Cape to Cape Challenge – 18,000km in 73 days

We are starting the challenge at the North Cape on a spectacular day, without a single person about and the most wonderful blue sky.



A last minute delay meant that I set off at 9.45am, on the route along the Arctic Ocean covering 186 km. A beautiful route, of course accompanied by plenty of hills and headwind!

With an early start before 6am, we turned away from the coastline. You're constantly faced with reindeers crossing the road so we tried for ages to get a good photograph with them!



Into total wilderness, the road snaked through never ending forests, past lakes and alongside rivers with very few other… read more

Continuing to ride over endless Finnish hills, the headwind kept blowing in our faces. Surprisingly it was warm, even 't-shirt weather', which helped to make the windy conditions easier, as we shared turns in the wind.



We crossed out of the Arctic Circle in the evening, riding into the only real city… read more

We'd arrived into the city late on the third day, and being really tired allowed ourselves a lie-in to start at 8am today, after waving off Pål, our videographer.



Following the main road until midday, I noticed a shortcut that we could take and had checked on the Finnish maps to see if they were tarmaced… read more

Waking on the veranda, we made an early getaway and rode some 60 km before having any breakfast today. Then in the next town after having something to eat, it started to pour with rain and the headwind was back again.



After pushing on for a few hours in these awful conditions, it was clear that Philipp… read more

A wet and cold early start at 6am, where the tarmac road quickly became a gravel one. Having reached the Finnish Lake District, we rode past lake after lake, spectacular.



Finally after midday the wind direction turned, so for the first time on the challenge we were treated to a tailwind! Making the most… read more

It was well worth the later start at 7.30am today after the late finish yesterday and to make the most of the hotel breakfast!



Frustratingly, the first 40 km seemed to be a series of roadworks and construction, with some gravel segments and rather stop-start.



Our luck changed when we joined the main road… read more

Phew, what an awful day on the bike. The combination of lashing rain that lasted all day, a tough headwind and cold teamed together with Russia's busiest road make for no fun at all.



With simply no alternative, we took the main road to Moscow, constantly getting close-passed by both lorries and cars at… read more

With the exception of the headwind, the awful weather from yesterday's ride was with us again today. Philipp has suffered for the past week and now I too am beginning to feel a bit sick following yesterday's cold conditions.



The morning was spent riding on hard, but we did stop for a while at lunchtime… read more

More of the same, we left early to make our journey to Moscow in yet more pouring rain. This huge motorway had only 30 cm of hard shoulder to ride on, with lorries going past at high speeds.



It was about midday when the wing mirror of a lorry hit my shoulder. I was very lucky to be totally fine, but… read more

On this eleventh day, we left Moscow on the huge ten-lane ring road. Thankfully, the traffic quickly subsided after we headed toward the Black Sea on the highway. As well as that, good tarmac and a wide shoulder on the road, what a treat!



With these good conditions, we pressed on at 35km/h all morning… read more

It was an early beginning of sunrise for another leg on the shoulder of a busy high-speed highway. Since both a hilly route and a strong cross wind started, it got a little easier around noon when we started to turn east.



Driving along this street edge means that debris and dirt from the trucks caused… read more

Back on track, we rode to Voronezh to get Philipp's broken phone fixed and did some essential bike maintenance.



As it's a big industrial town, it took a lot of time to cross and get these things sorted. Riding away at 1pm, we were on the motorway again and rode hard to Pawlows during the last light of… read more

Really keen to crack on and get out of Russia, we got going super early at 4am in a bitter 3 degrees! The weather forecast shows that tomorrow's weather is severe with strong winds from direction of the Black Sea, so making solid progress today is important.



We pushed hard on the shoulder of the road… read more

Another 4am start meant that we could ride hard in the morning before we had to turn direction. Here, the wind blew so hard that we were relieved we'd made good time this morning.



We crossed this bleak and beautiful steppe landscape with a hefty crosswind, making it difficult to stay in control of the… read more

From steppe to rolling hills, not only the landscape changed today but also the people.



We faced more hard crosswinds in the morning, but cracked on non-stop to reach the city of Stawropol.



It wasn't much after that it got dark, as the main road that we were riding along had no shoulder it was too dangerous… read more

After a very interrupted night and barely any sleep on the restaurant floor, we set off very tired today. Thankfully it was already warm at 5 am, easy to feel like we are in a new climate.



We can see the conflict around us in this area all day, from the military presence to the police checkpoints and… read more

Welcome to Georgia!



Crossing the Caucasus, we had some hefty climbing today across the mountains, and I adored every bit of it. Both of us were very keen to get into the mountains, but we had a three hour ride first to get to the border, with a 30 km long queue of lorries being searched. Thankfully it… read more

Ideal conditions, lovely weather and even a tailwind, Georgia has been kind to us today. We rode on a flat road through the wine region of Georgia, flanked by tall mountains as we made great progress.



Crossing into Azerbaijan at midday, the hospitality of this first Islamic country on our ride was clear… read more

Once again in Azerbaijan the kindness and hospitality of these people shows clearly. Having stopped at a gas station to eat something after an early start in darkness, the owner produced homemade jam, with bread, eggs, butter and cheese.



After a morning of solid riding, the heat of the midday sun was… read more