If anyone ever asked me what sort of route I’d be the least inclined to ride, my answer would inevitably be something in the Southeast of England. Miles after miles of narrow roads bordered by hedges, with tarmac of dubious quality and the omnipresent threat of SUVs driven by people who’d made way too much money in the City.

So it made total sense that, one Saturday in July, I set off before dawn to do precisely that. London-Oxford and back, 200km, 1,600 metres of height gain.

At some point in the winter of 2024 Max suggested that we sign up for the Tuscany Trail and, in a classic display of why women tend to live longer than men, Ariel and I agreed on the spot. It was only in early May 2025, with departure day a few days’ away, that the implications of what we’d done hit us. Four-hundred and thirty kilometres, more than six thousand metres of height gain, all by bicycle, over four days.

But by that time there was no turning back.

Life is all about change and the most important source of it is, I believe, your own self. One of the most precious pearls of wisdom I’ve ever received is that I shouldn’t spend all my life set in my ways. Trying something new - or checking if a long-held belief still holds true - always pays off.

A bikepacking trip in Slovenia with an old friend. Pedal further.