FUN FOR ALL
Nobody could ever accuse my wife Sophie and me of taking the easy route in life. For one of our first proper ‘dates’ we cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats, and on our honeymoon we hiked Wainwright’s coast to coast across the north of England. I guess they set the benchmark and our idea of fun has only become more ambitious over the years. Except now, it involves the whole family.
A few weeks after setting off on our around the world voyage, my eight-year-old son and I went on a day-long mountain bike adventure. Over the last few years I’ve got really into bikepack racing, non-stop mountain bike races over distances of around 1,000km. When we were in Lanzarote it felt like the perfect chance to introduce Rory to the sport.
I took Rory along one of my favourite trails, a beer and a lemonade stashed away in our minimalist kit. At first he set a great pace, but as the sun set his energy faded and we nearly ground to a halt in a windswept desert landscape. I was starting to feel really bad about pushing him too far but thankfully after a snack and a quick rest he was happy cycling again. We eventually rolled down to my chosen beach and set up our bivvys metres from the surf. We drank our rewards and watched the moon come up, chatting about the power of dreams and adventures until he fell asleep in my lap. Just a few hours later we woke, covered in sand flies but happy as could be. The whole expedition only lasted about 18 hours but Rory still talks about it proudly and his younger brother Billy won’t stop pestering me for his turn.
The whole reason we came on this ‘ocean odyssey’ was
