Bulgaria next spring / summer over 3 months making the most of many of the off-road cycle routes and a mix of wild camping and local hosts.
Why Bulgaria? …it came up in a boardgame question and I really didn’t know where it was other than Eastern Europe! Looking it up on a map got me fascinated with a whole swath of countries I’ve never been to and don’t know much about. I’m excited to meet locals and explore.
I’ve been looking at trailers (which I’ll need for my little one) and I think Chas would approve of turning the bike into a mini touring procession, piled with hopefully not too much gear!
This would MASSIVELY help finances wise but also inspirationally. I’d love to make everyone proud, share the whole story, and for sure pass it on (maybe to another single mum?).
Wow, what an amazing time will be had between the 2 of you.
I would love to do something like that but I’m not sure I’d be brave enough just me and my daughter. Hopefully when she’s a tad older (currently 9) we will do something similar.
I do look forward to following your expedition ans hearing all your travelling stories.
In the mean time that bike would be fabulous to see our local country side for days out.
Hello Keith and Alistair
I am Joris. I am 13 years old; I am from the Netherlands and I love cycling. But unfortunately my old bike is becoming too small. I rode almost 13,000 kilometers with my bike. My father has already said that I can pick out a new bike, but I still love my old bike too much. This bike has a nice story so I think I can love it too.
I have a lot of ideas for what to do with the bike. If I win it, I want to pick it up by cycling from London to my house in the Netherlands. Perhaps this can still be done during the Christmas holidays. I have already asked my father if he would like to go camping around that time. That seems quite adventurous, but maybe we will also spend a few nights at warmshowerhosts. I already know who I can pass the bike on to if it becomes too small. (I’ll probably grow to almost two metres) Then I can pass it on to my little brother. He is a few years younger and also likes cycling. So, he wants to take it over (but my brother already has a tent, so I’ll keep that for myself!) I just measured and I think I fit on the bike, so that’s going well. I have many more plans, but they will have to wait until later because I still have to go to school. One of those plans is to cycle from home to Denmark and maybe I will cycle around the world once with my brother.
I want to get my fitness levels up riding up the local hills in my area. Then possibly go on a biking adventure.
What a wonderful idea! I don’t know if this is open to people outside the UK (I’d pay for shipping if possible) but my idea is to spend 4-6 months riding around the US (a vague route San Diego to southwest Florida, maybe a little more up and down the coast on either end) writing/photographing and documenting the beautiful scenery and (more interestingly) the small towns that tourists tend to miss, so I can explore the ways people live in different regions, different size towns, get to know people and their lifestyles and values. The catch is that I work in tech and I’d like to bring my computer with me… and do the whole thing without taking substantial time off of work (to prove that adventure is accessible to anyone with an adventurous spirit, and doesn’t require one to quit a job/have a leave of absence/have a huge store of wealth)
I have just returned from my first bike-packing adventure (16 day circular of Northern Ireland and County Donegal) and have well-and-truly caught the bug. Having devoured every bit of cycle-touring literature I can get my hands on, now I think my ambitions slightly outweigh the capabilities of my Halfords’ hybrid. As such, Keith’s bike has arrived at a serendipitous moment.
I do not have a detailed itinerary of where Keith’s bike would take me, but I like to think I have the requisite “spirit of adventure” in spades. My first plan is to cycle across the North of Spain: ferry from the UK to Santander, cycling across the northern picos and then perhaps onwards South towards Africa.
Beyond that, I am determined to complete a long-distance, multi-continent cycling adventure — my grandfather recently passed away, and reflecting on the stories of the exotic places he visited in his early 20s (Argentina, the Middle East, Japan) combined with my newfound yearning for cycling adventure has settled me on seizing my days of youth and undertaking such a grand adventure. Meeting and getting to know Al many years ago and read about his cycling adventures is what first sparked my adventurous spirit, and now I hope to use Keith’s bike for my own cycling odyssey.
Good evening,
Just wondering did my previous message deliver, about the bike, or does it have to be screened first? Not really tech savvy…apologies in advance!
Kindest Regards, Bridget
Sorry, I had to click to approve it!
Oh wow, this is so great to hear!
I would gift this to my grandad. He really wants to get out and about and reconnect with nature and this would allow him the perfect opportunity!
Such a lovely idea! I wanted to write this comment on behalf of my partner (he doesn’t know I’m entering this for him)
After joining the forces last year, he unfortunately got a bad hip injury in training and has been in recovery over 2023. Before his injury we’d go on multi day hikes together and loved his running which would sort out his stresses in life (he once tried to run a marathon..hungover over a £5 bet…he gave up after just being a mile short!)
I’ve been trying to keep his spirits up when I see him as he’s nearing the end of his recovery and is almost fully healed. I asked him what he’d love to do and he said his dream would be to one day cycle the French Alps. Hiking and running long distances is off the cards for him for a while but cycling is something that he can get that taste of adventure back without compromising his recovery.
The opportunity to win the bicycle would mean the absolute world to him and make his dream a reality! He’s had a rough year in addition to the injury and I’d love to get him back adventuring and feeling a sense of freedom again.
Thanks for reading my evening ramble, and thank u al for the lovely competition :)
I am from Gloucestershire, UK and have been living in Barcelona, Spain since 2018. I am currently in my hometown in the Cotswolds for a stint of work. If I were gifted Keith’s bike I would ride it back to Barcelona starting end of October 2023(through France…. obvs) making some stops in Paris and Burgundy to see my French family along the way and meet the latest baby recruits. I imagine the whole thing would be done in about 3 weeks. I’ll make up the route as I go….. I would camp out every night (minus days spent with family)
For me this adventure would mean doing something I have been slowly cooking in the neglected fantasy shelf of my oven brain for some time and a chance to just f-ing do it.
I am a professional dancer (contemporary dance)who also loves COOKING and DRAWING and PRINTMAKING and GOOD TIMES with all the random human encounters along the way so I promise to provide an entertaining documentation of my adventure interlaced with random roadside/waterside/somewhereinfranceside improvisations
Part 2 continued….accidentally pressed ‘add comment’…..
What i wanted to say was…… I solemnly swear that I will provide an entertaining documentation of my trip interlaced with improvised dances, food made by me with delicious things I find along the way and I will share my drawings and creations along the way.
I also agree this gift must absolutely be continued and passed on to it’s next rider for infinite adventures !!!!!! Happy to share more details of my idea/adventure via Email :) Good luck all, thanks for the ideas reading your adventure plans and thanks for the reminder that we will all win and we will all embark on our heart driven dreams.
Hey Al, Hey Keith,
I got 2 adventures on my mind: one big(probably my biggest and most ambitious yet) and one to prepare and Test gear before.
Last year i hiked 6 days in march in the hardangervidda nationalpark. (I used snowshoes.) It was wild, beautiful and empowering.
Next year i wanna do it again, but more time and more distance. And i also got myself a pair of touring crosscountry skis which i will use to move more efficient.
To finally prepare for the tour in march i wanna cycle at the end of december from my parents place in the Southwest of germany to the southeast of germany with my skis mounted to my bike (always wanted to do stuff like this since watching „the Last hill“ in YouTube.) to then ski the sumava magistrale. The sumava magistrale is a marked Tour for cyclusts in summer and skiers in winter through the nationalparks of „bayrischer Wald“ in Germany and the „Böhmer Wald“ in czech republic. The whole Tour will probably take me 8-10 days. The two Nationalparks are also the biggest forest areas in Western mainland Europe. So i will hopefully Ski through snowy forests. Im really looking forward to both Tours. They both will be great Adventures and hopefully still my Hunger for winter landscapes which im really craving for. Love the calm and simple landscapes in Winter.
Bonus exciting stuff: on my way to ski i will visit a former girlfriend i havent met for a year now.
The gear will be Part of the gear Collection i already lend to Friends and also sometimes strangers via my Instagram page (@jonasfrnk). But a one Person tent is really lacking in my gear „collection“ which i could really use for at least the First Adventure.
I am posting this on behalf of my 14 year old son, Dominic.
This year, he cycled The Great Glen Way with 2 friends. Next year, they wanted to cycle across France unsupported. Unfortunately, they will only be 15 and the logistics involved will make this really difficult because they are minors. They have instead opted to bike pack The Hebridean Way completely unsupported. 185 miles, 10 islands, 6 causeways, 2 ferries (+ 2 ferries to get to the islands and then back to mainland).
All three of these lads are epic and they have worked so hard to enable these expeditions to happen. They have all completed outdoor first aid training, they have asked our local mountain rescue to provide a training event for them to learn how to manage in an emergency situation and all of them volunteer in our local cycle hub, where they work alongside bike mechanics, learning bike maintenance.
Let me tell you about Dominic.
We are a solo parent family and he is brother to a sister with complex needs. He is my absolute rock and has been required to step up to help me out. From the age of 7, he has been able to cook dinner for us and generally hold the fort if I am needing to support his sister. I simply couldn’t have done it without him.
Things are much more settled at home now and I have a little extra time on my hands, so I have set up Kitsquad, the UK’s only nationwide scheme that supplies donated secondhand outdoor adventure gear to people living in poverty. Dominic has been instrumental in helping me set me this up and is often found in the warehouse helping to sort through donations. I had to give up my job 8 years ago to become a full time carer for my daughter. This means we went from a family with a full time salary coming in to one that is completely reliant on benefits. This is still the case, we run Kitsquad as volunteers. This means that we scrap by with the very basics and it is way beyond my finances for me to buy Dom a new bike and or anything new to be honest. We are not unique in this situation sadly though, many families are experiencing this hardship. However, Dom gives so much to other people and he rarely has a thought for himself and to just be able to reward him and celebrate him would be epic.
I retire next Spring. I have a plan to simply get on a bike and have an adventure. I really do not know how far I shall go but in Scotland we have awesome access legislation and I can bike pack and camp almost anywhere. If I find a friend or hear of an idea along the way I shall follow. When I was (much) younger I did inter rail and approached it with the same frame of mind and I look forward to having the same freedom to move, meet, explore and learn albeit at a difference phase of my life. It’s very exciting! Will I make it to Sweden? Might I get to Cork? I have never been to Fraserburgh. My adventure starts with a single turn of the pedals. I hope the weather stays in my favour for a while, anyway. Sorry not to have an itinerary to share but at least I don’t have to fit it in within the boundaries of ‘annual leave’.
Hi Keith,
I’m diabetic with neuropathy of the feet. I haven’t ridden a bike since 2006. If I won, it would be to kick start my riding a bike again, to help get healthy and explore London’s cycle ways to pump my life with renewed vigour and enthusiasm for much needed freedom of the roads whilst lessening my carbon footprint too.
Hey Alistair and Keith,
Thank you so much for running this competition, the inspiration has certainly kick in, so I am desperately excited to learn the results.
I have become inspired by a grand idea encouraged predominantly by Patrick Leigh Fermor’s book ‘A Time of Gifts’ and the ‘YUTABI_ENGLISH’ Instagram account. The latter of them covered his travels across America, and is now covering his journey across Canada, on a Japanese Mamachari style bicycle. The former having written an account of his travels walking across Europe.
I love the spirit of adventure both individuals have brought to their journeys and the wild and wacky experiences they have both encountered on the road.
Starting from my hometown of Oxford, I would love to embark on a pan-European journey, ideally to trace Leigh Fermor’s steps from Amsterdam to Istanbul. These both seem like a suitable start and end point, the first just across the channel, and the second effectively the furthest place you can reach in Europe. The route would take me South and East, tracing my way through the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, and onwards to Istanbul.
A quick check on Komoot suggests the journey would be somewhere in the realm of 256h (and 25 minutes of course) – a substantial chunk of time that I’m sure will vary wildly as I discover how my body responds to long stints of riding. This should certainly be doable, and a certain Baggin’s like desire for adventure whispers to tell me to set off.
There are also a few selfish desires sprinkled into my route, I have friends scattered predominantly through Germany and Austria. Cycling past where they are living (Freiburg, Munich, Vienna; mostly on track to be honest), would be a rare opportunity to spend some more time with these people, and hopefully an excuse to enjoy a warm place to stay.
I am a few years older than when Leigh Fermor set off on his tour across Europe, but this feels like the right time to live up to the explorer roots of my namesake (in sound if not spelling), Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Whilst not as hardcore as some of his adventures I am sure this would be a springboard to more and greater things!
Ultimately, there are three things I wish to achieve on undertaking this journey. The first is the personal sense of achievement resulting from completing this adventure. I have always loved the small adventures that I have gone on with my family but there is a little hobbit within me who yearns for more, further afield, and mystical sights.
The second is to fundraise. As much as this opportunity should be about the journey, I also believe such a grand venture deserves a cause. I am thinking to raise awareness and donations for two organisations. The first a local charity called SHARE Oxford and its Library of Things, the second for Stop Ecocide International. I suggest the first because I believe that these local, community and sustainability focussed organisations are vital for the future we want to live in. SHARE Oxford does a fantastic job keeping tools and things functioning and getting them to people who need them, avoiding wasteful purchases in the process. Any opportunity to build awareness and raise donations would be much appreciated, I’m sure.
Stop Ecocide International is my second choice as I believe that getting ecocide written into international law would be a useful framework from which to hold to account those with blatant disregard for our future, and global wellbeing. I studied International Relations at university so anything focussing on international law is of immediate interest to me. Combined with a focus on avoiding environmental collapse, this felt like a no-brainer to incorporate into my mission.
Finally, I would love to inspire others and raise awareness. Inspire others to head off on their own adventures and know that there is so much out there to see and do both near and far. I have a camera and a desire to document what I do. I would jump at the opportunity to produce some unique content. Thank you again for running this competition; I am sure the most wonderful things will follow, and I am very excited to hear the results of this competition.
Good luck everyone, and thanks for reading my submission,
Ranulf
Very embarrassingly I didn’t catch the mis-spelling of your name Alastair until JUST after submitting my comment. I defaulted to the spelling of a fantasy character my partner and I have been talking about.
Strong start I know. I hope you can forgive me.
What a fantastic opportunity, and a beautiful bike!
My name is Hannah, and I live in South Devon. I have done a few nights camping on foot or by kayak, but never bikepacked at ALL. A few years ago I learned that Iceland, outside its few urban spots, is gracefully circled by just ONE paved road… and immediately was captivated by the idea of circumnavigating it in some way. By bike seems like a wonderful compromise between the cheating ease of a car and the very long time it would take on foot, and a perfect use of such a road!
I would love to do this ride with a sketchbook, and landscape-sketch my way round Iceland’s jaw-dropping landscapes – a much more meaningful way of appreciating the view than snapping on a camera. I would also like to do it with my twin, who has also never bikepacked. I am very taken with the idea that in Iceland you get all seasons in five minutes, although I appreciate this might put a literal damper on the sketching.
I would love to win this bike as cost is a big factor in this plan. I think it should be a beautiful pedal-powered journey around a stunning island.
Thank you and have fun choosing! Hannah
To add to my Iceland idea:
I have been exploring lately the idea of the outdoors as something to be examined lovingly, admired and connected with, rather than conquered and striven against. There is a real narrative of attacking and overcoming the mountain rather than, say, visiting the mountain like a friend and having a cup of tea. I think using art to document and share my journey rather than focusing on miles and speed might help share this calm and appreciative mindset. I hope that comes across!
Hello!
Largely due to you, having come across you and your adventures and books and such back in 2020, me and my buddies have done several rag tag bike packing trips since. Usually on weekends after work on Friday with the goal to make it back home by work on Monday. We’re blessed here in Ohio to have a wonderful trail that crosses the whole state from Cincinnati/ the Ohio River to Cleveland/ Lake Erie, so we usually frame them around that route, but have lately started exploring concepts and themes if you will – like random blindfolded drops on Friday night with no phones, forcing us to interact with locals to gain our bearings and once again, make it back home in time for work on Monday. All that being said, I have you to thank as the catalyst for all that – as well as my neighbor in college who showed me his journals/ photo albums from his cycle trips in the 70s, which were great.
As the addiction to cycling grew, so did my knowledge and insight into the history, and my discovery of the RSF. I was obsessed right away, I got the book of archives, and am currently reading Volume I of “The pre-war cycling diaries of Charlie Chadwick.” It has been truly energizing to read his journal entries from a century ago and cross reference them with my own; some being nearly a hundred years apart to the day!? I also recently inherited a 1951 Rudge Pathfinder from a friends grandfather, which from what I researched, was a RSF bike of choice as well, this being even more exciting and full circle feeling.
Now with all THAT being said… finally I get to my adventure idea, and would be, plan for this bicycle.
I am not sure how familiar you are with American folklore – perfectly fine if not at all – but there is a legend around these parts (Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc) and he is commonly known as Johnny Appleseed. Culture sort of turned him into a nursery rhyme, but he was indeed a real person, and a rather significant one at that.
His real name was John Chapman. He was born in 1774 and died in 1845. He left no written accounts or anything at all about himself, but there are endless witness accounts, interactions and such that are losing their zeal as generations continue to age and die off. From what I’ve read, he was a real deal adventurer. Having been known to walk the land barefoot and is said to have worn a pot on his head – doubling as a hat and his cooking vessel – and they say his skin was so thick a rattler couldn’t bite through it. He walked the land from Pennsylvania as far west as Iowa and back, planting apple orchards and selling seeds – water wasn’t the purest at the time, so the liquid of choice was hard cider. He was a pacifist and a vegan, even back then in such harsh times, and was described as not even willing to kill a misquito – which I suspect to be a bit of an exaggeration because I don’t know any human that would go to such lengths for peace… Either way, I digress. More to come on him soon.
It has since been about a year, when my mother’s cousin came through from across the country on a journey exploring and investigating their family tree – via ancestry.com. It lead them out our way because, turns out, we are related to none other than the man himself, Mr. Appleseed. This is what sparked my curiosity and I dove into all sorts of research on him, loving what I found.
It is my plan to cycle the regions following his paths, reliving those interactions, and immersing myself in the history. His tomb stone states “He lived for others,” and on a plaque near it, it reads, “Material things meant little to Johnny except when they could make a child smile, give a pioneer family the means to improve their diet or increase their cash income from apples or apple jack.” He was always described as looking rather bummish, often just wearing old torn sacks as shirts. This being because whenever he came across anyone less fortunate than him, he would give them what he had. Abstaining from many of the comforts and luxuries of society then. It is in this spirit that I would like to carry out the journey and interact with the communities along the way.
As for the technical details, there is a 30 mile Johnny Appleseed Historic Byway with all sorts of markers, from springs he frequented to houses he visited, and even native tribes he stayed with – being a friend of all, in those divided times. Along with that though I would plan to include all sorts of other leads and waypoints, both prediscovered through my research, but also that are certainly bound to form and expand once I begin. Likely dedicating at least a month on the road to this, and Lord knows how many miles.
One of the most satisfying parts is that I would leave directly from my childhood home, unlocking mysteries and truths and perspectives and more about me, my family lineage, my home town, and even my country as a whole. For this was all part of how it began, and with our history being so young, I want to capture and experience it before the emotions are lost with time – especially with how rapidly the world seems to change nowadays.
Hi
I am about to retire now in my 60s as cannot take the daily stress at work any longer and want to give myself some quality time – kind of gap year at my age! I am an experienced long distance walker and love the micro adventure and bivvying so was already planning to walk some of the Camino De Santiago. But I could do a macro adventure and cycle the Camino Frances and Camino Portugués 1420 kms – one way to destress!
The only cycling experience I have is cycling to work which I did every day Winter (road) & Summer (cross country) come rain or sunshine for 10 years prior to Covid – retraining required
Good luck and I hope the winner has a great experience
I’m going to cycle along the entire Welsh coastline with no time constraints and enjoy every day
Home,
I won’t get a finishers medal, my name on a website or a KoM for this trip but I want to ride from my adopted home in Somerset back to my parents on the coast.
To visit, can be done very efficiently thanks to the Romans (and my trusty Polo) going around two sides of a triangle on arrow straight roads. All told, an hour and half to two hours on a bad day. What I have never done and would love to do is discovery what lies in between.
I’d start in the Cam Valley. Not the famous one, but the one on the outskirts of Yeovil. Although it is not famous that does not mean that it doesn’t have a beauty with autumn mist often getting caught in between the ridges guarded by iron age forts, the parish churches spiking up through like buoys on an ocean and being sometimes the only clue of the patchwork of villages below.
Cresting out of the valley, I begin to go through the North Dorset AoNB into the Blackmore Vale. Here villages like Toller Percorum and Ryme Intrinsica give light relief as you ponder how such a name came about. Luckily, or sadly depending on how my legs and backside are faring, I have to climb the ridge at the start of the valley which gives me a view both sides. To the north Sherborne Glastonbury and Cadbury castle and to the soft, the Vale which I want to follow to Blandford.
Dropping down, I can get some restbite as I aim to pick up the old Somerset and Dorset Railway which has now become a trailway from Shillingstone. My parents home has always backed ontot he railway and so I can’t help but be fascinated. Imagining the thundering express trains going from coast to black country or the sleepy local goods picking up the milk from the myriad of little stations.
The S&D (Slow & Dirty) is now a lovely car free route winding past posh private schools and fields to Blandford. Another Roman town (What did they ever do for us?) on the edge of where the glacial soil/clay of the upper vale meets the chalk seem that runs from Weymouth onto Salisbury plain and onto the downs.
South of Blandford is where my ancesters used to grow watercress in the chalk streams in the streams that feed the river Tarrant. Here the villages are all called Tarrant something, you’d think it weird that they’d all be called something :) Each village being Tarrant and then the name of the family member that ran the farm there- Tarrant keyneston, tarrant rushton and Tarrant Gunville.
From the Tarrants with perhaps a cool refreshing dip in a stream or I hope a reinvigorating bunch of watercress on board I will continue down the valley to Wimborne where what’s this? A roman road to lead me down to the harbour at Poole. Not quite a trailway by the thick mud that stays there year round, but it has the advantages of not getting run over and navigation being easy.
As the Roman road reaches the harbour, I will have 8 miles to go, but at least know that the climbs are gentle and low. Following the Harbour past the RNLI’s main headquarters with their flotilla of bright orange lifeboats, in for repair or training, bobbing in the Holes bay. Now we’re nearing “home turf” with memories from schooldays and riding around the town, cutting through the harbourside park with it’s views of Brownsea island, famous for being the birth place of scouting I will have the last climb up Parkstone bank before going down the alley behind the terrace and getting home to my parents. Mum will ask, ” Why didn’t you just drive down?” I will say because “I wanted to” wandering off back through the places I’ve just been through.
BTW thank you. Our paths first crossed when you gave the keynote at my Gold DofE presentation about 10years ago. I think you got away with wearing “holy” shoes. ;)
My friend Liz and I are retiring next year & are planning a tour to visit our kids, who are dotted around! Starting at her house in Larange-monteglin, heading to Brussels to visit her daughter, then across to the UK, to the Forest of Dean to her other daughter, Bristol to see my son, Exeter, where my daughter is & then Cornwall to commemorate my Mum who died this year at the age of 95. It’s all about celebrating connections & enjoying the journey. I was going to do it on my mountain bike…but obviously a purpose built tourer would be amazing!
I would cycle the UK and visit all the historical Battlefields, appreciating the significance of each and analysing the details, taking a lot of photos and video helping to promote the preservation of these sites
Would love to own a bike as I havent had one since I was a kid, lots of cycle lanes In my area so I would feel a lot safer cycling In them, Im nearly 60 so I need to keep up with my fitness levels
I’d love to take a trip from Wirral, to Chester, where I’d join the towpath. Then follow the canal to Llangollen, where I have happy memories of visiting Santa on the steam train when I was little. Then I’d continue on to Welshpool, where I’m hoping to move to soon!
I’m planning to ride at least 10 miles a day throughout October to help my fitness
We have planned a cycle trip through France for about 9 years and we have got most things in place to be able to take this trip next year. We have been practising reducing the items we need to carry to make it an epic trip and tested many tents and equipment.
Atour of Scotland,from Gretna, all the way to the top and then down to Berwick,no idea how long this will take, but will a start to my retirement
Hi Keith & Alister,
My ambitions are modest but, to me anyway, meaningful.
I was deeply moved by your generous offer to give away the bike, a testament to your adventurous spirit. Your story of postponed dreams resonates profoundly with me, especially considering my own recent life changes.
I am a former headteacher of a primary school, and I recently took a step back from work due to a series of challenging events in my life. Earlier this year, I lost my mother to a short bout of cancer, which left me emotionally drained. Seven years ago, my father passed away (also to cancer); both of them passing has left me with a void that has been difficult to compute. Amidst these personal losses, I have also been lucky to have a small baby boy (he was tiny!) with my wife, when we didn’t think we could. I’ve been in education for the past 20 years and feel like I’ve taken a battering. I needed a break and to give time to my family and grief. I do, however, need to pay the mortgage so need to get back into employment soon.
Given my current circumstances, I believe that your offer to win the bike and embark on an adventure is a serendipitous opportunity. I yearn for a transformative journey that allows me to heal, find solace, and give some dedicated time to grief and trauma. The day-to-day running of the house and life-admin soon takes over the sole.
What would I do?
I live in London but grew up in a small village in Hampshire. I’d cycle down there in one day (as I did many weekends to see my father during his final months) and camp in ‘dinosaur valley’ (I’m not really sure why we called it that but as a small child, it did spark my imagination) on the downs where I grow up, a mile or so from my parents’ grave. From there I’d cycle the South Down’s Way, taking the route I did when I did my bronze DoE, except I’d do it in two days, on the three I did it in back then. I’d ideally pitch-up en route but there are ample campsites if wild camping is off the cards. After a night pitched up in Eastbourne, I’d loop back to Brighton and ride home, a journey my grandfather used do on his three speed to get to the beach from London pre-war! This is a trip I would need to do soon, before work (hopefully!) becomes a thing again.
My second ambition might be too ambitious – but you have to dream it before you can do it! Before little one, me and my wife were planning to ride the Scottish 500. We have done camping as a family and cycling but never the two. Not sure how it would work logistically but where there’s a will!
I love the idea of passing the bike on once the journey is done! Something I would do willingly so another could have their adventure. You have many great suggestions in the comments so I’m sure the bike will have a fantastic journey, whoever you choose!
Pete
How funny that I’m seeing this post at 2AM as my “what’s the next step in planning my adventure?” induced insomnia keeps me awake. Rad bike! I would use the bike & gear this upcoming summer 2024 for a cross USA bike trip I am currently planning, want to stop at permaculture farms, eco-villages and other such spots along the way to follow my thread of curiosity about what possibilities are available for people to live more collective, sustainable lives.
Not sure what I’ll find but I am excited to meet people, ride miles, get a good tan and write and draw a bit about these ramblings along the way to document the atmosphere. I have been a social worker for the past few years and continue with every passing year, because of this line of work, to get more confused about the world we live in and cannot stop wondering what other human, sustainable ways for people to exist are possible.
I’m not planning to just meet fellow hippies on communes and talk about soil conservation (although this will likely happen to some extent), I’m planning and excited to meet quite literally anyone and everyone along the way with all these thoughts in mind to better understand how any of us are making sense of the current times we are living through…
Hoping to use the simple yet mighty bike as an engine of wonder about what possibilities are available for ourselves as individuals and our collective society the more we allow ourselves to tap into adventure as a way of being in the world. Love all your insights, Alastair!
id love this for my partner who bikes up and down the country
I’m adding a belated answer from Jennifer on Instagram…
Coolest Adventure Plan
The year Keith Stock was having his Chas Roberts Rough Stuff bike built, I was quitting a career in advertising to set off on an unscripted travel adventure trekking solo through South America. The goal was to learn to let go, to go with the flow, and to let my gut be the guide all while getting to experience how the rest of the world got by.
I was 31 years old, fairly new to the scene of cycling and had just joined an all women’s development team. Doing so inspired me to start competing in cyclocross and duathlon races, which had me traveling to different parts of the country. It was an exhilarating time in my life.
The idea for a round the world bike journey emerged as a way to raise heart health awareness to honor the sudden passing of a friend whose heart condition had gone undetected. Yet the research I did on female cyclists revealed very few had undertaken such adventures. Clearly I missed the boat on Josie Dew and Bettina Selby. Even so, I had found inspiration in the likes of other cyclists including the Brit Dominic Gill who had cycled from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska all the way to Ushuaia in Argentina, an incredibly inspiring initiative dubbed, Take a Seat.
While my round the world bike adventure didn’t transpire, and more than a decade has passed since its inception, the intention to do so has not faded. Instead, it has evolved into another iteration of what’s possible, and thanks to a special screening of the 2006 Taiwanese film Island Etude, about a deaf boy who cycles the perimeter of Taiwan with a guitar in tow, another seed was inadvertently planted.
It was because of this film that in 2015 the Taiwanese government poured $36 million into an infrastructure that created the country’s most famous cycling route, Route 1. It’s a 960 km loop that circumnavigates the island, and ever since I saw this film, I’ve been determined to do it. This ambition has appeared on my ‘One Day I Will…’ list a hundred times. Yet, it wasn’t until I saw Al Humprey’s Instagram post about Keith Stock and his Rough Stuff bike that I began to explore this endeavor in earnest.
Now that I have, I’ve unearthed even more information, made unforeseen connections in the Taiwanese community, and have committed to learning the language. I’m giving myself a year to prepare with the plan to set off in October 2024, which if I want to avoid the rainy season, is apparently the best time to go. From what I’ve read, the route takes anywhere from 9-14 days to complete and can be done in either direction. It is made up of ‘dedicated bicycle paths, quiet country roads, and busier roads with cycle lanes’. It’s a landscape and culture I can’t wait to explore.
To honor Keith, the bequeathing of his beloved bike, and his own vision to tour the world, I will dedicate this Route 1 ride to him and all the other adventurers who have confronted cancer or other hardships. The bike is the most symbolic emblem of freedom and forward movement, a body in perpetual motion. Within that resides infinite opportunities to push past boundaries in order to discover, learn, and grow. As André Gide accurately proclaimed, “You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
I’ve missed the breakfast deadline but I’ll send my adventure plan in- as by writing it so will make me feel obligated to do it.
Al, I actually met you in 2001 or 2 when you cycled throu Africa. We lived in Arusha, Tanzania and I went to school on my bike dressed as a duck for world book day and you came along for the entertainment value.
My children are now nearly grown up and I cycle everywhere still- rarely as a duck thou. In 4 years I plan to go from home in West Yorkshire to Marrakesh. I don’t have a detailed plan but I usually do what I plan so watch this space.
Jo
Hi Jo, I completely remember that!!! How wonderful to hear from you again!!
Will you cycle to Marrakesh as a duck? ;-)