We share a passion for travel, particularly by bicycle. We also dream of owning a sustainable hostel. Our next cycle trip is going to combine both of these things. We are going on a world cycle trip, and on the way we are going to investigate sustainable and eco businesses, to find out what we can do to achieve our dream.
You’ll cycle between 40 and 60 miles per day during a long-distance cycling tour. However, if you’re one of the newer members of the population who have recently taken up the sport, then you’ll be used to covering an average of just 60 miles per year. As such, when you’re preparing to embark on your first long-distance British cycling tour, it’s essential that your body is physically prepared for the adventure that’s ahead.
Boost your all-round fitness
You use so much more than the muscles in your legs while cycling. When travelling on a bike, you’ll also use your gluteus maximus, biceps, and triceps. Meanwhile, your core will support you at all times. So it’s crucial that every muscle in your body is prepared for your first British cycling tour. In the weeks leading up to your trip, you should alternate between cardio workouts and strength-based exercises, as when combined, they will increase your overall strength and endurance. Ideal cardio exercises include cycling and running. Cardiovascular training is essential when you’re planning on cycling around the UK, as many of the cycling routes involve cycling uphill, so your heart will be pushed to the limit. Meanwhile, you should perform strength-based exercises twice a week, using items such as dumbbells and weights.
Interval training
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a great way to build up your endurance and strength in preparation for cycling around the UK. By doing short bursts of high-impact activity, your heart rate will elevate to between 80% and 92% of its maximum rate. In turn, you’ll build more muscle. There are many ways you can incorporate HIIT training into your long-distance cycling preparation. However, many cyclists swear by static cycling. This can be done using your very own stationary exercise bike. The best stationary exercise bike reviews at HomeFitnessJourney will help you source a bike which will allow you to perform static cycling for between 30 and 90 seconds before having a quick break and starting up again.
Fuel up
When you cycle at a pace of 12 to 14 mph, you’ll burn 346 calories in just half an hour, according to Live Strong. It’s therefore easy to burn off thousands of calories while you’re preparing for your big cycle tour of the UK. This means you’ll need to keep your fuel intake up in order to build all the stamina you’re going to need to make it through the 174-mile trip that is Hadrian’s Cycleway, or the 163-mile Fakenham to Harwich cycle trip. Carbohydrates will ensure your body powers through the toughest of cycle rides. Meanwhile, protein sources will keep your muscles fighting fit and strong.
You’re sure to feel nervous and excited ahead of your first cycling tour through the beautiful scenes of the UK. But to ensure that you maximise your full potential, you’ll need to spend the weeks and months before your cycle ride working on your fitness levels, building your strength and endurance with HIIT training, and consuming wholesome foods which will boost your performance.
The city of Bristol in South West England, which made it into our ‘10 of the Greenest Cities in the World’ list in 2016, is fast becoming one of the friendliest bike cities in the UK. A year prior, it was given the distinction as the greenest city in the United Kingdom. New cycling initiatives, improved routes and cycling awareness are just some of the reasons why cycling in Bristol has become so popular. And, one of the reasons we now call this city, our home!
The allure of cycling in this green city isn’t the only reason Bristol is great for cycling. The city also boasts lovely, picturesque routes, like the Bristol-Bath Railway Path, which is the most famous of these routes, and arguably the most spectacular. It is generally flat, making it perfect for novice riders and ideal for some sightseeing along the way. I’m luck enough to live just off this bike path, and commute 20 minutes along it each day to work – much nicer than cycling on the busy city roads!
The Bristol to Bath Bike Path in snow – taken during my commute to work!
Then there’s the over 15-mile Ashton to Pill Path, and it is as challenging as it is exquisite. It passes along the River Avon, with cyclists having the option to explore Leigh Woods, a vast expanse of woodland filled with rare flowers. The lesser-known Frome Greenway loop is well worth taking as well, as you’ll get to see the best of both the city (Queen Square and Castle Park most notably) and countryside (Hermitage Wood and St. Werburghs City Farm, in particular).
The shorter Harbourside Loop is incredible, too, as it involves biking along Bristol’s historic harbour. Also worth taking is the Ashton Court Estate Route, which is tailor-made for mountain bikers of every level. Beginners can take Ashton Court’s popular bike trail, while experts can take the middle path, which is filled with luscious greens, and ends with a nerve-racking descent. The Strawberry Line is another popular route and passes through the divine-looking Thatcher’s Orchards.
With all these bike route options, you can probably see why Michael and I chose to move here!
The thrilling descent at the Ashton Court Estate
These are but a few of the routes that make Bristol increasingly bike-friendly and you can expect most of them to improve in the coming years with Bristol Live reporting about likely renovations to the UK’s National Cycle Network. The plan to improve the 16,000-mile network, as part of a broader effort by the UK government and related stakeholders to further promote the country as a cycling destination and perhaps more importantly, to “inspire a new generation to get on their bikes.” They have the perfect advocate in this regard in Laura Kenny, who is included in Coral’s list of iconic British sports women since 2000. Kenny won gold medals at the London and Rio Olympics, making her one of the most successful British athletes of all time. Now, she is using her success as a platform to encourage people to saddle up. She is, in fact, an active partner in various initiatives that promote cycling, notably Soreen’s Cycle Project.
Projects like Soreen’s seem to be working, as The Telegraph notes there has been an increase in the number of new cyclists in the UK. This is a great sign as cycling is one of the most popular ways of getting fit, prolonging life expectancy and saving people money in commuting. Approximately two million people cycle at least once a week in the UK, with the number of people cycling to work more than doubling between 2001 and 2011. These figures, however, don’t even include tourists who visit cities like Bristol, whose green reputation has made it a popular destination for cyclists to see the city.
Although cycling may not be the instant go-to form of transportation that the majority of people tend to think about when they consider trotting the globe, it certainly should be. By cycling, you don’t miss out on your journey as you’re ever-present and exposed to the elements, surroundings and adventure continuously.
If you need a push to get you on your bike and around the world, here are 6 reasons you should do it.
Cycle For Charity
If you seek adventure and you want to help those who are less fortunate than you, you may wish to enrol on to one of the many Global Adventure Challenges to raise money for charity. Whether you want to experience South East Asia and ride from Vietnam to Cambodia or cycle across Costa Rica from the Pacific to the Caribbean, you are sure to find a journey you would live to be a part of.
Cost Effective
Apart from purchasing the bike, and maybe paying for a few repairs here and there, (some of which you can learn to do yourself before your journey), the bike is powered solely by you, thus no requirement for fuel or costly repairs in comparison to driving or flying to a set destination. Therefore, if you don’t want to spend an unnecessary amount of money on travel, your bike is the perfect pair of wheels to carry you around the globe.
Health Benefits
No matter where you cycle, be it the local shop, the next town or to another country, the health benefits are always present as you cycle. As a low impact exercise, riding your bike is kinder to your joints, it’s great cardiovascular exercise, and it also decreases your stress levels. The same probably can’t be said for sitting in a car or travelling on an aeroplane, which is why you should choose your bike for travelling to reap the health benefits.
The Environment
If you’re conscientious about the environment, you already know the damaging affects pollution from other transport has on global warming. Protecting the planet is vital, and it starts with you. By making a choice to travel by bike, you are making a decision to reduce your carbon footprint and be kinder to the world.
Feel Accomplished
How many people can say that have travelled by bike from one country to another? Not very many at all. Cycling to different destinations is an exciting and different way to travel in comparison to other peoples transport options, for that you can feel a sense of accomplishment. Of course don’t forget that every path you meet whether it be mountain trails or national parks will not be smooth and without its bumps and hills, causing you to really put some effort in and push yourself from time to time to overcome a tricky route. However, once you’re over the hill, you will feel a sense of satisfaction and confidence to take on more cycling challenges.
This is a list of just a few reasons why you should embark on your travels with your bike. So what are you waiting for?
Well I can’t believe it’s over and I actually survived.
I’m not going to lie, in the week leading up to the run I was extremely nervous.
My training had not really gone to plan, and even my work mate kept telling me she was concerned for my safety (yes, Cat, I’m referring to you).
In all honesty, I hate the cold. I’m not sure why I keep ending up in these cold situations. First riding in snow in Canada, then the polar run/s, even the boiler in our flat just stopped working.
I guess there is something about the cold I must be drawn to – perhaps the ‘not-knowing-if-I-will-survive’ feeling. I can just imagine my Dad’s response to that last comment – don’t worry Dad, as usual I won’t tell you about it until I’ve survived it.
The Full Polar Marathon Route
The Polar Challenge
Originally I had signed up to just the full marathon. However, once I met a couple of the other runners, and discovered they were signed up to do the Polar Challenge (running both the half marathon and the full marathon), I decided I had better just sign up too. Screw the lack of training and fear of the cold! The finisher t-shirt was in my colour, so what’s it matter if I lose a couple of toes in the process?
With my medals and wearing the Polar Challenge t-shirt (it doesn’t take much to convince me to do something lol).
Due to some hurricane winds and wet weather the race days got moved. This is probably a good thing, seeing as on the original race day, our arctic bus (built like a bloody tank) almost slid off a bridge into some freezing water. Perhaps that story is for another day – my biggest fan (aka. my Dad) can only take so much news at once. Nonetheless, if we had the race day on the original day, there probably would have been far more injuries.
I took it pretty easy in the Half Marathon. We drove an hour to the start in a freezing cold bus. I had about 5 layers on and could not feel my toes at the starting line. At this stage I thought I was going to lose a couple of toes to frost bite, before even starting the race. You don’t really need toes anyway, do you? Just extra weight.
10 minutes into the run, and I was sweating more than running in a Perth summer. I was sweating to the point that I was actually scared of running. I knew that as soon as I hit the Ice Cap I would instantly freeze.
So the first 6km didn’t really go very smoothly. I was dropping things, sweating, tripping over my own feet… I ended up just walking most of it and taking photos.
On the way to the Ice Cap.
Then I hit the Ice Cap.
Running on the Ice Cap was by far my favourite part of the run. My heavy-duty spikes were awesome! Apart from getting a bit carried away and running the complete wrong direction, it couldn’t have gone much better. I also managed not to freeze – so that was a bit of a bonus.
Running on the Ice Cap!
The rest of the run was amazing. The course went past several frozen lakes and glaciers, and over several step gravelly hills. Eventually I finished the half as a PW (personal worst) time, however I really enjoyed it and was much more prepared for the full.
I’m now feeling conscious that I have never wrote about a run before, and this may turn out to be the longest and most boring blog post I’ve ever written… So I’m going to summarise the rest of my time in Greenland in bullet point form.
Greenland: icy, cold winds, lots of meat (unfortunately for me), lots of emptiness, dancing Northern Lights, the smallest cities in the world, bloody expensive beers (though there are two craft breweries – hooray).
Marathons: amazing, cold (though I still managed to sweat buckets), hilly, icy, quiet.
Runners: probably my favourite part of the run and the whole trip was the runners. This was the first run(s) where I never listened to any music, and spent half of the time chatting to other runners. There may have only been 120+ of us, but I felt less alone than the ‘40,000+ runners’ events I’ve done. Such an inspiring bunch that have given me plenty of ideas for future challenges.
Placing (out of the females):
Half marathon: 14th
Full Marathon: 5th
Polar Challenge: 7th
At the finish line of the Polar Marathon!
Next Challenge
When an event has constantly been on your mind for what seems like forever, it’s an odd feeling when it’s suddenly over and done with. There is a mixture of relief, happiness… and emptiness.
So I’m now in search of the next challenge. I honestly need some ideas, so if you have any let me know 🙂
Since the France to China by bike fundraiser, I hadn’t planned to take part in another event fundraiser (mainly to save my friends and family from the constant spamming of requests for donations).
“Our small hotel profits are essential to covering the costs of operating Ometepe Bilingual School…
Unfortunately, the riots that started on April 19th have worsened, and are seriously impacting the hotel’s ability to support the school. Reservations were cancelled including high school and college groups, tour operators, and independent travelers.”
Michael and I visited the hotel and school last year while cycling through the country, so I already had admiration for the project. I was also fortunate enough to witness the positive impact the school had had on the children, the local community and the environment.
I decided the Polar Marathon was a good opportunity to fundraise for the school.
All donations will be going directly to the school (minus the site’s fundraising fees) and you can visit the donation page here. I’ve discovered the site doesn’t work on all browsers (including Explorer), however it does work on Chrome and Safari. If you are having any issues making a donation, please get in touch.
The Polar Marathon fundraising campaign is open until the end of November 2018, however you are still able to donate after this date, if you wish.
The children also sent me this cute video, which I thought I would include in the post. Muchas gracias los ninos!
About the School and Current Situation
Nicaragua is involved in a difficult political crisis with government corruption resulting in extreme poverty for the hardworking people of Nicaragua.
Countries have issued travel warnings advising people not to visit the country. This is having a drastic impact on a country whose economy relies heavily on tourism.
The hotel, Hacienda Merida has dedicated it´s profits during the past 10 years to educating the children of Nicaragua, conserving our natural environment, and developing effective solutions to decrease poverty and food insecurity.
Unfortunately the hotel is no longer receiving any visitors, income or any profits for the school. The school and the children are at risk are sadly at risk.
An independent National survey publish by the International Foundation for the Global Economic Challenge (FIDEG in Spanish) found that in 2017, 41.2% of the Nicaraguan people are living at the poverty rate of $2.33 U.S. dollars per day, with an additional 7.7% in extreme poverty earning only $1.15 per day.
In addition, because of political mismanagement, many Nicaraguan’s have limited access to food and other goods, services, and health care. As the purchasing power of the average Nicaraguan continues to drop, the number of people in poverty increases. The current projections for 2018 indicate that by the end of this year, 57.3% of Nicaraguans will be in poverty.
The current crisis is taking an especially high toll on the beautiful children of Nicaragua. In rural areas, children have very limited access to education resulting in high rates of illiteracy. 21.8% of Nicaraguan rural children over the age of 10 are illiterate.
Any help is greatly appreciated – We all live in this world together and share the same planet. Political instability, poverty, and food insecurity do not recognize borders and have the potential to harm all of us.
A handful of people know that I’m running the Polar Circle Marathon in Greenland this Autumn. I haven’t told too many people about it – why Because, frankly, I have no idea whether I’m actually going to make it to the end. It’s going to be up there with one of the most extreme ‘whatthefuckwasIthinking’ challenges of my life.
Ometepe Bilingual School Fundraiser
I hadn’t planned on making this event a charity fundraiser, however when I recently received an email from the Ometepe Bilingual School in Nicaragua, explaining how the recent riots have had such a negative impact on their school and the children, I thought it was an opportunity to help out. Hey, if I’m risking losing an ear or nose to frost bite, I may as well do it for a good cause!
For those that don’t know, I visited the school last year while Michael and I were cycling through Nicaragua. We had the pleasure of staying at Hacienda Merida – an eco-friendly hotel on the stunning Ometepe Island. The hotel is the main source of funding for the school.
What makes Ometepe Bilingual school so special? The school is made out of rubbish – literally. Thousands of plastic bottles filled with rubbish can be found within the walls of the school. The school has a strong focus on sustainable practices, ecotourism (not greenwashing), reducing, reusing and recycling. If you want to read more about the sustainability of the school – I wrote an article on it last year.
Eco-bricks being used to make some tables and chairs for the school
It is also one of the few (if not only) schools in Nicaragua that teaches the importance of sustainability, as well as teaching both English and Spanish. The school recognises that becoming bilingual, and having an understanding of the importance of sustainability and environmentalism is a stepping-stone for the children on the island to empower themselves, and have a positive impact on their community. I should also mention that the school provides the education to children for free. The children that attend the school, predominately come from poor families. The school has been providing a great opportunity for these children.
You can still see the eco-bricks in the wall of the school.
Nicaraguan Riots
These riots have impacted on the school in a number of ways. The riots have decreased tourism to the area. The school runs of profits from the hotel. The riots have resulted in many cancellations of bookings, and very few people visiting the island or the hotel. The riots have also resulted in roadblocks, resources not reaching where they are most needed and the government withdrawing funding to schools to cover the cost of lunches, which were previously provided.
I haven’t found that the riots have been covered that much in the media in the UK, but to give you an idea of what has been happening in the country, I have included a couple of news articles worth checking out.
Hundreds of people have already died in these protests, which started in April, and sadly they don’t seem to be ending anytime soon. To think the riots started in response to a peaceful protest against pension reforms.
Sadly, if the riots don’t cease soon, and/or the school doesn’t find another source of income, then it’s likely it will close.
Being the eco-minded person I am, I fell in love with the school, as well as the hotel. As well as writing an article about the school, I even included it in our Nicaragua Cycle Video.
This may not be a challenge by bicycle, but it’s a human-powered, challenge nonetheless, and one, which I hope, will raise some funds for this amazing school, as well as raise some awareness about the issues currently taking place in Nicaragua.
If you have any questions about the marathon, the school, the hotel, Nicaragua or anything at all – please drop me a line.
Thank you for taking the time for reading. If you are in the position to sponsor me – thank you! If you are not in the position, please spend a minute and share this page with your friends and family.
Muchas gracias mi amigos!
I felt like I needed to include a photo of me running, and this is the only photo I could find!
It’s been over a year since we ended the long distance bike trip… yes, I know I haven’t blogged in ages – sorry! We are still alive, still cycling (though slightly shorter distances) and still running Cycletrekkers.
Though Michael and I are no longer cycle touring and have embarked on a somewhat normal-ish life, we have started experimenting with the exciting world of bikepacking.
So far, it’s been fab! We spent a few days bikepacking in the stunning Gower Pennisula in Wales, and almost a week cycling in the very challenging (for me) Cairngorms National Park in Scotland. Only a few cuts and bruises, and I definitely need to build on my riding skill, that said we already have been chatting about heading off on a few more trips.
Next on the cards, we have potentially Slovenia, potentially Spain and potentially Georgia. If you have any recommendations on great places to bikepack – let us know!
Apart from bikepacking, we have spent time settling into our new home in Bristol, England – absolutely awesome city!! We had a few false starts when we first moved to England, but we are finally a bit more settled now.
As we are living just off the Bath to Bristol bike path, it hopefully will be ideal for hosting and meeting some other Warmshowers cyclists – so let us know if you do happen to be in the area.
Readjusting to… normality
Like most people that have just finished a cycle trip – readjusting took sometime. I was more prepared for it this time around – after the France to China by trip, the feelings of being disconnected from society and the overall cultural shock took me by surprise. This time, though I was more prepared, there were still the emotional challenges.
It was hard readjusting my mindset to a life where people (ie. me) didn’t have to worry about whether I had enough water to get through the next 24 hours, or where I was going to sleep tonight or tomorrow night, or whether my tent was going to leak, or a tornado was going to randomly pass through during the night. It is an odd feeling – going from worrying about life essentials/ survival, to worrying about, well things that don’t really matter.
Michael and I are still appreciating the little things in life, like having access to an oven, running water, hot showers, a good range of food, not living on an extreme budget, owning more than 5 pairs of clothes (I could go on and on). Though, still at times I feel very disconnected from society, especially when discussing anything about celebs, pop culture, or what’s on TV (I haven’t even bothered to buy a TV). These things didn’t matter in my life for 5 years – and though it’s common knowledge to some, for me, it’s not. It has lead to a few awkward conversations, including one where I wasn’t even sure whether Cher was still alive.
At times I miss the simplicity of life on the bike, but I am still happy with our decision – I think it was the right one; and I am are enjoying where we are right now.
Next on the agenda…
Other than readjusting, I’ve been training for an icy run I’m taking part in this Autumn – more about that in my next post. And, though I feel like I have rarely had a free minute, I cannot think of what else Michael and I have been up to this past year. Riding, working, eating, running, sleeping, cooking, hiking…
I DO plan to clear out, update and post more on our website over the next few months. So watch this space!
