Cycling the UK: five benefits of travelling by bike

This year, between the UK’s two lockdowns, Frankie Dewar had two months off work and decided to dive into a slow travel adventure by bike, cycling a 3,175km loop around England, Wales and Scotland. With no previous experience, Frankie snapped up a £75 second hand bike, donned her helmet and headed out into the countryside. 71 days later she had completed her loop. Now completely in love with cycling, she’s written a post for the Byway blog to share her five favourite things about travelling by bike.

I had wanted to get into biking to move away from travelling by car, but it wasn’t until lockdown at the start of 2020 that I finally made the jump and bought a bike. Spending £75 on a second hand bike, I started building up my confidence riding on the road. Then, with very little experience, I saw an opportunity where I would be between jobs and could go away for a longer trip. 

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There wasn’t much time to plan or think about it, I just had to jump into it and make it happen. I wanted to go flight free and decided that travelling by bike could be a great way of getting to know my home country. 

I completed a loop from Brighton and travelled all the way up to Scotland and back. I averaged about 60km a day. That sounds like a lot but you’d be surprised how far you can get by bike, even without any training. The whole trip was a complete adventure. I met so many people, saw some incredible places and have fallen in love with bike travel. 

My trip has shown me so many wonderful things about travelling by bike; here are my top five. 

1. People are friendlier 

I’ve always found it easy to meet people when I’m travelling solo, but this is especially the case when travelling by bike. People are so curious about where you have come from and where you are going, it is a great conversation starter. It surprised me how eager people were to tell me more about their homes and the history of the towns they had grown up in. 

When you travel by bike you are also welcomed into a huge community of cycle tourers and bikers of all kinds. The bike community is so welcoming and other bikers always wave at you as you pedal past. You’ll get the silent nod from serious looking road bikers all dressed in lycra. Other cycle tourers will stop to chat about routes and where they have stopped for coffee. I found that people wanted to go out of their way to help me, everywhere I went.

Image: Rachel Sarah

2. You see things that you wouldn’t normally see 

Some of my favourite moments of the trip were when deer, squirrels, hedgehogs or birds would run or fly past the bike. Cycling through the countryside and along canals I found that my bike was quiet enough to get really close to wildlife, and sometimes the various creatures I encountered wouldn’t notice me at all. I loved soaking up the different landscapes I cycled through, whether weaving through valleys in Scotland, rolling over hills in Devon, or whizzing along cycle lanes in the cities I explored. What really surprised me about the trip was how many incredible places there are to cycle around the UK. There wasn’t a single place that I wouldn’t love to go back and re-visit.

Image: Rachel Sarah

3. Even bad weather is great weather

Before the trip I had never cycled in the rain, and didn’t really want to, but there was no way that I could make it round the country in two months without embracing the wet days. I found out that sometimes when it rains it’s actually still pretty fun. I would wrap up in all my waterproofs, put my lights on and play a “rainy day” spotify playlist. The rain would never last all day and when it did clear up it would be the best feeling ever. I felt so proud to know that I was outside, when a lot of people would have stayed indoors complaining about the weather. 

One of my favourite moments of the trip was cycling up the broken road beneath Mam Tor in the Peak District. The rain was coming in so heavily it was almost a river, the wind was blowing all over the place, but it made the views even more impressive, and I loved every second. 

Image: Frit Sarita Tam

4. Everything tastes nicer after a day on the bike 

In the first week of my trip I cycled through the New Forest, pedaled across Dorset, and rode my bike through some of the most stunning landscape in the south of England. Did I take any photos of the views? No. But I did take photos of every meal I ate that first week. There is nothing better than treating yourself to an ice cream at the beach, stopping for chips at a quiet country pub or settling down to a hearty meal after a long day. Going places by bike really works up an appetite, food looks tastier, smells nicer, and tastes incredible. It’s tempting to stop at every restaurant you smell as you cycle past.

5. You see how far you’ve come 

Whether it’s the end of a day, the end of a week or the end of a longer trip, there is nothing like sitting down, looking at a map and realising how far your legs have taken you. When I started the trip I had no idea how far I would be able to cycle. The moment that stands out for me the most was two weeks in, cycling across the border into Wales. I was overwhelmed with the feeling of knowing how far I had come. Driving to Wales is a long way from home, so to have arrived under my own steam felt so empowering, it was one of those moments that I will never forget. If anyone is thinking of trying bike travel I would absolutely recommend it. Just give it a go, you could be surprised how far your legs will take you.

You can find out more about Frankie and her trip by visiting her website FrankieDewar.co or following her on Instagram @Frankie_Dewar. As part of the cycle Frankie interviewed other adventurous women and is sharing their stories as a podcast. You can listen to them at Extraordinaryordinarywomxn.co and @extraordinaryordinarywomxn on social media.