Things I'm excited about

And not ALL of it involves bikes

Feb 20, 2025

Three hours. That's how long it took for life to start "life-ing" after landing back at Gatwick on Sunday evening. Getting out of the airport was pretty seamless, I can't fault that, and the taxi driver who carted us and our bike boxes back to East London was an absolute gem (complete with appropriate levels of London banter). No. Life started "life-ing" as soon as we stepped through the doors of my apartment block.

"No service" it read. The small, inconspicuous sign hung over the button for the lift. "Engineer on site" explained the small print. I looked around. No one. The corridor was empty. I looked back at the sign, then down at the two 20kg bike boxes, two 15kg bags of luggage, and two 2kg rucksacks. Then I looked at the stairs and exhaled a long, drawn out sigh.

Life.

I'm not going to fabricate reality for the purpose of a good story: Sean took on the task of hauling our bags and boxes up the three flights of stairs to my apartment, whilst I merely carried my own bodyweight (and rucksack—I'll give myself some credit!)

The next task at hand was getting ourselves fed and watered. A relatively easy task with a Sainsbury's Local only five minutes from the front door. We settled on fish cakes, sweet potato fries, and spaghetti hoops (I have no shame) and let the oven do its thing whilst we feebly attempted to unpack. It wasn't long before we gave up entirely and flopped down on the sofa, exhausted from a full day of travelling. We'd left the apartment in Adeje at 10am that morning and it was now close to 8pm. Ten hours on the move can really take it out of you.

Food inhaled, it was time to start thinking about bed. Only I couldn't help but notice a small, dull pain starting to form in my stomach. "I'm sure it's fine" I reasoned, acknowledging the effect that plane travel can have on your body. But as I wormed my way under the covers, it only got worse.

The dull pain soon turned sharp. It came in waves, stabbing from behind my belly button and then briefly subsiding before returning with a vengeance. I thought back to similar pains I had experienced late last year and shuddered at the thought of a repeat occurrence. That time, it was Novovirus, and I had spent nearly eight hours emptying my guts into the toilet bowl—pausing only for the occasional bout of ugly crying.

Fortunately, there was no gut emptying this time round, but there was a full night of being kept awake by the pain, accompanied—of course—by the staple ugly cry. When the alarm sounded at 7am, I felt like a shell of a human. I was sleep deprived, dehydrated, incredibly emotional, and still in pain. There was no way I was going to be able to face the day.

Only twenty-four hours earlier I had been stretched out on a Spanish balcony, sipping my morning cortado in the sunshine. Life was exciting and I was loving every second of it. Now, nothing could be farther from the truth; I was just existing—a husk—willing the day to pass so that I could go back to sleep.

Of course, by the time Tuesday arrived I was all but recovered and everything had pretty much returned to normal (aside from the broken lift!), but this little unplanned detour meant that I’d landed in a headspace that I didn’t particularly want to be in. I was hoping to return to London after three weeks away feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, ready to take on the world. Instead, I felt jaded and cynical; how could so much go wrong in less than a day?

Because of all of this, for this week’s newsletter I have decided to force myself to focus on the positives. Partly because I want to share some of the cool things that are currently occupying my thoughts, but also because I’m hoping that by putting these things into words, I can shake off some of this lingering lethargy and get hyped for what’s ahead(!!!!!!!!)

So. Want to know what I’m feeling preeeetttttty excited about right now? Then grab a cuppa and keep scrolling 👇

1. Hanging out at NEC’s camping and caravan show

Yes, you read that correctly. I am excited about a camping convention that’s happening this weekend in Birmingham. And what’s not to love? Multiple exhibition halls full of camping-related vendors and a chance to geek out on all their cool kit? I'm sold. And what's even cooler is that I'll get to hang out with the CampWild team, who—if you remember from my previous post—have recently taken me on as a Champion for 2025.

Plus, there's always something pretty exciting about jumping on a train and travelling out of London. The station coffee purchase, the onboard playlist, the through-the-window countryside views. It makes me feel like I'm going on an adventure. Which, I guess, I kinda am.

I'll report back in next week's newsletter with all the cool stuff I find, but if you're also going to be at the show please do drop by the stand and come and say hi! 👋

2. Getting outside for my first wild camp of the year

A fitting segue from above, another thing I'm super excited about is getting back outdoors. It's one of the things that makes me feel the most alive, but something that I've always reserved for warmer weather. This year I’ve decided to try and suck it up and just get outside. Unless it’s absolutely bucketing it down, I’ll probably still have a great time. And even if it does decide to unleash rainy hell, it will make one hell of a story!

The plan is to try and secure a wild space from the CampWild platform, which is making me a tiny bit nervous due to the fact it’s—well—wild. This means that there will be no facilitates such as toilet blocks or running water, so I’ll need to be entirely self-sufficient. On the other hand, it will be my very own private slice of nature in which to reset and rebalance, so I feel like the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

I’ll be honest, wild camping is not something I’ve done a huge amount of, aside from the occasional bivvy in a graveyard or mosquito-infested swamp during my bikepacking trips, but I’m super pumped to be able to share my learning journey as I go (did you know that there’s such a thing as a pee rag?!)

I’m hoping to try and get out in the next couple of weekends, so keep your eyes peeled for a post all about my experience—bathroom strategies and all.

3. Buying a campervan and experimenting with #vanlife

This one has been in the works for a while. And by “in the works” I mainly mean aimless scrolling of Facebook marketplace and religious page-flicking of the Campervan Conversion Bible.

Don’t get me wrong, bikepacking is brilliant (and awesome and fantastic and all the other positive adjectives) but sometimes I want to explore parts of the country—or the world—that aren’t within cycling distance of London. I also want to (sometimes) not sleep in a tent.

For this, it would be super handy to have a cosy home-on-wheels that offered a little bit of warmth and protection when the elements get tough. And if the bikes can strap to a rack on the back then even better!

But what I’m most excited about is being able to shake up the routine and monotony of the working week. Something that was super empowering about my time in Tenerife was being able to work remotely from a new, exciting place. It did wonders for my mental health and made me feel less ‘trapped’ behind my laptop, even though I was still working the same number of hours each day.

I’m now imagining a world in which (with the gift of reliable, portable wi-fi) Sean and I can pack our bags on a Wednesday evening and spend the rest of the week working from some surreal location, cooking our meals on a campfire and heading out for a run or cycle in the evening before retreating to the van, exhausted but happy.

I’d always dreamed about that kind of life, but had never really deemed it possible until now. Now, it doesn’t only feel possible, it feels within reach. So watch this space for updates!

4. Running my first ‘Intro to Bikepacking’ weekend

This one gets me all kinds of giddy. It fills me with so much joy and excitement and purpose that I will struggle to do it justice through words, but I’ll try.

One of the things I am most passionate about is inspiring and empowering people—particularly women—to experience the elation of solo travel by bike. I’m aware that there are an impossible number of factors that can make this feel hard and inaccessible; whether it’s not knowing how to plan or find a route, not knowing or owning the right kit, lacking confidence in being able to fix a mechanical, or simply never having ridden alone before. I get it. I’ve been there. I’ve felt all of those feelings, and still do at times.

And sure, there are so many videos and courses and podcasts and content already out there. You can watch and listen and read about the topic to your heart’s content. But sometimes the best way to overcome a fear, is to just do the thing.

So later this year, when blue skies and sunshine are a little less of an anomaly, I want to bring together a small group of—probably—women and spend a weekend battling all of those self-doubts. I want to instil a deep sense of confidence—not just in their ability to bikepack solo, but in their ability to take on challenges, trust their instincts, and embrace the unknown. I want to help unlock a future of adventure that once felt like a distant “someday” and turn it into something real, something tangible, something now.

I’ll share more about these plans in due time, but I’d love to hear if this idea lights a fire in anyone. Please feel free to drop me a message or leave a comment if you’d like to stay in the loop about how to get involved 👇

Beyond The Finish Line

Discussion about this post