From Lockdown to Liberation: A Transformative Coast to Coast Journey
Inspired by the heart-warming tale of love and resilience in “The Salt Path,” we invited our OS Champions to share their most meaningful routes. In this post, Gee Jackson recounts how embracing a challenge led her to discover the unwavering support of the outdoor community.
This route started something for me which will now forever be a part of who I am. The challenge of cycling the C2C in a day was born out of the pain and stress of lockdown, but turned into something so much bigger.
I wasn’t a cyclist before lockdown, and so cycling C2C as a challenge suggested by a friend, on a second hand bike that I bought only a month before and having only been cycling in general for a few months before taking it on, really started to show me just how much I was truly capable of. From there, the immense satisfcation of travelling cost to coast under my own steam and the joy and inspiration in seeing how the landscape changes along the way sparked a love for long-distance human powered travelling, and more specifically, led me to completing coast to coast by bike, foot, and by paddleboard on 3 different English National Trails.
This year, I’m about to embark on my third coast to coast of Scotland as well, and I absolutely have plans to do more coast to coast routes in the future. The mental clarity and peace that these coast to coast challenges have given me is indescribable, and the outdoor community that have welcomed me as a result have become the support network I never had.
The C2C is a brilliant challenge for anyone – beginners and experts alike. It’s adaptable and tailorable to suit different needs and abilities, but the landscapes it takes you through and the people you meet along the way are nothing short of wonderful. The pride I felt after tackling the penines and dipping my front wheel into the sea over 200km from where I started cycling about 16 hours earlier is a feeling that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
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