With the depths of winter creeping ever nearer, it feels like a good time to cast our minds back to the past summer season and review the 2022 yearreflect on what has been another extraordinary 2022 year for Bike the UK for MS. Coming out of a difficult couple of COVID stricken years, we weren’t sure what to expect, but as ever your excitement and generosity blew us away. A ‘new look’ full schedule of four trips hit the road and collectively the teams raised over £65,000 which you can all be immensely proud of.
Land’s End to John O’Groats
Our schedule started with our small, but mighty, Land’s End to John O’Groats team who tackled our traditional 15 day adventure with more smiles than we’ve ever seen before. Helped by the glorious weather to kick off the ride, the team crushed their way through the relentless Cornish hills and up and over Dartmoor, before settling into a rhythm through Wales and the West Midlands. The heatwave (who remembers those glorious days) was no match for the quintet who took every opportunity for a roadside ice cream or lakeside nap.
Windermere marked the halfway point and our new favourite overnight spot courtesy of Christian Davies of the Westmorland South Lakes MS Society Group. A spectacular boathouse on Lake Windermere for the team to camp and recharge (much like our favourite Jackery units) ahead of the final stint through Northern England and into the Scottish Highlands.
With temperatures dropping, but the sun still shining (sorry fellow LEJOGers being triggered with memories of sideways rain and washed out campsites, you got unlucky), the team battled on to celebrate the wonderful adventure in John O’Groats. This was our only End to End adventure for 2022, but who knows, maybe John O’Groats to Land’s End will be back in the future.
North Coast 500
Following on from the success of our inaugural NC500 ride in 2021, it’s safe to say the Scottish route has become our favourite week long adventure in the UK. The 360 degree views, meandering coastal roads and white sand beaches with mountainous backdrops, make for spectacular riding wherever you are. It’s so good in fact, we had to run it twice this summer!
Two intrepid teams, totalling 35 riders, took on the challenge in July and September respectively. Despite tough conditions on both occasions, the teams were up to the task, completing the 500+ mile route with 36,000 feet of elevation over 8 days.
Collectively raising over £36,700 for multiple sclerosis, the teams tackled the likes of Bealach na Ba, the infamous 2,000ft climb from Applecross, the windy and exposed North coast as well as an early inland stretch to Lairg before sticking to the classic coastal route. Their level of determination was remarkable with every rider was deservedly beaming with pride on returning to the start/finish line at Inverness Castle.
Sea to Sea
Finally our shortest, but by no means easiest adventure, saw us take on the Sea to Sea from Whitehaven to Tynemouth over an August long weekend. Despite more wet and wild conditions (I thought this was meant to have been the UK’s hottest and driest summer on record) the 17 strong team kept pushing through.
A thankfully dry summit of Hartside Pass on day two was a welcome relief after a wet first day, but the climbing didn’t stop there. Traversing the Pennines through Northumberland made for some breathtaking (excuse the pun) views with even the best panoramic photos not doing it justice. Who needs the Dolomites when you can ride through Northern England?
After ticking off the final climb out of Stanhope before breakfast on day three, it’s all downhill to Newcastle. Riding along the banks of the river Tyne, through the city centre, is a stark contrast to the prior few days, but a lovely way to make it out to Tynemouth for the finale. We were even lucky enough to have the trip finish up with a proposal, and don’t worry, she said yes! That’s two out of two for Bike the UK for MS trip proposals.
MS Society Groups
As ever, our trips wouldn’t be the same without the phenomenal MS Society groups that we meet along the way. We will be delving deep into how we support the groups and fund vital MS research in future posts, but for now we wanted to say a huge thank you to all the groups that came out to cheer on the teams this year! It really does brighten up our days and gives a true sense of purpose to why we ride. We can’t wait to see you all and hopefully many others next summer.
Another thank you to Squire Locks and Jackery UK for supporting the teams this summer. Squire Locks allowed the teams to rest assured that their bikes were safe throughout the day and night with a range of award winning locks to choose from. While Jackery ensured the riders were fully juiced (not like that!) with power for their phones, bike computers, lights and even ebike batteries from their portable power units. Thank you for making our adventures even better and we can’t wait to work with them further in 2023!
Join us in 2023
Have our 2022 cycling trips tickled your fancy? Why not join us next summer for an adventure? Our 2023 campaigns (Land’s End to John O’Groats, North Coast 500 and Sea to Sea) are live so bag your spot today! We are already a third full on both LEJOG and our July NC500 so don’t miss out.
Got a few questions before you commit? Reach out to us by email, phone or on socials and we will be there to help! See you on the open road in 2023.
