Why Cycle Around the World?

Three and a half years ago, on the day that Laura and I first got together, we made a pact to cycle around the world one day.

It was a joke, really. Just a throw-away comment. But we've kept coming back to the idea. And each time we did, it was a little less as a joke and more as a possibility.

Our lives have changed a lot since the idea was first mooted - if nothing else, we are now husband and wife - but our commitment to this plan of sorts has grown throughout.

And so, this August, a little shy of four years since our original hand-shake on the matter, we will leave our lives behind, fill our panniers and pedal off towards the horizon.

The plan is simple: cycle east in the general direction of Australia. We've set aside about 12 months for the trip but, since we'll have already left our jobs for the benefit of this little jaunt, there is no hurry and no deadline. We'll just take it a day at a time.

I've spent four years working to encourage other people to live a little more adventurously (through my website The Next Challenge): whether that's cycling around the world or just cycling to work for the first time. And we want to use this trip as another means of delivering that same message: that adventure is good and accessible to all.

So, we'll be sharing our story from the roadside in the hope of stirring a little excitement in some other people too. I hope you'll join us.

P.S. You don't have to wait until August for the first instalment. We're doing a ~500 mile training ride across England starting next weekend and we'll be blogging about it right here. Stay tuned!