The past few blogs have given you a sense of the planning, training and actual journey I undertook from Christchurch in Dorset up to Liverpool over three days. 266 miles, 8915 feet (2717 metres) of elevation and over 13000 calories burned.
It was epic, and whilst it took at least a few weeks for the scale of my personal achievement to sink in, I did take the opportunity to capture both photos and video content along the way to share on Instagram ( Andrew (@greenhorseontour) • Instagram photos and videos ) .
Whilst I recovered in Liverpool and during the following few days I tried to share the ride by creating a feel Instagram reels, having provided some updates during the ride itself. Whilst my following on social media is relatively small (please feel free to follow me and like my content if you'd like) I've not quite broken the internet yet with the content I have shared.
However what I am keen to do through these blogs and when I get myself organised through the creation of video content on Youtube ( greenhorseontour - YouTube ) is to share my story and hopefully allow others to be inspired by what I have done and continue to plan to undertake on the bike.
I might have brought a level of self motivation, passion and drive to my own cycling in 2022, some of this journey has in fact been inspired by a number of excellent Youtube and Instagram travel vloggers who I would like to point you towards if you are in any way interested.
My first taste of bike travel online was through Niels Jansen ( cycling around the planet - YouTube ). Over the end of 2021 I found myself travelling with Niels as he headed from his home in the Netherlands initially up to Sweden in the early days of the covid pandemic, and then on to the northern most tip of europe and all the way to the southern most tip of Africa. My youngest daughter would possibly describe his style as wholesome, the story is compelling and he was the first Youtube content creator to inspire me.
I'd also reference Martijn Doolard ( Martijn Doolaard - YouTube ) who's videos I keep re-watching , especially the Two Years On A Bike series for which I have also purchased the book which is itself a work of art. Too much travelling to do justice to in a short paragraph (his photos and videos are quite beautiful!), but if you don't consider a bike adventure having watched his journey from Washington state to Patagonia then maybe its not for you!
Not bike related but I should also mention Liam Brown, no relation, but a UK based traveller ( LiamBrown - YouTube ) . Liam continues to make some of the most honest, all round lovely videos of his adventures, and I can't wait to see what he has been up to next.
Lastly , and this is only my personal top four in terms of what content I have seen on Youtube is Patrick Ehrenholm ( Patrick Ehrenholm - YouTube ). Patrick travelled from his home in Sweden to South Africa and whilst he doesn't know this his choice of bike in part influenced my own choice, a bike being ridden across Europe and Africa is a reasonable recommendation for my more humble bike usage!
I know I said lastly earlier but I should also mention Peter Gostelow ( Peter Gostelow (@petegost) • Instagram photos and videos ) who constantly fills my life with joy as he rides around Ireland (earlier this year) and currently as I type down through Europe from England to Turkey.
Whilst it would be easy to romanticise the life style of a cycle touring vlogger, and there are moments when I have, what I have taken from all of these people (and there are loads more I could reference......) is that there is a very simple, positive joy from cycling. Pushing myself to cycle a little further each day quickly turned into cycling for fun, and setting myself a more challenging goal which I achieved.
For those of you worrying I'm pleased to say that my knee injury was minor, painful for a few days but as far as I can tell no lasting damage and nothing noticeable now. What I have also taken from these travellers is that there is a lot of planet earth out there to explore, and with a relatively time poor life at present (work gets in the way if I'm honest :-) ) small intense bursts of adventure for the time being will be how I get to stretch myself and my horizons.
My brain at times is keen to head off and work out all the possible cycle routes I could take on, maybe a cycle round the Isle of Wight, maybe heading over to France and beyond, but reality keeps this in check most of the time, so for now as I start to think about 2023 I have a plan forming to stitch together new rides with the Christchurch to Liverpool route I have completed to travel from Lands End to John O'Groats over a few three or four day bite size trips.
On a map at least I hope to achieve a ride from one end of the UK to the other, maybe throwing in other destinations if time and finances allow this year. As I am sat typing this, after a week of dry but cold weather my mind is constantly thinking of warmer places to be cycling around instead of the UK in winter, but the reality is that I'll need to treat every cycle as training for a future adventure, and the miles keep racking up. I might not quite get to 3500 miles for 2022, but I have plenty of days left to get somewhere close, and therefore plenty of time to plan for the next steps in the cycling journey. The danger is that I'm already a few steps ahead of myself planning the adventure after next, rather than enjoying the next ride.....maybe that's just how I am wired, but as an example the next long ride might have added levels of adventure, maybe camping along the way ?
(Worth also noting that I haven't ever wild camped, and the last time I did any camping was with a very large family tent over 22 years ago......and I'm pretty sure local pubs supplied the meals! Tent and associated kit are next on my list of items to research) (also worth noting that I wrote this in December 2022....just in case you are reading this and it sounds slightly dated).