Jules Hobson shared with us her story of experiencing the most devastating loss when Gareth, her new husband, and best friend of a decade, died on a climbing trip only eighteen months after their wedding. To cope with his death, she embarked on a year of cycling adventures which she now shares with us.

How Cycling Helped Julia Hobson Cope with the Death of Her Husband

I thought of some of the things that had been on mine and Gareth’s “list” of adventures to do together at some point. It needed to involve the things that were helping me; riding my bike in cool places, spending time with friends and not being in the same place for too long. It needed to be a journey.

LEJOG

So my first ‘coping’ challenge was to ride from Lands End to John O Groats off-road, covering the 1300 miles and 140,000ft climbing in 23 days.

Lots of friends were kind enough to come along for a day or two’s riding to support me, or offer me food and somewhere to stay, and despite horrendous weather and track conditions, (and it being the hardest physical thing I had ever done), I somehow made it to the end.

It was an incredible journey for many reasons, and I had time to think a lot during the many hours of pedalling (or pushing!)