Absolutely brilliant. Your conversation in the cafe sums it up perfectly, the challenge is just the "setup" or launchpad for the adventure - its the journey and the process that's the point, the thing that launched you on this adventure, the thing that you lived and worked through and experienced the highs and lows of, and what everyone watching this video was compelled by and enjoyed. There's nothing "failure" about it. Being a challenge is the whole point, and there's always uncertainty about whether the challenge will be doable at all, but that's the whole point of a challenge - its meant to push and stretch and test you. The point is that you just did something that wasn't "safe" and known to be within your limits, the area most people live most of their lives.
Thanks for the support XX. The café conversation really came when I needed it the most. It really helped me finish on my terms and with a nice conclusion to a very challenging 12 days on the trail. Thanks for following along 🙏
Great adventure Pete really enjoyed this to achieve the distance in the time you did was amazing and the parts of the country you seen on your travels looked great definitely not a fail to stop were you did looking forward to seeing more adventures I've just got into bike packing/ wildcamping atvb Jimmy 😎😎👍👍
Well done. I guess it goes to show how much of a challenge it really is? Not only physically but mentally! I hope to be able to tackle this myself at some point. Stay safe ✌😎
By far the most challenging thing I’ve done. I think if it was part of the official race I’d probably have rallied, but when crunch time came at day 12 my brain had had enough!
Fantastic journey. Hopefully after the time that’s passed you can reflect on this as an amazing achievement. Really enjoyed going along with you through the films. Wishing you many more adventures in the future.
I have to disagree, there was no 'failure' in your challenge having watched all 4 videos. The 'success' is the adventure you experienced throughout this trip, use time as an estimate on routes like this. Well done, my hat goes off to your Sir.
Thanks for the kind words Ryan. That is certainly a take away from this trip and having a bit of time flexibility is something I will look for in future big trips like this!
Thanks for sharing this journey with us , please remember Failure is not always about finishing but more about not having tried . Looking forward to your future adventures regards Bob
I enjoyed riding the whole GB divide in July 2023. Luckily I had no time constraints although initially I wanted to go quick-ish. Eventually it took the whole month. One of the best experiences happened by chance in Biggar. I had camped there and on waking I hear so public announcements and following my ears I found the town highland show was on that day. I had a great few hours off the bike and experiencing something really Scottish 🏴 that hadn’t been on my itinerary. So glad I didn’t have such a tight schedule for this trip.
Pete (that’s your name, right?) - I’ve been looking at GB Divide vids for the last week or so since seeing Mark Beaumont speak last week - I’m a huge fan of his - and the whole GB Duro thing. I’ve watched Lachlan’s video, Beaumonts film… this one bought the reality of it all to me, thank you. An amazing series and this - possibly more than anything I’ve watched - makes me want to try and ride it some day. Great series, great riding… that chance meeting in the cafe is absolute fairy tale stuff. Chapeau dude - new subscriber and fan here mate
Hell yeah man you should give it a crack! Definitely the hardest challenge I’ve ever done. I was hopeful it would come across honest. Or At least show what it’s like for a mere mortal to attempt what the elite guys are doing. Easy to watch the videos and romanticise the suffering when it’s not you out there in the rain pushing your bike along a sheep track in the middle of f*****g nowhere with no food 😂
@@pedallingsquaresNZ that is exactly it and you nailed it Pete - 100%! I’ve been watching lots of tour videos since - thank for making them - it’s inspiring stuff!
Amazing that I came across your vlog of the GB divide and you finished your epic adventure on my local training loop, the Forth and Clyde & Union canal, which I cycle almost every day. Well done.
I’ve just finished your last chapter of this epic journey and wow! So many emotions. I know you didn’t reach your original goal but I think it actually takes a strong character to know when they need to adapt the plan. I could see the relief on your face when cycling towards Edinburgh. You know it also reminded me of a word my wife and I love called Coddiwompling. It’s basically traveling in a vague direction with no real sense of what you might find, sometimes the unexpected changes to our plans yield the best memories. Thanks again for sharing your adventures and will look forward to more in the future 🙂
Thanks for the supportive message Merlin! Yes it was a sense of relief I’ve never experienced in my life before. Felt close to tears but also incredibly euphoric at the same time. Will add that to my vocab, Coddiwompling!
awesome videos, all 4 of them! well done. i know your pain been there before and you portrayed it so well, the little twist at the end there, top stuff!!!
@@pedallingsquaresNZ I hope you were treated well Pete. Come and try the South East and the Ridgeway if you get the chance again pal, the views made sit down and sob like a lil' girl last winter ;)
Great video series and what an amazing adventure that you completed. As for the exact finish point, who cares, what a ride, absolutely incredible. You pushed yourself to your limit and even beyond (that last climb when you were low on water), few people ever do that or are strong enough mentally to do that. Good for you. 👍
Just want to drop in here to say how awesome this adventure was to watch. Thanks for taking the time to film it so we could tag along. Absolutely epic👍
Great series of vids Pete, really enjoyed them. You've already won by setting off and experiencing everything between points a and b - wherever they start and finish. Kudos to you. Look forward to seeing your next adventure.
So glad this journey appeared on my feed, probably the best bikepacking one I've seen! Well done and thanks for sharing the adventure. Everything was captured really well, the scenery, the trails, the emotions and great soundtrack too. The wisdom of the guy you met was spot on, not everything has to be structured, labelled, ego driven etc. I'd call it a big success!
Thank you for the kind words! I wish I’d had the forethought to get a photo with him. I didn’t realise how pivotal his interaction with me was going to be! Hopefully one day I can pass on his wisdom to someone else who needs to hear it ❤️
This series of videos was brilliant. Well done and there is no shame of failure. You experienced the best that the uk had to offer. Thank you for sharing and this was inspiring 👍
Thank you Graham it was an incredible moment. I’m sad I didn’t get a photo with the guy or even his name but I will forward on his good bikepacking wisdom to others I see out on their adventures!
Great to finally getting around to see your last last episode of the GB Divide. Good on you for gusting it out Pete. Some, like me, can only rely on efforts such as this to see these far off places. Thanks mate, from another down south, Graham.
A massive well done for that effort. You need to get back up to Scotland and experience the amazing route, beautiful scenery and remote isolation that the section further north of Stirling has to offer.
Thanks Pete. Really enjoyed this series. Some very interesting perspectives into the bikepacking experience. Looking forward to giving an abridged version a go when it warms up next year.
Outstanding series Pete, just stumbled across your channel and watched the four episodes in one sitting. Brilliant trip, very well documented and narrated. You sum it all up perfectly, top job 👌
This series has taken me to places of my home island I never knew existed. Thank you for documenting and sharing your epic journey. Best wishes for future travels 👊🍻
Nice to see these videos! My friend and I did exact the same adventure in June this year, so we recognise all of the physical and mental aspects! Awesome.
Great set of videos. Fantastic adventure. That last gravel hill is just by my house and it’s brutal especially with a loaded bike as is the descent. You’ll need to come back to ride the Scottish section. Try the An Turas Mor
Just come across your adventure - fantastic achievement and to manage filming at the same time must have been an additional challenge. Lots of highs and lows but really nice to follow your progress. Great stuff for our Saturday evening watch 👍👍
Congrats on the awesome adventure Pete. Really enjoyed this series after watching some of your earlier videos. Thanks for the great bike packing content and taking us along on the journey with you. Legend!
Great series, Pete! If you're interested, I'm planning a multi-day ride along the Oregon Timber Trail here in the States in August next year - welcome to join us!
you need some serious granny gears for those climbs, to soak up those welsh paths, yo need old school reynolds 531, the new ultra light bikes, just send shocks up your arms and soak your energy, suspension bikes are to heavy, you done great son, every celtic man bursts in to tears in england, its like, what have i done to deserve this ;) lol
If the start and end points are not arbitrary then the time it takes has to be. as a 60 year old who has only been cycling for 18 months, a 400 mile tripacross from east of england to the west of ireland is going to take as long as it takes.
Hi Pete! Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm looking to participate in GB Divide next year and thinking about how hard it would be to ride on gravel bike. I noticed that you had a gravel, so, what do you think, is it a good idea to use a gravel or not?
That’s a very good question, and I’m not sure if there is the perfect bike! Some sections are extremely hard on a gravel bike but others that are fast rolling. My advice would be ride what you are comfortable doing big days on. For me I’d always rather big days on a drop bar than on a flatbar, but that’s just what my hands are used to!
@@pedallingsquaresNZ that's the spirit back on the horse. I enjoyed your episodes bringing back memories and flashbacks of the highs and lows saying I remember that... Would you attempt it again is the big question?
@@gjmhughes with all due respect I think you're missing the point 🙂 This was an experience lived, not a task failed that needs to be revisited. Its not an exam where the point is to pass, its an experience to live through. Thinking that its "failed" and needs to be redone is missing the point entirely IMO.
@@pedallingsquaresNZ I thought that must be the case, but rest assured you did fantastically well and should take great pride, I would have got lost so many times!
No way would I use the word "failure" to describe anything that you did. However, I often fall back on a quote of John F Kennedy(?). The only smug b4stards who can say "I've never failed" are those who have never tried
Outstanding effort on the English side of things, too bad u could'nt have made it into the real country, the country of my ancestors, a land of great beauty, tainted by the foul act of Union which enslaved my beautiful country to the will of the English. The best part of youre journey would have been thro the country of my birth, Scotland, a most beautiful place, full of sorrow, for the Gaelic people, expelled to every corner of the Earth, by an elite enslaved to English Govt power in the 17th/18thC. Read some history about the ethnic cleansing of Scotland.
Absolutely brilliant. Your conversation in the cafe sums it up perfectly, the challenge is just the "setup" or launchpad for the adventure - its the journey and the process that's the point, the thing that launched you on this adventure, the thing that you lived and worked through and experienced the highs and lows of, and what everyone watching this video was compelled by and enjoyed. There's nothing "failure" about it. Being a challenge is the whole point, and there's always uncertainty about whether the challenge will be doable at all, but that's the whole point of a challenge - its meant to push and stretch and test you. The point is that you just did something that wasn't "safe" and known to be within your limits, the area most people live most of their lives.
Thanks for the support XX. The café conversation really came when I needed it the most. It really helped me finish on my terms and with a nice conclusion to a very challenging 12 days on the trail. Thanks for following along 🙏
Great adventure Pete really enjoyed this to achieve the distance in the time you did was amazing and the parts of the country you seen on your travels looked great definitely not a fail to stop were you did looking forward to seeing more adventures I've just got into bike packing/ wildcamping atvb Jimmy 😎😎👍👍
Thanks Jimmy for watching and commenting greatly appreciated! All the best for your own adventures!
Wow, so great.
You lucky guy.
Well done.
I guess it goes to show how much of a challenge it really is?
Not only physically but mentally!
I hope to be able to tackle this myself at some point.
Stay safe ✌😎
By far the most challenging thing I’ve done. I think if it was part of the official race I’d probably have rallied, but when crunch time came at day 12 my brain had had enough!
@@pedallingsquaresNZ Think I missed it but did you bail because you ran out of time or because you'd had enough? Would you do it again?
Fantastic journey. Hopefully after the time that’s passed you can reflect on this as an amazing achievement. Really enjoyed going along with you through the films. Wishing you many more adventures in the future.
I have to disagree, there was no 'failure' in your challenge having watched all 4 videos. The 'success' is the adventure you experienced throughout this trip, use time as an estimate on routes like this. Well done, my hat goes off to your Sir.
Thanks for the kind words Ryan. That is certainly a take away from this trip and having a bit of time flexibility is something I will look for in future big trips like this!
Thanks for sharing this journey with us , please remember Failure is not always about finishing but more about not having tried . Looking forward to your future adventures regards Bob
Thanks Bob appreciate the words of encouragement!
A great and challenging adventure, thanks for bringing us along. May you have many more.
It certainly was! Thanks for following along 👍
I enjoyed riding the whole GB divide in July 2023. Luckily I had no time constraints although initially I wanted to go quick-ish. Eventually it took the whole month. One of the best experiences happened by chance in Biggar. I had camped there and on waking I hear so public announcements and following my ears I found the town highland show was on that day. I had a great few hours off the bike and experiencing something really Scottish 🏴 that hadn’t been on my itinerary. So glad I didn’t have such a tight schedule for this trip.
Sounds like you did it right! Wish I’d had more time. I’ll come back to finish Scotland one day
Pete (that’s your name, right?) - I’ve been looking at GB Divide vids for the last week or so since seeing Mark Beaumont speak last week - I’m a huge fan of his - and the whole GB Duro thing. I’ve watched Lachlan’s video, Beaumonts film… this one bought the reality of it all to me, thank you. An amazing series and this - possibly more than anything I’ve watched - makes me want to try and ride it some day. Great series, great riding… that chance meeting in the cafe is absolute fairy tale stuff. Chapeau dude - new subscriber and fan here mate
Hell yeah man you should give it a crack! Definitely the hardest challenge I’ve ever done. I was hopeful it would come across honest. Or At least show what it’s like for a mere mortal to attempt what the elite guys are doing. Easy to watch the videos and romanticise the suffering when it’s not you out there in the rain pushing your bike along a sheep track in the middle of f*****g nowhere with no food 😂
@@pedallingsquaresNZ that is exactly it and you nailed it Pete - 100%! I’ve been watching lots of tour videos since - thank for making them - it’s inspiring stuff!
Inspiring. I watched your series as i'm keen for the ride myself. Well done and thankyou for the 4 part series.
Thanks and good luck with your adventure!
Epic. The whole thing. Thank you.
Awesome thanks very much!
Enjoyed every episode. Respect brother.
Thanks man appreciate the support
Truly wonderful man! Inspiring❤
Hey thank you very much!
Amazing that I came across your vlog of the GB divide and you finished your epic adventure on my local training loop, the Forth and Clyde & Union canal, which I cycle almost every day. Well done.
It’s a beautiful part of the country and I remember it fondly!
I’ve just finished your last chapter of this epic journey and wow! So many emotions. I know you didn’t reach your original goal but I think it actually takes a strong character to know when they need to adapt the plan. I could see the relief on your face when cycling towards Edinburgh. You know it also reminded me of a word my wife and I love called Coddiwompling. It’s basically traveling in a vague direction with no real sense of what you might find, sometimes the unexpected changes to our plans yield the best memories. Thanks again for sharing your adventures and will look forward to more in the future 🙂
Thanks for the supportive message Merlin! Yes it was a sense of relief I’ve never experienced in my life before. Felt close to tears but also incredibly euphoric at the same time. Will add that to my vocab, Coddiwompling!
Brilliant work sir. I'm "researching" for gbduro and loved the insight, both geographical and spiritual re the end - top work! 👏
Thanks Keith! It was a very challenging adventure and if you’re after something testing, you’ll certainly find that somewhere on the route!
awesome videos, all 4 of them! well done. i know your pain been there before and you portrayed it so well, the little twist at the end there, top stuff!!!
Thanks mate, I'm glad it rang true for you. There's a unique kind of suffering that comes with these really long endurance challenges!
That is a great adventure. The moment you set off you were already a winner. It was a really enjoyable watch. Thanks!
Thank you 😊
Great ending to a great series. As the old saying goes " it's not about the destination, it's about the journey" ✌️
Cheers Chris. I had to constantly remind myself of that! I look back now on the trip with a lot of warmth
UK is tough mate, worth it though. Thanks for the great series, John
Absolutely, the UK bridleways absolutely killed me 😂 thanks for watching John!
@@pedallingsquaresNZ I hope you were treated well Pete.
Come and try the South East and the Ridgeway if you get the chance again pal, the views made sit down and sob like a lil' girl last winter ;)
Great video series and what an amazing adventure that you completed. As for the exact finish point, who cares, what a ride, absolutely incredible. You pushed yourself to your limit and even beyond (that last climb when you were low on water), few people ever do that or are strong enough mentally to do that. Good for you. 👍
I certainly did! Now I have recovered from the effort I certainly want to go back and finish it off one day. Thanks for watching!
Just want to drop in here to say how awesome this adventure was to watch. Thanks for taking the time to film it so we could tag along. Absolutely epic👍
Thanks so much for watching, the positive vibes from these comments do mean a lot so thank you 🙏
Great series of vids Pete, really enjoyed them. You've already won by setting off and experiencing everything between points a and b - wherever they start and finish. Kudos to you. Look forward to seeing your next adventure.
Thanks for watching Stephen, certainly more adventures to come!
So glad this journey appeared on my feed, probably the best bikepacking one I've seen! Well done and thanks for sharing the adventure. Everything was captured really well, the scenery, the trails, the emotions and great soundtrack too. The wisdom of the guy you met was spot on, not everything has to be structured, labelled, ego driven etc. I'd call it a big success!
Thank you for the kind words! I wish I’d had the forethought to get a photo with him. I didn’t realise how pivotal his interaction with me was going to be! Hopefully one day I can pass on his wisdom to someone else who needs to hear it ❤️
Thanks for sharing your experience in my home country. You’ve motivated me to get off the sofa. 🥳
Awesome Andrew get out there and enjoy it!
This series of videos was brilliant. Well done and there is no shame of failure. You experienced the best that the uk had to offer. Thank you for sharing and this was inspiring 👍
Thanks Ross I’m glad it inspired you! I certainly learned a lot about myself on this trip
Meeting the other cyclist who stepped into your adventure was surely a God moment for you, chapeau my friend, extreme respect from Whangarei, NZ.
Thank you Graham it was an incredible moment. I’m sad I didn’t get a photo with the guy or even his name but I will forward on his good bikepacking wisdom to others I see out on their adventures!
Fantastic series. Superb effort. Good luck with everything you do in the future. Thanks for the ride.
Thanks for watching Matt 👍
Wow, a great adventure. Great viewing. And the guy at the cafe was right, the points are arbitrary.
Thanks Jayson, I was lucky to meet him he really helped me finish on my terms!
Great to finally getting around to see your last last episode of the GB Divide. Good on you for gusting it out Pete. Some, like me, can only rely on efforts such as this to see these far off places. Thanks mate, from another down south, Graham.
Thanks Graham I really appreciate it! All the best, Pete
Hi Pete, this is indeed a great story. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us all. 👏🏻Music is awesome also.
Thanks so much Sue, I’m glad you liked it!
A massive well done for that effort. You need to get back up to Scotland and experience the amazing route, beautiful scenery and remote isolation that the section further north of Stirling has to offer.
Absolutely coming back to Scotland! Quite keen on the highland 550 maybe
Thanks Pete. Really enjoyed this series. Some very interesting perspectives into the bikepacking experience. Looking forward to giving an abridged version a go when it warms up next year.
Awesome! Highly recommend the Wales section for a shorter but epic adventure 👌
Outstanding series Pete, just stumbled across your channel and watched the four episodes in one sitting. Brilliant trip, very well documented and narrated. You sum it all up perfectly, top job 👌
Cheers James much appreciated!
This series has taken me to places of my home island I never knew existed. Thank you for documenting and sharing your epic journey. Best wishes for future travels 👊🍻
Thank you and thanks for watching 🙏
Nice to see these videos! My friend and I did exact the same adventure in June this year, so we recognise all of the physical and mental aspects! Awesome.
Well done for doing it! Such a tough route in all elements 💪🏼
Great set of videos. Fantastic adventure. That last gravel hill is just by my house and it’s brutal especially with a loaded bike as is the descent. You’ll need to come back to ride the Scottish section. Try the An Turas Mor
Absolutely coming back! I still have nightmares of that climb
Just come across your adventure - fantastic achievement and to manage filming at the same time must have been an additional challenge. Lots of highs and lows but really nice to follow your progress. Great stuff for our Saturday evening watch 👍👍
Thanks for watching I’m glad you guys enjoyed it!
Congrats on the awesome adventure Pete. Really enjoyed this series after watching some of your earlier videos. Thanks for the great bike packing content and taking us along on the journey with you. Legend!
Thanks Garth, thanks for watching!
Great series, Pete! If you're interested, I'm planning a multi-day ride along the Oregon Timber Trail here in the States in August next year - welcome to join us!
Mate that would be the dream! Riding in the states is certainly on my list
Hadrian's Wall was to keep the riff raff in.
you need some serious granny gears for those climbs, to soak up those welsh paths, yo need old school reynolds 531, the new ultra light bikes, just send shocks up your arms and soak your energy, suspension bikes are to heavy, you done great son, every celtic man bursts in to tears in england, its like, what have i done to deserve this ;) lol
If the start and end points are not arbitrary then the time it takes has to be. as a 60 year old who has only been cycling for 18 months, a 400 mile tripacross from east of england to the west of ireland is going to take as long as it takes.
That’s right. Setting out with plenty of time is the perfect way to tour
Hi Pete!
Thanks for sharing your experience.
I'm looking to participate in GB Divide next year and thinking about how hard it would be to ride on gravel bike.
I noticed that you had a gravel, so, what do you think, is it a good idea to use a gravel or not?
That’s a very good question, and I’m not sure if there is the perfect bike! Some sections are extremely hard on a gravel bike but others that are fast rolling. My advice would be ride what you are comfortable doing big days on. For me I’d always rather big days on a drop bar than on a flatbar, but that’s just what my hands are used to!
@@pedallingsquaresNZ thanks!
Did you not finish?. Either way such Respect as I know how hard that course is having done it myself.
Had to pull the pin at Sterling. Ran out of time energy and willpower, but I’ll be back to finish off Scotland for sure
@@pedallingsquaresNZ that's the spirit back on the horse. I enjoyed your episodes bringing back memories and flashbacks of the highs and lows saying I remember that... Would you attempt it again is the big question?
@@gjmhughes with all due respect I think you're missing the point 🙂 This was an experience lived, not a task failed that needs to be revisited. Its not an exam where the point is to pass, its an experience to live through. Thinking that its "failed" and needs to be redone is missing the point entirely IMO.
The only true failure is not trying.
Very true!
I'm confused? why couldn't you just take a little longer to finish?
I only had so much time to be able to do this unfortunately
@@pedallingsquaresNZ I thought that must be the case, but rest assured you did fantastically well and should take great pride, I would have got lost so many times!
No way would I use the word "failure" to describe anything that you did. However, I often fall back on a quote of John F Kennedy(?). The only smug b4stards who can say "I've never failed" are those who have never tried
Thanks Charlie, certainly ranks as one of the hardest challenges I’ve undertaken. One day I’ll come back and finish it off!
Outstanding effort on the English side of things, too bad u could'nt have made it into the real country, the country of my ancestors, a land of great beauty, tainted by the foul act of Union which enslaved my beautiful country to the will of the English. The best part of youre journey would have been thro the country of my birth, Scotland, a most beautiful place, full of sorrow, for the Gaelic people, expelled to every corner of the Earth, by an elite enslaved to English Govt power in the 17th/18thC. Read some history about the ethnic cleansing of Scotland.
Don’t worry I’m fully intending on returning to explore wonderful Scotland 🏴