Most cyclists have a bike ride that really sticks in the memory. Maybe it was a stunning route, or with great company. Maybe something happened along the way that marked it out of the ordinary.
We recently asked Cycling Weekly readers to recount their most memorable bike ride, and we present a selection of answers, in association with B'Twin.
What has been your most memorable bike ride to date? Let us know in the comments section below.
I cycled with my musical hero Paul Heaton (Housemartins/Beautiful South frontman) from a gig in Glencoe across to Tobermory in 2012. It was part of his pub-cycle tour around the UK and Ireland, where he cycled over 2,500 miles.
Stephen Cormie
Nearly two years ago, annual family holiday. I decided it would be a good idea to cycle there on my own while everyone else drove. Ellesmere Port to Anglesey. I did 96 miles in six and a half hours. The last 20 miles with my knee absolutely done in. Nothing special about the distance (compared to others!), but hand on heart, it was one of the best things I have every done in my life. I still think about it almost every day — time for a new challenge, maybe.
Paul Roberts
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Took a day off work as I was extremely stressed. Jumped on the bike and before I knew it I’d completed my first ever century!
Stephen Smith
It was a long time ago. My mates and I decided on a training weekend in February. The plan was to ride to Cheddar youth hostel from Birmingham on the Saturday. We got to Bath youth hostel after a headwind all day. I was on a 66in fixed. The Sunday was an epic, we rode from Bath to the newly-opened Severn Bridge, then rode up the Wye Valley through Ross where it started snowing, and Malvern and Worcester where it continued to snow. Got home around midnight. At work for 8am on the Monday. I'll never forget it.
Dave Connor
It started out as a chilled ride to see my gran, which normally takes around an hour. Ten minutes into my ride I find myself tangled in a net and on the floor. Two hours later, I get to hospital to find out that I broke the neck of my femur and now have three screws in my hip.
Alex George
It was two months ago at Fox Glacier, New Zealand. Riding through a rainforest to see a glacier that sadly won’t be there in a few years. A truly humbling experience.
Keith Walters
It has to be Ride to the Sun: the Northern Dun Run. It has a chippy as a food stop. It’s an overnight century, it’s coast to coast, it’s England to Scotland, finishes on the beautiful Cramond beach where the local cyclists donate free beer and a local charity serves up coffees and bacon rolls. It might well be the perfect cycling event. It’s not a sportive but a semi-organised adventure and we all need that in our lives. Oh yeah, and there is a midnight CycloRave halfway through. Perfection.
Gary Cameron
Loch Shin, by Mark Mageean
Nine days of cycling Lands End to John O'Groats last September (technically not one ride I know). However, the journey was epic, the British scenery amazing, camaradrie superb amongst the 600 riders and last, but not least, only 20 minutes of wet weather riding in nine days - quite something for GB in September! Photo above was sunrise over Loch Shin on the last day.
Mark Mageean
Tackling the Bealach Na Ba on the west coast of Scotland. 626m in 9.1km of uphill – reaching 20 per cent at its steepest gradient, all this and having to climb it on the drops in an aero position due to the ferocious wind gusting down the mountain. Loved every pedal stroke.
Almost a year ago I passed out at work, the main artery in my heart was 90 per cent blocked, my heart stopped three times at the hospital both before and after I had a stent put in it! Took me two weeks before I could ride with no resistance on the rollers but I gradually built my strength back up, lost some weight and back to my normal miles. At the end of August last year, I rode 105 miles through the mountains of NC and Tennessee with 10,000ft of climbing.
Steve Pratt
Just started cycling age 14. Rode from Preston to Morecambe to watch the Sunday's racing. Didn't eat all day and on the way home rode till I dropped off my bike with the bonk. I got took to a local cafe by people I was with for food. Rookie mistake. Always eat now.
Mick Browne
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Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.
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