Join me on a solo winter cycling adventure as I kick off a 9-day journey from the iconic Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh to the regal Buckingham Palace in London. This is Day 1 of my unforgettable gravel bike trip, where I traverse through charming villages, lively towns, and dynamic cities, all while embracing the beauty of the winter landscape.
In this episode, witness the magic of the journey through my eyes as I pedal along enchanting routes, encountering both familiar faces and new friends. From the cobblestone streets of quaint villages to the vibrant pulse of urban centres, my gravel bike becomes a companion in this journey of self-discovery and exploration.
But the adventure doesn’t stop there. Get ready for the unexpected as I share the challenges of being soaked through by winter rain and finding shelter in a field alongside curious sheep.
Stay tuned for captivating stories, awe-inspiring landscapes, and the joyous moments shared with friends and strangers alike. Whether you’re a fellow cycling enthusiast, a travel lover, or someone curious about the thrill of winter cycling, this series invites you to experience the adventure with me.
Don’t miss out on the excitement! Subscribe, like, and ring the notification bell to join me on this exhilarating 9-day gravel bike expedition from Edinburgh to London. Let’s create lasting memories, embrace the winter spirit, and share the joy of the open road together. Welcome to the start of my epic cycling saga! 🚴♂️❄️ #MyCyclingAdventure #WinterJourney #GravelBikeExploration
Right I found a spot I’m basically stealth camped in a farmers field with Sheep right it’s the last 24 hours literally um I leave in 24 hours can you believe that and it doesn’t look too bad out there actually but obviously this is today tomorrow is another day I’m riding all the way from Edinburgh to London it’s 445 miles or something like that
Basically so yeah just riding camping right that’s it I’m switching off now so I’m going to basically get my [ __ ] together get some sleep wake up at 5:00 get the rest done pack everything else do my water put everything in a box everything I’m not taking with me I’m
Just going to whack into a box this is the morning I leave this is the 9th of December 2023 remember this date Palace the palace starts today in a few hours actually I’ll be cing down to London over 7 to 8 day period so I’m just basically just getting some stuff
Together putting everything that I don’t not going to be using in a box down there and I’ll take it downstairs get some breakfast and then set off I think Alex is joining me some of the way um yeah so here we go the time has come so this is
It I’m uh nearly done L light packed boxes my last two boxes room’s pretty empty clean the bathroom wiped all the surfaces that’s go my a on whiteboard should have really posted that down so but never mind mind it’ll go to a good home car will look after it so that’s it
Really the feeling you get like the feeling before you leave to do something like this is sort of like when you enter a race it’s that same sort of feeling that’s sort of like got to task ahead man you know so yeah [ __ ] it it’s got to be done
Now right that’s me I am now leaving s yeah finally um got Alex waiting for me to uh to ride down the road with me for a bit and then um yeah then it’s on the road to London get to the starting position and uh take it from
There that’s us setting off Alex is coming all the way to London love it right about the palace uh perfect weather for it absolutely pissing it down fantastic WEA that you need well the way I see is you start as you mean to go on you know what I mean
So if it starts raining it can only get better you know what I mean anyway see the other Side did six miles I’m tired and week yeah but no take care man and go steady and it’s been yeah will man yeah thanks dude I’m looking forward to seeing some videos yeah all right see you later see you later yeah yeah I’m coming back with you [ __ ] this
[ __ ] [ __ ] this [ __ ] man yeah yeah see you later man all right so Alex left me on me going now no turning back as you can see this is [ __ ] Horrible just checking to see where I am right I’m actually going to get the waterproof jacket on cuz this is no longer sort of cutting it it’s only like a light shell I’m starting to get really wet so and these are the shoes I’ve got these are gortex uh sport Eva sort of
Hiking boots they use these for climbing in Austria and all sorts [ __ ] amazing amazing bits of Kit with some Gators as well which does help a hell of a lot cuz your feet get soaked pretty quickly if we don’t have Gators right here I am at Nancy’s snack bar
It’s not open but I’ve stopped anyway cuz I stopped to put this on because the rain is not letting up it was just continuous and the top I had on was not suitable if it’s like this all the way to London this is going to be the very
Interesting Journey but anyway I’m going to keep the stories coming I want to keep an updating just because I can really chat soon mate that rain is nasty it’s not good it’s going to make this a lot slower a lot harder in the rain but going to battle on
Anyway what don’t kill you might just hurt a tad right C is asking me to go that way why don’t I trust it to care about that locked or let the moaning commence I can hope when this route’s all right let me assume it is this is what I mean right basically takes
You it’s taking me along a route with the [ __ ] where the cow is man right I’ve only just really started and it’s already kamut is taking me through a field with a whole load of cows in front of me don’t know if you can actually see that
So that’s not ideal I had a funny feeling this wasn’t the best way to be honest but I don’t know whether to keep on going or not because I’ve done this before and it just ends up a massive nightmare when you’re going in fields with cows and all that it’s never a good
Sign to be honest right not a good start literally I went that way basically I went yeah I went sorry I went that way right the Kimo asked me to go that way but that’s like there’s like hundreds of cows on the path you know what I mean
I’m not like riding through cows man so I went that way to try and find that and it’s just took you back here I’m back at the start I literally just Rod around a massive great big circle can you believe that I’m gutted man absolute waste of time dude yeah slightly
Wet it’s pretty cool actually luckily enough it’s not cold if it’s freezing cold and wet that would be nasty but it’s actually not that cold so I can take one or the other not both you know right I found a spot I’m basically stealth camped in a farmer field with with
Sheep I didn’t um actually realize there was sheep in here until I set up the camp and then I saw loads of sheep anyway so I’m meeting a banana by the way um that’s me come down for the night so I’m knocking on the head she’s going to go up
Early and set off early do so uh yeah that’s it bit of a short Journey really but it’s a bit of a mental sort of um yeah it was a mental route really so I had to change the route slightly because it was taking me through like these like
Farmers Fields cows and all sorts like you know so yeah I’ve stuck to the road this time good right all right hello mate treler what’s happening well [ __ ] decided to Camp mate well it it’s 4:00 it’ be getting dark I don’t think that’s a bad thing yeah what I mean I’ve just basically
Justum jumped into a farmers field and just using the wall just put T tied the top to the wall I’ll far from Eden yeah well I don’t know man I went R in [ __ ] circles for half an hour ended up back to this cuz I didn’t cuz I didn’t go
Down told you with [ __ ] no what it is mate probably really good on them European routes through the mountains also as well man I think it’s just using gravel this time of the years probably not the best idea cuz you’re going through like field after field and it’s
Two Fields I had to avoid and then it just [ __ ] up once if you if you avoid the field then it [ __ ] it up you know you end up it just sends you back the fields were literally just pure mud whatever exactly it’s just mud and cows man there’s like [ __ ] 30 cows
Right on the path and I was like [ __ ] that am I trying to get past all them cows that’s just ridiculous CS will get you get you yeah but if they get you know you could end up getting [ __ ] stamp you know stampeded by him you know you never
Know maybe yeah anyway also I was like [ __ ] that it’s just pure muddy [ __ ] so I was like [ __ ] yeah I saw the picture it looked [ __ ] insane I’m glad you didn’t do it yeah well anyway yeah so I’ve just put it on now man I think it
Makes more sense just to do Road you know what I mean I told you just stick to the road go across the coast man or you can do it in two days well I’m going to be hitting the coast anyway I’m hitting the coast anyway cuz I’m heading to Norton which is Middles
Brush it’s on the on the way along there is it mid was below Newcastle though I’m on about the coast before Newcastle yeah I’m going to that light justce G nowhere sorry I’m stuck in traffic it’s pissing me off