Stories
If you want to read a bikepacking article about how a wild boar with very big teeth passed ten metres from my tent in a deserted almond grove, or about how I almost got blown off a French bridge because it was blowing galeforce, or about being so cold in a snowstorm that I thought my teeth were going to crack with all the rattling, then stop reading now. All these things happened, but my focus will be on what these and other things do to the mind.
Emily Chappell and Lee Craigie in conversation with Apidura about why they thought the world needed some alternative adventure stories.
Leaving is far easier than returning. Stepping into the unknown draws me. I like abandoning reality; the normal humdrum of society bores me. I know that life has to continue, the inevitable acceptance of responsibility keeps me coming back, but a thought always lingers: What if I didn’t?
Find out what Lee carried on her bike for the Tour Divide and how this differs from her touring set up.
Lee tells her story of riding the Tour Divide. But "Adventures in Kind" is a surprising story about the kindness of others and the personal nature of adventure.
I have always visualised my year as a square with three months on each side. This winter, like all others, I was looking forward to turning a corner into the new year. 2016 had been etched in sharp relief, with deep, dark canyons and soaring peaks. Emotionally and physically, it had felt like something of a gauntlet – I was glad to have survived but was hoping for a less challenging 2017...
The Adventure Syndicate's Lee Craigie goes for a ride up Glen Affric and chats to Christopher Sleight a radio producer, journalist and climber living in Scotland on the Mountain Podcast sponsored by Alpkit.
I've heard an adventure called ‘a journey with an unknown outcome’. I seem to have an addiction to them; I’ve never been one for too much routine, certainty or predictability in life, hence the attraction of riding a very long gravel road to a dead end in the South American wilderness.
The first meeting with team Adventure Syndicate lasted about five minutes, and was what I would call the perfect introduction. Lee Craigie had kindly made her way to Girona station to transfer the weekend arrivals to the training camp. Magdalena and I were welcomed like old friends and when I let Lee know that I fancied cycling the last 15 miles I was neither doubted nor discouraged. Instead she let me know that there would be a bunch of like-minded souls waiting for me on arrival, and left me to it.
Anabell is one of the recipients of our bursary scheme, and will be joining us on next week’s training camp in Girona. Here she tells the story of how riding a bike has helped her reconnect with her adventurous side, and talks about the unexpected twists and turns of life as a cyclist.
