A long-awaited tandem adventure in the South of England

I’d wanted to organise a cycle Tour with my friend Lidia for a long time. We used to race tandems 12 years ago, that's how we met. But, 10 years ago, we moved to different cities and stopped cycling together.

After such a long time, our paths crossed again and we had the chance to do a trip that had previously been put on the back burner. Lidia has been visually impaired since birth; she can only see 8% out of one eye, but this doesn't stop her from flying alone to an unknown country.

We set up the tandem and tested it unloaded to practice our commands and timing. Then we were ready to load up and add the trailer for Lidia’s dog, Dexter. We looked like a bus, ready to enjoy the adventure we’d been looking forward to for so long.

We had six days on the road to visit lots of the amazing places on our bucket list. But we still left some room to change plans if something came up on the way.

Riding along the National Cycle Network and lanes, we visited the Seven Sisters white cliffs. We challenged ourselves to climb the highest peaks in the area like Firle Beacon on the South Downs Way; the famous Box Hill which featured in the 2012 Olympics; and Leith Hill, the highest climb in the Surrey Hills.

We enjoyed the tranquillity of cycling on greenways and the contrast of visiting London. The cycle paths made it easy to ride through the city as well.

We also passed through villages where we could stock up on supplies. In rural areas, locals sell their own produce from their gardens on their doorsteps. We were intrigued to see what we could buy this way to make up our daily dinner.

Campsites and hotels lie all along the route and some nights we stayed with Warmshowers hosts.

When planning our adventure, we tried not to stray too far from train stations. In case of an emergency, it’s always useful to be able to hop on a train.

Sharing these six days with Lidia and Dexter has been an incredible experience, especially enjoying insignificant details of everyday life that made us very happy.