Meet our members: Katy Roberts embarks on a 3,500-mile trip around the UK

This week I had the pleasure of meeting up with Cycling UK member Katy Roberts, who is riding her way round 3,500 miles of the UK’s coastline. Katy is riding in aid of some amazing mental health charities as well as advocating for getting outside, connecting with people and exploring. 

We met up on Day 50 of her trip, in Levens new train station, alongside Ross and Elsbeth, two Edinburgh locals who’ve been following Katy’s journey keenly via Instagram. Both Ross and Elsbeth decided, like me, to come out and join Katy on a section of her ride, joining 28 others who’ve joined Katy so far. 

Before heading out to ride on an amazing stretch of coast, from Leven to Edinburgh, I chatted to Katy about how this journey came about, what motivates her, and what life is like as a solo female bikepacker in the UK. There are also some handy tips here on how to best eat an elephant. 

You can read more about Katy’s inspirational ride, or even join her, at Saddle to Sea.

Content warning: suicide.

So Katy, what does cycling mean to you now?

It means so much – because it can take on so many forms. For me it’s freedom, it’s adventure, it’s community, it’s fast, it can also be slow. 

If I want to get my head down and let out some anger I can do that, but if I want to be with my mates and explore and have an adventure I can do that too. 

Especially on this trip, it has been peaceful, intense, and freeing. 

When was your first bikepacking trip?

One of my friends in New Zealand worked in a local bike shop and they convinced me to try a ride called the Old Ghost Road and it totally blew my mind. It was the perfect blend of being able to see amazing things all the time but it’s faster than walking. 

I was amazed that you could get everything on your bike and not feel heavy and still go fast. In New Zealand, like Scotland, you can camp where you want too, so I was able to just go everywhere. 

Have you done any bikepacking here in the UK?

I have! As soon as I got back to Cornwall from New Zealand I did Cycling UK's West Kernow Way with a bunch of friends. 

It was soon after the route had been put together and not long after I had first started bikepacking, so it was little kerfuffle-ly! But that was what made it so good! 

To me, getting a little lost with your friends is part of the fun. I’m sure it’s well-trodden now, and I’m more experienced so it would be a different trip if I did it again.

People often think of bikepacking as quite streamlined and focussed, but maybe going out and getting a little lost, learning something new or finding somewhere unexpected is part of the fun?

Exactly! We were never far from civilisation and yet it felt like a proper adventure!

What motivated you to do this trip?

Unfortunately it’s quite a sad reason but I’m trying to make a positive impact from that; when I was 17, I lost my dad to suicide. 

For a long time, I felt like I wanted to do something to help or to improve things for people, but I didn’t know what. I couldn’t help my dad, but was there other people I could help? Is there something I could do? 

I felt very helpless for a long time. But as I got into cycling a little more, I met someone who’d done something similar, and the seed was planted. 

Now felt like a really good time to do something. Obviously, I want to raise awareness of suicide and mental health, but I also want to be an advocate for getting outdoors, being on a bike, being in nature, moving and connection. These are such important things. 

When I was in a really sad and lonely place, movement and connection really helped me. People will say ‘Oh, you’re sporty – you can do that...’ But it’s not sport, it’s movement. 

You can just get on a bike and cycle very slowly to the café. That’s still getting outside and doing something, and it will boost your mental health, your happiness. And you’ll meet people along the way, and that’s so important to me too. 

That’s why I’m asking people to join me along this ride. Look at us today, none of us know each other but we’ve all come out for a ride and it’s amazing.

So, I want to raise awareness for suicide – but I also want to be an advocate for getting outdoors and connecting people.

That’s so inspiring and you’ve definitely done that! It’s an amazing trip and a very cool route and it's great to share it with new people. - What's been your highlight of the trip so far?

There’s been a few, but the one that springs up is the Outer Hebrides! They are amazing on so many different levels; it’s beautiful, it was nice weather (which helps!) and it also felt very close to my trip for other reasons. 

It’s quite a hard place to live and life is so stark there. The weather and the landscape are harsh and life can be harsh, and you can kind of feel that when you’re there. I discovered that there is quite a high rate of suicide on the islands too. 

So, it was very, very beautiful but also vast and isolating. It felt very connected to the trip I was doing and my reason for doing the cycle. It’s important to remember that it’s not just a picture postcard destination – people live across these islands and they’ve got to survive there and they need support like anyone. 

As a solo female, how have you found bikepacking in the UK? 

The trip has made me realise how lucky I am in some respects because I haven’t felt uneasy as a woman for a long, long time. There have been a few moments when I’ve felt uneasy and it’s made me realise how privileged I am because there are some women who feel like that all the time.

I suppose I’ve felt more vulnerable and nervous in cities. In some places there sometimes aren’t a lot of cyclists on the road, there’s glass on the roads, potholes, people honking at me because the cycle way is blocked and I’ve been diverted onto the road. That can make you feel vulnerable.  

But there have also been some incredible moments where people have been so kind. Some older men have come up and I may have felt nervous initially, but they’ve ended up riding alongside me and showing me routes. Or, I’ve turned up at campsites and they’ve upgraded me to a caravan because I’m soaking wet!

Well, apologies on behalf of Scotland for the weather! Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do about that. Are there things that places could do more of, to make life easier for solo cyclists or solo female cyclists particularly?

I think if people see a solo female bikepacker, they could just wave and say hello. That can do a lot to put peoples minds at rest. 

Or practically, if cycle lanes continue onto other cycle lanes! We all know the feeling of being on a cycle path and it suddenly ending and having to figure out where to go and having to wander around town or down back alleys to avoid main streets. It would be great if there was just a nice, direct cycle lane which led to the next cycle lane, and they felt safe. 

More places to lock up your bike, more bike cafes! Or even places outside cafes where you can lock up your bike, sometimes I don’t want to sit in a café unless I can see my bike. 

Sometimes you feel like you can’t go to the toilet because you’ve got your whole life on your bike and there’s nowhere to lock your bike. If you get to somewhere where cyclists are welcome, it makes you feel safer and less vulnerable.

Cycling UK have our Cyclist Welcome programme which is a great resource for finding cycling friendly places. What advice would you give someone in your position wanting to start out either bikepacking or cycling?

For people wanting to start out in general, find groups, find websites. Cycling UK, for example who’ve got projects where you can borrow stuff, or routes which you can use and guides to follow! I spent so much time on the Cycling UK website when I got back from New Zealand. 

Getting into cycling can be a gradual thing though, if you like it then you can buy the gear – but it can also be second-hand. It can be loaned. Little bit by little bit. You don’t have to spend a lot of money either, borrow a bike or hire a bike. 

With bikepacking, you don’t always have to camp straight away. You can stay in hostels, hotels, b and b’s. Get your friends involved and discover it together! I’ve tried to create some community groups since being back in Cornwall and did a little bikepacking weekend with some women who were quite nervous about it but they loved it in the end!

There is a phrase which I’ve heard since starting this ride – you have to eat the elephant bit by bit. So don’t overwhelm yourself with something massive. You don’t have to do it all at once! The same applied to this trip – it was so daunting but here I am. Little bit by little bit.

Do a short ride to the shop, you don’t have to have a crazy goal. Just enjoy being on the bike and enjoy figuring it out. That’s part of it! Just get on your bike, enjoy where you live. You’ll discover so much!

Thanks so much Katy, good luck on the rest of your ride!