The random traveller

Earlier this evening a cyclist stopped by work asking for a place to camp the night. His name was Stuart Wilde and he’s an Army guy cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats. He plans to do it in 7 days and based on this being his second night he’s doing well.

He was riding what appeared to be a fairly lightly laden mountain bike but he said even what he had made the hills tougher and the bike unstable. His front brakes had given in so I gave him the pads off my bike; easier for me to get a replacement than him. In return he’s promised to email a copy of his route, which I’ll study with intrigue. This might just turn out to be the challenge for next year!

I’ve read several books by adventure cyclists but it’s something else to meet someone on their jourey. We offered him food and shelter but he was happy with a coffee and continuing his ethos of sleeping outside. I wish him all the best for the remainder of his journey.