Live Slow-Ride Far: A Ride for the Maypole Project

Words by Alvaro de la Camara, photos by Robert Pichucho

I’d like to start by saying that this is a raw and honest impression of how I felt during our fundraising ride. I’m not a writer, and English is not my first language. Heads up: it was written during the ride. I hope I manage to reflect how our trip went so you can get a good glimpse into it.

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Live Slow-Ride Far came to my mind as a ride to do with my daughter Cora and good friend Robert Pichucho (her godfather) to help raise funds for the Maypole Project, which supports kids with complex medical needs and their families for as long as they need. The Maypole Project is a non-government-funded organization, so the pandemic has had a significant financial impact on their work. After having volunteered for them at different events and understanding their amazing and selfless mission, I wanted to do something to support them.

The ride itself consisted of a 300-kilometer journey through the Jurassic Coast, across the New Forest, around the Isle of Wight, through the South Downs, and ending in Lewes, a beautiful little town in the south of England. The route would take us through a wide range of terrain and a sampling of all the mud the UK has to offer. Little did I know…

Day 1: And We’re Off

Early start. Cora was so excited the night before setting off, so much so that when she went to bed, the last thing she said was, “Daddy tent.” Although it was a slow start as we needed to get a train to the starting point, we had the sun with us. Pizza for lunch on a curb and straight into the woods.

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Due to the heavy rains the week before, we moved very slowly. The first leg before the Isle of Wight was up and down through very muddy trails. Cora kept saying “Bumpy!” when we went through rough patches. I’d later figure out that it was code for, “Go slower please!”

We managed to find a field after some endless hills. Because we were going through a military field, there were no stopping points anywhere as everything apart from the path through is used as a shooting range. Time for bed; my arms were dead.

Day 2: The Rain Begins

The day started with rain, so we had to find shelter for an hour or two. Then it was straight back into the hills. Steep hills, muddy hills, narrow hills… we had to come up with a process. Robert would help me push the trailer, and after, he’d go back to get his bike. I wouldn’t have been able to even start this mission without him.

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At one point, while it was pouring down, some hikers had to help me push the trailer so we could all move together. Cora was crying at this point, and it was pretty clear she wasn’t enjoying the rain either, even from the coziness of her trailer. Thankfully, Robert came up with the great idea of playing Peppa Pig’s tunes out loud on the speaker, which was the savior, though it didn’t keep the two of us from getting soaked.

We came to terms with the idea that any form of moving is good, however slow and difficult it was. I found something very pleasant in moving at a snail’s pace, listening and observing more to everything around me. I try to be observant most of the time, but this pace was something I had not experienced before.

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Cora spent the day singing, pointing at everything we croseds paths with: animals, trees, people, and bikes. I was blown away by how much she seemed to enjoy being in the trailer as long as we were moving through different landscapes. Still, one thing she hated was the super bumpy segments. She always called “Mummy!” if we went rough through bits.

After six hours of cycling, we managed to get to Bournemouth, where we considered whether to make it to Isle of Wight in one go or wait to cross. Tomorrow would tell. It made me happy to see the super cool bond that Cora and Robert were creating. Choosing him as her godfather was the best decision, and seeing them interact always makes me smile.

Day 3: Wading Rivers

With a fast start to the day, we covered 15 kilometers in an hour or so but then hit an awful patch where we had to push through rivers and shin-high mud. It was way harder than I was expecting it to be. We managed to get to the Isle of Wight and camped just after the ferry.

Days 4 and 5: Isle of Wight

Cora woke us up the next day at 5:30 a.m., excited about everything. We had a big breakfast as we knew the day was going to be hard, and it was. There were stunning views and punchy hills. I even managed to climb one for over an hour without waking Cora up from her nap. The scenery changes very drastically around the Isle of Wight, and it wowed us constantly around every corner or summit. But with that came even more difficult terrain, including paths and trails where it was hard to even walk, descents where we nearly all fell over, trailer included, because of the steepness and how slippery the trails were. We made it all the way to the east coast of the island just in time to find a spot to pitch our tents, eat a lot, and go down to sleep, knackered from the day.

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It’s incredible how much Cora enjoys helping put our tents up, holding all the pegs and making sure they get set before dinner. She keeps calling ours casa, “home” in Spanish. We had a slow but easy last day on the island to complete the full loop. We savored a big picnic near the ferry port and were pondering the idea of getting a room in Portsmouth for a good night’s sleep and to wash our stuff when, at that exact moment, I receive a message from Kate, the partner of our good friend Tom, who are both adventure cyclists. She kindly offered her place to crash and wash up, almost like a message from the sky! We obviously said a resounding yes. Thanks so much, Kate!

Day 6: Fresh and Clean

Fresh, clean, and fully rested, we headed to the flattest and most paved leg of the trip, entering the South Downs. We managed to cover quite a good distance in the morning, although we had to stop for lunch earlier than expected. At a junction, a car tried to pull out, and I waved as he seemed adamant to still go out, even though I was cycling in front of him. He stopped, then heavily accelerated, putting himself between Robert and us, and then accelerated again, nearly hitting the back of the trailer. This had me feeling me extremely shaky. I hate being on the road with the trailer, and when planning the route, I visited it over and over again to avoid road bits as much as I could. Luckily, right after that, we went back to the trails.

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All the way up we went for about two hours. We had a trailer puncture halfway up for a little added excitement. We managed to get to the top of the last summit of the day and find a camping spot after a beer and playing pizza makers with Cora at a pub nearby. Things took a different turn when Cora started to feel a bit homesick, calling for her mummy and unable to stop crying, which is rare. We had to change our plans from camping to staying in a room. After FaceTime with mummy and a bottle, she felt better and went to bed nicely.

One of the things I told myself before starting this trip was that the main priority is Cora. If she is not feeling something, I won’t go ahead with it. This is why I never minded changing plans if would make her happy. Kids are unpredictable sometimes, and these things can happen. We just need to adapt in order for everybody to keep enjoying the journey. Thankfully, we realized that we were ahead of schedule and might be arriving a day ahead. Those two days with flatter sections gave us extra miles we weren’t counting on.

Day 7: More Punctures

Cora woke up in the middle of the night and wanted to be with me in bed. Unfortunately, our room only had one bed, and I was already sharing it with Robert. I tricked her as she was still half asleep, putting her on my side of the bed and then sneaking down onto the floor so the two of them could be comfortable. The place we stayed at was The Star & Garter in East Dean. It has super friendly staff and incredible homemade food, even for us (we follow a plant-based diet).

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Again, we started the day straight into the hills. We knew we had some of the punchiest ones in the South Downs. As we entered, we were in awe of how it opened out into incredible views. It was like something out of Lord of the Rings. It has some magical essence that makes me fall in love every time I ride around there.

Our group spent most of the morning going up and down. The dry, chalky mud creates countless ditches and super uneven trails, which meant we walked a lot and went super slow. After lunch, we realized we had another puncture on the trailer. We found a bike shop a few miles off route via the road. Again, I hated it. We bombed it to get there as soon as we could, given all the stress from the cars. Robert shielded me from behind, but it still felt like riding away from something that was about to attack us—a horrible feeling. Once restocked with tubes and with the wheel fixed, we went back to the route and found a place to camp well before sundown. The three of us were quite excited, and Cora was jumping, running, and laughing. It made me very happy.

Day 8: To the Finish

At 5 a.m., the alarm went off, and the forecast predicted rains from 8 a.m. onward. I wanted to be able to pack everything quickly and in the dry so Cora could have breakfast and play before setting off. As I was packing, I noticed Cora shaking a bit while having her porridge. I asked her, and she said she was okay. Put her in the tent, and a minute later, saw her curled up and looking cold. I put her in the trailer and wrapped her up nicely—our trailer keeps the warmth well—and she was good and smiling again before long. Bless her; the whole situation had me a bit worried.

Packed and ready, we headed into our last day. The rain started soon after we began cycling. There was a light drizzle as we went up the last summit of the ride. It was one of the hardest and most technical sections. We managed to ride up most of it apart from the last handful of meters, as the loose gravel kept spinning my wheels. I caught my breath at the top, we screamed to the skies, and then we continued our way down to the coast.

The drizzle turned into heavy showers and continued until we reached the end. The last bit through Brighton seafront was all smiles, even though it was pouring down. We knew it was the last day; it didn’t matter anymore. We arrived at The Beak Brewery, where my wife and some friends were waiting for us after spending eight days cycling through all types of terrain and conditions.

We can teach our kids so many things, but it is when we leave them to their own devices that we get to learn from them. I’ve spent the last 10 years going on bike missions trying to reach the other end as quickly as possible, and this trip opened my eyes to a new way of enjoying my bike at a completely different pace.

Alvaro is still trying to meet his £1,500 fundraising goal for the Maypole Project, and you can make a donation of any amount over at Just Giving.

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