Nando's, closed roads and 'thinking I'm gonna get wrestled off my bike': how Mike Broadwith dramatically broke Edinburgh to London cycling record

A lot can happen in 18 hours on a journey south from the Scottish to the English capital

Mike Broadwith Edinburgh to London
(Image credit: Calvin Cheung)

"I'm not too bad," Mike Broadwith laughs, his voice slightly more hoarse than it was a few days ago when we last spoke. "I'm on a strange emotional and physical comedown. I'm elated, but exhausted. A bit broken."

It's understandable, for the long-distance supremo has just ridden 386 miles from Edinburgh to London in a provisional time of 17-42.47, breaking the previous record set by Pete Wells in 1989 of 17-48.04. Subject to the Road Records Association approving the time, Broadwith will have sliced five minutes and 17 seconds off the 32-year-old record.

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Chris Marshall-Bell

A freelance sports journalist and podcaster, you'll mostly find Chris's byline attached to news scoops, profile interviews and feature writing across a variety of different publications. He has been writing regularly for Cycling Weekly since 2013.


Previously a ski, hiking and cycling guide in a number of places, but mostly in the Canadian Rockies and Spanish Pyrenees, he almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains.


He lives in Valencia, Spain.