I had never been a keen cyclist, but I do love a challenge!! In 2008 I took up my first challenge for MacMillan and hiked to Machu Picchu in Peru for some travel, adventure and raise money for charity. I became addicted!!

The following year, I trekked in the Sahara dessert and climbed Kilimanjaro!! The sense of camaraderie and achievement was Uplifting and I knew I wanted to push myself more!

Cycling was to come next, I didn’t have a bike but on the way home from Peru I bought myself a basic bike and thought I would give it a go! It was torture in the beginning, and as the years have elapsed, it’s a bit like childbirth and you actually forget how bad it is! Getting bike fit was harder than getting hiking fit! As a busy person I am always on my feet running around but cycling took planning and a new regime.

I signed up again with MacMillan to cycle across Mexico- I have to confess these trips I have done have really improved my geography! The cycle was coast to coast and about 500kms over 6 days and took us over the mountains. Day 3 was the killer, we went up a 57km hill to a height of 3000m. Training on Mull stands you in good stead for hills, but this one was way higher and longer than anything I had ever done or would like to do again!
I made it from coast to coast and my love or desire of cycling began . On returning from Mexico, I upgraded my bike to a tri cross bike which has been great on the roads as well as the farm tracks at home.
After Mexico I took on the London to Paris cycle, which was a 370mile cycle over 4 days, ending up at the Eiffel Tower.
The following cycle was a few years later and off to the highs and lows of Madagascar I went for another 500km cycle. Most recently back in 2019 , Vietnam and Cambodia was the destination with a stunning country filled with lots of waterways and many a flat road.

Cycling LEJoG (Lands End to John O’Groats) is something that has always been on my bucket list, so reaching the age of 50 this year, I decided this was the year to do it! It is over twice as long as any previous cycle I have ever done and requires a significant amount of training! My cousin and very good friend Sharon has decided to sign up and do this with me this year!! Having someone to train with and share the aches and pains has been great! I decided I hadn’t written a blog for a while and thought I would write this for anyone who was interested in the highs and lows of cycling the length of Britain!