Hi I'm Sam, a 24 year old engineering graduate originally from Hertfordshire, UK.
My love of cycling stems from way back from when I was a kid, riding around the garden and the woods near my house. As I grew older I started riding to school and back each day (2 miles each way). When I got to university I joined the mountain biking club where my interest in the sport rocketed.
For a few years I stayed a mountain biker, and like most mountain bikers, shunned all that was lycra and lightweight. Cycling up and down muddy trails, coming back caked in mud with the sting of unnoticed leg cuts as you got in the shower afterwards were all part of the fun!
But then, at the start of summer 2012, I bought myself a road bike to get to my placement job in Luton (10 miles each way). I worked out how much fuel it would cost me to drive each day, then used that money to buy myself a second hand Pinerello FP1. That was the moment when I became my own worst enemy.... I was a roadie!
But I loved it! The new speed, the ability to explore more of the countryside roads and the lack nettle stings was fantastic!
Then came the distance. I started doing longer and longer rides on my Pinerello. The regular 20 mile mountain bike rides became 40 mile road rides. My new found joy came from picking a town or city within a certain distance and finding a nice peaceful road route that would take me there and back.
Then I stepped up the distance a little more and created this blog when I cycled across America, from New York to San Francisco, solo and unassisted. Through donations from my followers on this blog and on facebook, we raised over £3300 for Macmillan Cancer Support, equivalent to £1 per mile cycled.
Now my plans are for something a little closer to home this year, and something I probably should've done first, John O'Groats to Lands End. 950 miles in roughly 10 days!
Keep up to date with my progress through this blog, or by liking my facebook page. Leave me encouraging comments (or call me crazy, either way) and share with everyone and anyone!
My love of cycling stems from way back from when I was a kid, riding around the garden and the woods near my house. As I grew older I started riding to school and back each day (2 miles each way). When I got to university I joined the mountain biking club where my interest in the sport rocketed.
For a few years I stayed a mountain biker, and like most mountain bikers, shunned all that was lycra and lightweight. Cycling up and down muddy trails, coming back caked in mud with the sting of unnoticed leg cuts as you got in the shower afterwards were all part of the fun!
But then, at the start of summer 2012, I bought myself a road bike to get to my placement job in Luton (10 miles each way). I worked out how much fuel it would cost me to drive each day, then used that money to buy myself a second hand Pinerello FP1. That was the moment when I became my own worst enemy.... I was a roadie!
But I loved it! The new speed, the ability to explore more of the countryside roads and the lack nettle stings was fantastic!
Then came the distance. I started doing longer and longer rides on my Pinerello. The regular 20 mile mountain bike rides became 40 mile road rides. My new found joy came from picking a town or city within a certain distance and finding a nice peaceful road route that would take me there and back.
Then I stepped up the distance a little more and created this blog when I cycled across America, from New York to San Francisco, solo and unassisted. Through donations from my followers on this blog and on facebook, we raised over £3300 for Macmillan Cancer Support, equivalent to £1 per mile cycled.
Now my plans are for something a little closer to home this year, and something I probably should've done first, John O'Groats to Lands End. 950 miles in roughly 10 days!
Keep up to date with my progress through this blog, or by liking my facebook page. Leave me encouraging comments (or call me crazy, either way) and share with everyone and anyone!
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