Felix Young, Author at Bike the UK for MS

Consistent Training: The Key to Summer Cycling Success part 1

Here is the latest installment of Felix’s training tips series – this time covering the importance of training little and often to help get you ready for summer cycling adventures like a Bike the UK for MS trip. Whether you are used to riding and are looking to up the mileage in preparation for something like Land’s End to John O’ Groats or you found your love of two wheels more recently and are looking to test yourself on a shorter trip like Coast to Coast or Lon Las Cymru; consistency is the key to preparing yourself for a cycling challenge.

One Step, Not a Giant Leap

Whilst riding all day (or weekend, or week…!) is the closest thing to what you will do on a long-distance cycling trip, relying on those rides alone is not the most effective way to prepare. These rides take a lot of physical energy (not to mention emotional energy) and time and as a result you will need to recover for a substantial amount of time between each one. As a result, the adaptations to training won’t be able to accumulate and make you fitter. In order to achieve the frequency of exercise to start to see fitness gains, you need to make the training stimulus a frequent enough thing that your body reacts; “I am being asked to exercise lots, I should prioritise making it easier to do so.” If you were asked a question about the headlines each morning when
getting to work, you might check the news on your way in.

However, if you were asked to write a detailed analysis of international politics with no preparation on an irregular basis then you would not be able to do an effective job. You might give up and work elsewhere. This is like asking your body to muster up a huge bike ride once in a while with little preparation. It isn’t ready to carry out the task properly and as a result you are likely to quit.

Better to accumulate knowledge in small chunks over a long time. It is the same with training and fitness. Something that you can do often can build up to a really strong base of fitness. When you then ask your body to do a big ride (like being asked to write that long essay), then all it takes is a bit of final preparation to build on what you already have in the locker.

Starting with an achievable amount of training that you can replicate day to day and week to week is the key at the beginning. As you get used to training and your body adapts, then you may be able to train for longer or harder and continue to develop your fitness that way. Trying to skip ahead and do too much too soon is likely to cause injury. Or, like the analogy above, increases the chance that you will just give up on what you are trying to achieve

Build a Routine to Build a Habit

How can you achieve this consistency? For a lot of people, establishing a regular routine is how to start. If you keep the approach the same again and again then a good habit can follow and it becomes (relatively) effortless to sustain the routine. It can make it easier for things to be planned if less needs to change.

Same time, same place, same kit – you can almost start to do things on autopilot. If lots of the pieces are in place then it allows you to focus your energy on the other things that may be making it harder for you to do your session.

I love exploring new routes on a ride or run, but at 7am before breakfast when I am fitting in 30 mins before work I just need to follow a route that I always do so I don’t have to think about it. If I needed to plan a route, then the run would probably not even happen.

I am More Spontaneous Than That!

Maybe a fixed routine isn’t for you. What tricks can help to get a consistent pattern of training established? Whilst a routine is the set dinner – put an a la carte menu in front of yourself. Having a range of different sessions on hand to allow you to react to the
circumstances (or what you fancy doing) is super useful. This is also a really good tool to have at your disposal should life get in the way of your routines.

Here is the kind of menu that you might have available:
–2 hour road ride
–30 min easy run
–Strength session at the gym
–45 mins hill rep session on the bike
–Brisk walk for an hour
–Yoga and stretching session at home
–Mountain bike ride on the local pump track or trails
–1km interval run

Imagine the scene: I have got home from work and it is dark & wet out, dinner needs cooking and so I only have an hour or so to exercise. If I saw things as a 2 hour ride or nothing then I would have to do nothing. It isn’t worth getting all my wet weather cycling gear on (I would have used my entire hour up by the time I got out of the door!). I don’t want to ride in traffic
in the dark.

But… running in the rain isn’t as bad (in my opinion) as cycling can be and there is a good loop around the neighbourhood where I can do some intervals. Or, I could get out for a walk/easy run if I don’t fancy running hard. I could do a yoga session at home or pop to the gym and get a strength session. If you have a ton of options available, instead of “it’s dark and rainy” meaning that you don’t get any exercise done then it just changes what you do. You can be a lot more consistent as a result. All the things on the menu will help in their own way and the variety can actually be a huge help.

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Take a look on our Instagram and Facebook to see the full summary of Felix’s consistency tips

To read more on how to be consistent with your training, click here to read the second part of this blog.

Bike the UK for MS Heads Off-Road

Gravel riding has become increasingly popular across the cycling world and I must admit that personally, I hadn’t quite got what all the fuss was about. Things changed after testing out both the Coast to Coast route as well as our new King Alfred’s Way ride. Two very different rides – but enough to give this roadie an appetite for more!

Away from it all

The traditional Coast to Coast route is already well crafted to ensure that traffic-free paths and quiet country lanes dominate; the off-road sections act to add a little spice and adventure to the ride with another layer of escapism from the rest of the busy world on top. Day 2 is dominated by some exquisite “top of the world” tracks across the open moorland of the Pennines. There is some serious elevation change to get high up on top of the hills but the expansive views and isolated feel take you to what could be another world from the hustle and bustle of England’s cities (and roads, for that matter!). It is amazing how all of a sudden you realise that on a doubletrack gravel road you feel freer to ride side by side, gaze around to take it all in and ride with verve that sticking to the left hand side of even the more idyllic country lane can’t quite replicate. And the King Alfred’s Way route has that in bucketloads. Without the height of the Pennine moors but with plenty of ripples in the south of England countryside to rack up the elevation change, it was genuinely astounding that I was riding so close to major population centres whilst in my own little world following byway and bridleway. Want to have a bike ride where you get to explore somewhere you would never have gone otherwise? Want to have a bike ride where you have hours of time riding without the buzz of traffic? Want to experience a completely different type of cycling? Then come and dip your tyres off-road with us this summer!

Time flies when you are having fun

I bit off more than I could chew when I went to check out the first part of the King Alfred’s Way route. With an ambitious plan to cover possibly even up to 2/3 of the total route in a single day and no real option shorter than 100 miles it was going to be a long day on my mountain bike. In the end, 100 miles was still enough that it got dark (I was riding in October…!) before I reached the train station but it was a 12 hour bike ride and then some. And yet, genuinely, it bore none of the drudgery of a long winter road ride (despite the fact over six hours of it was in the rain). A combination of factors meant that I had no time to be bored: the added concentration needed to pick the best line through the mildly technical off-road sections; the extra gazing around at the forests, moors, hillsides and open fields; the extra precision needed in spotting the hidden entrance to a byway diving off down some ancient sunken lane; deciding which spot needed a photo and which was best to stop for a snack – all these and more were just a little more dynamic than on a road ride and the time passed quicker for it. Can you have too much of a good thing? I am a roadie at heart after all. Well, both the King Alfred’s Way and our off-road route for C2C dip in and out off the rougher stuff – mixed in with sections of country road to click some speedier kilometres by. Mountain bikers might shudder at the thought but I found that after a while off-road I would feel like a bit of smoother riding would be just nice… and along came a section on the road. Then, after a while I would think “wouldn’t it be nice to change things up?” and then here comes a turn onto the dirty stuff. Everyone has their own blend of what they want from a bike ride – can we call this one an “all you can eat buffet”? Perhaps. And so, looking for challenge, adventure or training (or perhaps all of the above)? Then skipping off the asphalt and into the dirt might just be a better way of doing so that you have ever tried before.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

I put my mountain bike cleats in my bag. I brought my bike with me. What I didn’t do was put my SPD pedals on my bike… So, with the first open bike shop on a Sunday morning 60km into the route it was a good job that the first part of the King Alfred’s Way route was easy going. Otherwise my inappropriate footwear perched precariously on the pedals would have been a nightmare to propel across the rougher sections. As it was, things just worked out fine and I was very glad that my compatibility issues were solved as the going got tougher after lunch. Personal gaffes aside – going on an off-road adventure might be an alluring prospect for you but the unknown that hides around the bend of the bridleway might be enough to put the brakes on any such exploring. That is why we run our trips like we do. It is your ride, to enjoy in the way that you want to. But our Route Leaders are never far away to provide assistance. That includes in the build up to the trip as you get everything in order. You can learn from my owns mistakes, plus those of the hundreds of riders who have donned the Bike the UK for MS journey and set out across the country before you. If you have wanted to take the leap and go on adventure then let us be there right behind you helping you go where you wouldn’t otherwise quite feel ready to. I will be putting together some more detailed notes about the off-road routes on offer in 2025 for those of you who wish to have a proper idea of what awaits around the corner on your adventures – stay tuned for those updates.

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Take a look on our Instagram and Facebook to see the full adventures video documented during my ride and more!

#MOVE4MS: three times around the Earth

We moved three times around the Earth in January for those living with MS

Bike the UK for MS’s January #move4ms challenge was to move 1 kilometre for each of the 130,000 people living with multiple sclerosis in the UK. After 31 days the final count was 125,323km, just a little short of our target but still enough to complete the equivalent of three laps around the world!

355 cyclists, runners, walkers and swimmers logged their movement throughout the month of January to raise awareness and funds to support those living with MS. We organised the challenge as we enters our tenth year of organising cycling challenges such as Land’s End to John O’Groats and Scotland’s North Coast 500 to raise money for (amongst others) the MS Society and its local support groups across the UK.

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

Multiple sclerosis is a condition that affects your brain and spinal cord and has a huge range of symptoms which can vary widely from individual to individual. Once diagnosed, MS stays with you for life but there are treatments that can manage the condition and its symptoms.

It goes to show; 130,000 people is a lot! It can be hard to visualise big numbers, but three times around the world and they still didn’t quite cover one kilometre for each person living with MS in the UK.

To put it another way, that’s one in every 500 people. Enough to fill Wembley Stadium one and a half times. That is why charities such as Bike the UK for MS need everyone’s help: to continue to raise funds and awareness to help those living with MS.

If you would like to take a look at Bike the UK for MS’s summer 2024 trips then you can find them here: https://www.biketheukforms.org/our-routes/

Stay tuned for Bike the UK for MS’s next challenge during MS Awareness Week from 22nd to 28th April!

Cycling training for your first multi-day bike ride

Training to ride across the a country can seem like a daunting prospect. With the right preparation and cycling training, the excitement and sense of achievement that long cycling trips can provide are yours for the taking. Whilst cycling is as simple as putting one pedal stroke after the next, to ensure that you get the most out of your adventures it is important to prepare. Get ready to enjoy the experience, not suffer through it!

Getting out on the bike

The key to getting good at riding a bike? Riding a bike! It sounds simple, but getting regular rides in can prove more challenging than it would first seem when faced with the rigours of modern life. Be it work, family life or other commitments – carving out the hours (and it is hours…) needed to consistently train can often fall behind other parts of our lives. There is no single way to do things but here are some ideas to consider:

1 – The path of least resistance to cycling training.

Consider what is the easiest way to fit your cycling training in around the rest of your life. It may be a short time each morning that you can take to do some riding or it may be your commute to and from work. It may be that not riding every day allows you to get enough done that you can go for longer rides at the weekend.

Our cyclist have always loved cycling in the Highlands.

Perhaps jumping on an indoor trainer allows you to get a quick ride in where getting kitted up to head out of the door is going to use up all of the time you have available to ride. The question to ask yourself is – will this make it easier for me to ride? If the answer is “yes” then that is the path to follow!

2 – Consistency is the key.

It is certainly preferable to ride frequently than to stop and start. This gives your body the right prompts to adapt to the training and build fitness. If you only ride once a month, even if this is a monster ride, your body is not going to get used to what you are asking it to do. This is unlikely to mean riding every day (unless you are already riding lots or you are doing lots of shorter rides) as you must also be careful not to overload your body.

Progressing things little by little will ensure that you are training the right amount. For example, adding an extra day of riding after a few weeks of consistently riding a certain number of days or extending one of your rides by half an hour to build more endurance. You will be surprised how much total cycling training “volume” it is possible to build up by doing little and often as opposed to big surges and stops.

Cheddar Gorge delivery the breathtaking backdrop on the LEJOG route.

3 – Make yourself accountable.

The beauty of an individual sport like cycling is that you can train on your own agenda. However, being your own boss also means that you have to be able to motivate yourself and hold yourself to account.

Arranging to ride with friends or family can be a great way to drag your unwilling body out of bed on a weekend morning for a ride when the snooze button is calling (we have all been there!). Or knowing that you have a distance goal for the week that you are aiming to hit may help you take the bike to work on a rainy morning instead of grabbing the car keys.

It will depend on the kind of person you are and what motivates you, but make sure the planning-version of you helps the athlete-version to overcome the hardest bit of any ride – getting your kit on!

4 – Find what you enjoy.

In a similar vein to #1, if you are able to ride in a way that you love doing then it will be far easier to do it more often. If you love to be social then build a calendar of rides with others. If you love data then use any of the apps, such as Strava, to log all your rides. If you love to explore then plan rides that will take you to new places. If you love a routine then find a pattern that you will enjoy. If you love variety then mix it up!

Cycling training to get fitter isn’t 100% fun 100% of the time, but it is also supposed to be an enjoyable part of your life. You will be able to tackle the hard bits with full commitment if they are part of something you fundamentally enjoy 🙂

Cycling training is an eating contest on wheels

I enjoy cycling. I also enjoy eating. What a happy coincidence that those two things are such complementary activities. If you are going to travel a long way, then you need fuel. Fuel for a car or van is petrol, diesel or electricity. Fuel for a cyclist is food! There is a world of complexity that can sometimes make it seem impossible to know what to eat on a long distance cycling trip or whilst training for one but here are some of the broad places to start (that will probably be all you need to get there unless you are looking to break world records on the way…):

1 – Food is fuel for cycling training.

All food is fuel. There are some fuels that are better than others, but it is far more common to be eating not enough than too much. As a result, something is usually better than nothing* (*caveats apply, of course!). There are sport-specific products that offer convenience, typically at a cost premium, but in general terms the food you like to eat (or the food you can get your hands on if you are being particularly adventurous!) is a great place to start.

Riding for hour after hour leaves your muscles primed to gobble almost anything up ready for use to push the pedals around. Carbohydrate and fat are the primary fuels that the body uses with protein needed to repair the body from the battering that riding can cause (think: sore muscles). What a luxury – the more your ride the more you need to eat!

2 – Staying topped up during a ride is essential…

…particularly if you are riding for more than two hours. Your body can store up to around 2 hours of fuel and if you are exercising for longer than that without eating then it is going to have to start scrambling around for scraps which can start to have damaging consequences. You don’t have to be able to eat whilst still moving (although practicing this can help you stay on top of things) as planning a stop with a view (or coffee!) can help you top up the tank.

If you run out of energy on a ride it can be a really horrible experience (speaking from personal experience again here…). For cyclists, your blood glucose levels drop as your body searches around for a way to keep the muscles going. This can leave you feeling dizzy and make it very hard to go on. If you get to this point, you have already not eaten enough and by a long way!

The quiet towns of Wales on Lon Las Cymru, one of our 2024 Charity Bike Rides for MS

3 – Getting it in can be the hardest thing (and keeping it in!).

There are lots of foods that I love to eat but make a poor companion to a bike ride; a roast for example. Think about having food that will be comfortable and easy to consume (not to mention carry – jersey pockets were not made to carry gravy) as your body will be busy enough powering your muscles that adding other complicated things for it to deal with (such as digesting a heavy meal) may be too much.

Practice makes perfect in this regard and this is a key reason why eating during your cycling training will help ensure that you are ready for your main ride. Not only will you start to get an idea of what works for you, but your body will also start to get used to the demands of dealing with exercise and digestion at the same time.

Learning from mistakes while cycling training

I said at the start that cycling can be as simple as one pedal stroke after another. However, there are lots of small things that can add up to a successful cycling trip or remove the fun from one. Even people who have been riding for decades still do things that make them think “I’ll never do that again.” To give a personal example, on my first long-distance bike ride I took a heavy bike lock with me. I never locked my bike to anything and there was never really the prospect that I would. I essentially took several kilograms of metal for a trip around the countryside (and up all of the hills). Now, I think ahead about whether I might need a lock before starting out on the ride.

Where you are matters!

These little mistakes are unavoidable – they are part of the experience. Nevertheless, it is a lot better to learn that your jacket isn’t actually waterproof when you are 15 minutes from your house instead of on the North Coast of Scotland with several hours more riding to go. It is useful to know you need some lower gears whilst riding on your local hill instead of facing up to a steep Welsh mountain. It is useful to know in advance that your bottle rattles out of your bottle cage whilst heading down the street outside your house instead of crossing a cattle grid on Dartmoor.

The list goes on and on, but the crucial point is: the more rides you do in preparation for your multi-day cycling trip, the more of these snags you will catch and turn your ride into an enjoyable experience packed with new and exciting memories instead of answering the question of “how was your ride from Land’s End to John O’ Groats?” with “my pedal creaked a million times: once for every pedal stroke I took!”

Looking for your next cycling trip?

Join Bike the UK for MS this summer with rides ranging from 3 day Coast to Coast cycles to 2 week Land’s End to John O’Groats adventures. Visit Scotland for the North Coast 500 cycle, Wales for Lon Las Cymru or even mainland Europe with our London to Paris trip.

Meeting up with MS Society local support groups

UK Programme Manager, Felix Young, shares a report from his visits to two of the MS Society support groups that our riders’ fundraising goes towards.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet two of the MS Society support groups close to where I live last week at their monthly social events. These events are an integral part of what these volunteer-led groups do to ensure that their members can access social occasions that are appropriate to their needs.

First up was the Cheltenham, Gloucester & Forest of Dean group in Yorkley. This is one of the groups that the riders on our Land’s End to John O’ Groats trip meet each year as they ride across the UK. In the spirit of our January #move4ms challenge, I decided to travel by train and bike meaning that I could use the ride up from the train station to add some kilometres to the team total. This meant I arrived a little flustered – forgetting that the ride up to Yorkley is all uphill and perhaps over-estimating my climbing abilities with the time allowed!

It is always a treat to see some familiar faces as well as having the opportunity to meet new members of the group. After sharing some of Bike the UK for MS’s story so far it was exciting to introduce some of our 2024 projects to the group including #move4ms, our MS Awareness Week Challenge and the summer trips that riders will be taking on all across the UK plus the personal challenge that I am planning to undertake in the Spring (watch this space!).

This led to tales of midges and ticks (I am not sure why my stories kept on coming back to bugs just before the cake was served up?!) as well as some of the stories from my summer at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships – taking place not long after I had last met the group in July. It wasn’t just me talking though (as can sometimes happen…), chatting with the members of the MS Society groups has been the main place where I have learned more about what it means to live with MS. As someone who did not have a personal connection to MS before I rode with Bike the UK for MS, it can be hard to truly understand:

“There are things I would like to join in with but MS stops me. I love gardening for example and my partner helps me and there is a local gardening group; they organise things like a walk in the woods to see the daffodils emerge. I won’t be able to join in with things like that and so I miss out.”

“I would love to join an art club. We were making wreaths and everyone was picking out what they wanted to put in theirs – I can’t hold things because of my MS though and so I didn’t know what to do. You don’t want to keep asking people to do things for you.”

A reminder that Bike the UK for MS is all about using the power of the bike to make a difference to those living with MS.

The following day I was able to take the short bike ride over the hill to Cumberwell Park Golf Club to meet up with the Bath & District group of the MS Society to join them for their Christmas celebration meal. This group was the first one that Bike the UK for MS supported back in 2014 and on a personal level was my first time meeting a local support group of the MS Society.

Members such as David and Julie have been members of the group since back then 10 years ago and it is always such a pleasure to re-acquaint myself and hear the stories that they have ready to tell. Despite all the challenges that living with MS had created for them it is so humbling to feel their determination and desire to overcome the day-to-day effects of the condition.

It is also particularly pertinent to spend time with the family who provide the support that they need every day of their lives. These social events are just as important for them as for the members who are living with MS. There are 130,000 people living with MS in the UK but the affect it has on people’s lives reaches much further to those around them and it can be easy to underestimate this impact until you get to know people such as the wonderful members of the local support groups.

The Bath & District group has a minibus that can carry up to three people using wheelchairs and the group are now fortunate to have a number of volunteer drivers who are able to help ensure that the group’s events are truly inclusive:

“It is so important. It can carry up to three people who otherwise would not be able to join in with what we do. It ensures that what we do is inclusive to everyone.”

The minibus does not come without its costs of course and there are a number of MS Society groups that I have met through my time with Bike the UK for MS that are not in a position where they can offer transport support in such a way. This can be particularly felt in rural locations such as north Wales or the Highlands of Scotland (places that Bike the UK for MS trips go to and so groups that our riders meet each year) where a single group may cover a vast area with limited transport options available.

The work that groups such as these would be utterly transformed if they had the financial support to be able to offer what the Bath & District group are able to do so with their minibus. We hope that with more fundraising and more awareness of the vital role that these volunteer groups carry out it will soon be possible for more people to access social events like to ones that I was lucky enough to be able to join – making a real difference to their quality of life whilst living with MS.

Route Leading: “It’s almost better than doing it yourself”

All you need to know about volunteering as a Route Leader with Bike the UK for MS

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Cycling in Cornwall & Devon – the “Big Bosses” of LEJOG

Bowser in Mario, the Elite Four in Pokemon and all other video game big bosses elicit the same thrill, excitement, frustration and dread in gamers. They push your skill, persistence, ingenuity and willpower to levels that the rest of the game does not reach and reward you with the standout moments of satisfaction and accomplishment when you finally overcome their steep challenges.

“But that does that have to do with cycling the length of the UK?” I hear you ask. Well, riding from Land’s End to John O’Groats carries its own pair of big bosses to bring all of those same emotions to pass for the cycle tourer. They call them… “Devon” and “Cornwall”. These two counties are etched in the minds of many a rider from professional to first-timer and I am fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to carve a few pieces of my cycling memory whilst riding in these special places.

The ”Crying Bench”

The aforementioned professional cyclists may not have been brought to tears, merely exclaiming that Tour of Britain stages in Devon were some of their highest ever recorded power numbers; but there is a particular spot that has remained a focal point of riding in the extreme South West of the UK for me and those who have passed through Cornwall in my company. The Crying Bench.

Over a decade ago, as a 19 year old student at the University of Bath, I set off towards St Austell in Cornwall for a Sunday lunch with a friend (a student will go a long way on the promise of food!). Doing the 150 miles by bike and armed with no GPS but merely a list of road numbers (A39, B3181, etc…) taped to my top tube now seems ambitious in time for lunch but confident in my ability I set off South West.

It was not the mist on the Mendip hills, the headwinds on the Somerset levels or the hail on Dartmoor that finally brought the tears welling up but a nondescript hill, part of a seemingly never-ending chain of the things, in Cornwall that broke the camel’s back of my self-assuredness. Fortunately, there was a bright blue bench right there at the side of the road waiting for me to slump on to and have a sob.

It has since become a reference point for Bike the UK for MS riders on our trips. “Look out for the Crying Bench,” a point of common reference and empathy for those having a hard day, or week, as they tackle one of LEJOG’s bosses. A physical tribute that no matter what level you ride at or speed you go, we are all feeling the same sensations and emotions, just like those video games. Not the pros, though. They just push more power numbers!

I can see the sea!

As any local cyclist will tell you, there is no flat road in Devon. Nowhere is more un-flat than Dartmoor. This has its drawbacks. When you are on a long hard day’s ride, that rollercoaster of up and down can make the kilometres stretch out interminably. It is not all bad though. When you are racing your mates and have the upper hand each upward kick feels like you are working together with the double-digit gradients as dastardly collaborators.

One other positive of all of that up-ness is that when you crest the final rise and see what remains of the UK spilling out before you towards the coast then you can know that you are not far from your goal. All the more so if you have seen the north coast of Scotland in the rear-view mirror of your mind since departing John O’ Groats. It’s not all plain sailing from there though, despite the lack of altitude, Cornwall has plenty of big-boss energy left to test you with (see references to crying and benches above!).

“Welcome to Cornwall” …You must be kidding?!

As you cross the mighty Tamar River which divides Devon and Cornwall you can immediately sense that something is a little bit different. Not cream on top of jam on scones, not even the fact that finding a train station halfway up a hill is a bit odd (trains like flat and halfway up this particular hill is almost the exact opposite) but that the maths and logic of the route laid out ahead of you doesn’t make sense.

Flash floods? Yes, but at the top of hills, not the bottom.

My record number of layers worn whilst cycling? Eleven. In June. In Cornwall, of course. When not a few moments earlier a single jersey was more than enough.

A bombastic, barmy, bonkers bundle of bicycling brilliance. The only way to describe a bike ride of any distance in Cornwall. And the final big boss of John O’ Groats to Land’s End can always say “well, I did warn you…” Crossing the bridge over the Tamar, where the sense of something odd emerged just as you passed the “Welcome to Cornwall” sign… and immediately turn the corner onto the daftest hill of them all!

Heading North

But what about if you are heading from Land’s End to John O’ Groats instead, for example, on our trip this July to raise money for MS? Well, as you emerge onto the city streets of Exeter you will have quite the realisation. All of that is behind you. You have unpicked that lock, solved that puzzle and persisted through that head-to-head. You get to enjoy that sense of accomplishment and satisfaction for that whole rest of the trip. And you never know, you might find yourself going back for more… Just one more level?

The scenery of the Scottish Highlands never disappoints!

Cycling in the Highlands: Experience Scotland’s Natural Wonders on Two Wheels

It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.
– Ernest Hemingway

It may be a well-used quote, but here at Bike the UK for MS we are bringing Hemingway’s words to life for you. Get to know the UK as it actually is by cycling the Scottish Highlands; an unforgettable place to explore and enjoy.

The Highlands of Scotland is the one place that features prominently in the memories of all our alumni. Acting as the grand crescendo of our 1000 mile Land’s End to John O’ Groats cycle ride and of course the star attraction of the North Coast 500 cycle route; the Highlands are a place like no other in the UK and possibly even the world.

Cycling the Wild Coast of the Scottish Highlands

The coasts of the Highlands bear hard-earned treasures. When you think of the Scottish coastline the first word that comes to mind is often “rugged”. Images of towering cliffs and crashing waves as the force of the Atlantic Ocean comes thundering into the British Isles. However, nestled within this brusque exterior hide the other extreme conditions that the coast of Scotland has to offer.

Remote, tranquil and storied coves and beaches. Refuges from a hectic modern life in the 21^st Century, but filled with a history of sanctuary from the threats of an outside world for those on the water and the land.

Notable highlights, such as Big Sand beach near Gairloch, are joined by the beaches at Scourie where the campsite for our riders sits right against the water’s edge. The quiet Berriedale, where you cross a narrow suspension footbridge to learn of the navigation beacons, standing high above you on the cliffs, that have guided ships returning from the open sea safely homeward.

The rugged coastal views you get to see when cycling in the Scottish Highlands.

Cycling Amongst Giants

No place in the UK can give you a sense of scale to match the Highlands of Scotland. We are fortunate to have the ability to enjoy exploring places that once acted as Mother Nature’s hostile barrier to all but the boldest.

Ben Hope towers above a rest stop in Tongue on the North Coast 500 cycle. Nearly 1000m high, in the far north of Scotland, it still inspires a mix of awe and mystery in a way that is impossible to replicate without experiencing it in person.

As you skirt your way around the peaks, through the valleys and glens that stand across the vast landscape like wide corridors in a country sized stately home, you can expect every distant horizon to hold new surprises. Not least the towering peaks of the Isle of Skye as you gaze across the water far below from the Applecross Pass – the wildest and most spectacular climb in the whole of Britain.

Cycling amongst giants in the Scottish Highlands on the North Coast 500 or NC500.

Beneath your wheels while cycling in the Highlands

For all that the surrounding landscapes inevitably catch the eye, a subtle treat is in store for those learning the Highlands’ crinkly contours by bike. The kind of treat that you first notice by the absence of one thing, before being able to savour what has replaced it.

A thin, snaking ribbon of tarmac. Winding away from your front wheel, off towards the distant sky and pointing you at yet-to-be-known experiences. Space to take a deep breath and really experience what it is to ride a bike. What it is to feel the gradient, up or down. The push of the wind, in support of your efforts or as an invisible challenge that you must find spirit from within to overcome.

Every bike ride is unique, but nothing is quite as unique as the Wee Mad Road; a rollercoaster of a journey taking you from the peak of what human engineering can achieve with the Kylesku Bridge. Immediately showing you that humanity is but a passenger on the wild planet beneath our wheels. What a privilege to sample some of what is normally reserved for “off the edge of the map”.

Above it All

Taking everything in while cycling in the Highlands is the theme of these words so far, but you must cast your eyes further still to capture it all. Daylight, taking you almost through the night with long, spectacular performances from the sun as it briefly leaves the stage at sunset, only to be replaced by light shows of a sky full of stars. Perhaps, even an aurora borealis if you have fortune on your side.

Distant beauty dovetails with the chance atmospheric blanket of mist where the world draws in close, creating the feeling of spooky isolation. Every sound is dulled to silence and the unknown of what hides beyond the murk is unknown. How better to experience the vastness of the universe than to have it re-revealed from behind the curtain of dense fog?

No better scenery in the UK to stop and enjoy on a bike ride.

The Scottish Highlands: Where the Wild Things Are

Mountains stand immovable and the sea reaches out endlessly, but blink and you might miss the dynamic movement of animal life in the Highlands. At the Falls of Shin, can you gaze down and spot a salmon making the leap against the rushing rapids? Did you catch that seal bobbing in and out of the rocks as you sit on the beach watching the seabirds dive into the waves?

Highland cows stoically standing as statues or lying aside the road as you pedal past. Deer bounding over the open moors, racing faster than a bike on the road. Cycling in the Highlands has enough to fill a camera roll on a phone or a highlight reel in the memory.

Join us for the Adventure

We will be in the Highlands on both our Land’s End to John O’Groats cycle, often known as LEJOG, in July 2024 and our North Coast 500 cycle, or NC500, in August. Cycle the Highlands with us and give yourself the ride that will last long in the memory; all whilst giving back to a great cause and supporting those living with multiple sclerosis.

There is no better way to enjoy everything that the Highlands of Scotland has to offer than with Bike the UK for MS. Our route leaders are there to support you and ensure that you can experience the best of what the Highlands has to offer. Your teammates will be there to share the experience with you and bring every moment to life. Time for a bike ride like no other?

What is your lasting memory of cycling in the Highlands? Comment below.

Drone shot views of the incredible scenery.

#Move4MS

In January, join us for #Move4MS as we aim to walk, run, swim and cycle 130,000km – one for each of the people living with MS in the UK.

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10 Years of Bike the UK for MS – Throwback to 2014

June 2024 will mark 10 years since the first Bike the UK for MS trip as 12 riders took on John O’ Groats to Land’s End. We wanted to take this chance to cast back to memories of the trips that have brought the charity to where it is today and to celebrate the achievements and challenges overcome by the hundreds of riders who have been part of Bike the UK for MS over the past decade.

The 2014 Ride

With eight Bike the US for MS alumni joining four riders from the University of Bath the first Bike the UK for MS trip was a true hybrid of the two organisations. One of the UK-based riders, Emily, shares some of her memories from the trip:

“My favourite day was definitely the first day up in Scotland. I’ve done a lot riding in my time but never in Scotland and riding along the country roads, next to huge highland cows with breathtaking coast views was just spectacular. We ended the day at Bettyhill Camp site and spent the evening skimming stones and watching the sun set on the rocks – a perfect day!”

“The biggest surprise was how close we became as a team. Although cliché, I really couldn’t have done it without the support of the other riders. Living together for all that time and experiencing the highs and lows was amazing and has led to life-long friendships!”

“The toughest challenge for me was definitely the mental strain of the harder days down south. It definitely pushed me to my limit and I remember a few moments where I really drew on the strength of the team around me as I turned a corner to be faced with yet another hill on wet, windy days in Cornwall!”

“The standout memory for me was our day in the Lake District. Kirkstone pass didn’t disappoint and although tough was a spectacular climb and a real achievement to cross. As a celebration, we then descended in a slightly delirious state to the furthest corner of Lake Windermere unaware that the campsite was actually quite a few miles further along the road, outside of Windermere itself.”

Stunning views are earned by challenging climbs

“We were just settling in to enjoy a sunny evening at the lakeside when we received a call from our route leader asking where we were. The uphill 30 minute climb to camp proved rather challenging and I’m sure we were quite a spectacle as we attempted to navigate the Windermere tourists whilst exhausted and slightly disoriented! But it was those moments riding together as a team at the end of a hard day knowing we had achieved something together that were so special.”

“It was an amazing two weeks – breath-taking, mentally and physically challenging but so rewarding. I can still remember that feeling of pride, relief, joy as we crossed the finish line at Land’s End.”