It hurt, but the record is mine. I rolled across the Kosovo-Macedonia border in the early hours of Saturday morning, bringing up my 17th country of the week. Now, I have some time to reflect on an incredible seven days of cycling. The figures make for some brutal reading. I covered 2,286km, rode 106 hours …
As I made my way up a climb towards the Montenegrin border, Andrew Phillips from Orb (one of my sponsors) grilled me on how the ride was going. You can find the (very lighthearted) interview here on the Orb website: https://www.orb.bike/rob-gardiner-7-days-17-countries/
Over the past few months, I have gradually ramped up my training. Early starts and late nights have been spent sweating in the dark, in my “pain cave”. Indoor training has its merits, and the virtual world of Zwift is often far more appealing than the muddy, wet, wintery real world. In March, a trip to …
Nicodemus gazes into the fire. He leans forwards, eating nsima and beans with his right hand. On one side of him, lies a battered copy of The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien, out of place in the rural surroundings. On his other side, lies a gleaming M-16, equally as incongruous. He raises his eyes from …
When I think back to last year, it seems like a blur of beautiful landscapes, spinning bike wheels and tramping feet. And it was. Often, it is hard to sum up a period of time in words or thoughts. But images do it well. 2017 was a beautiful and exciting year, with plenty of time …
