Catherine Dixon (Cat) and Rachael Marsden (Raz) – known as TandemWOW – had an ambition to raise £1 a mile as they cycled around the world on a tandem bicycle.
After 263 days they arrived back in the UK at the end of March 2020, just before lockdown.
After cycling 18,000 miles they raised a massive £37,000 for charity. They also set a new world record, beating the previous men’s record by more than 17 days.
Always with a smile they cycled through storms, monsoon rains, brutal headwinds and fires. They endured emotional and physical hardships, hunger and exhaustion and, through their incredible determination, have shown us all that anything is possible.
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Show notes
- Who is Cat and what she does
- Who is Raz and what she does
- How Raz and Cat met about 3 years
- Who’s idea was it to cycle around the world!
- What Raz’s first thoughts were about cycling around the world
- The planning and the preparation for the challenge
- The rules for the Guinness World Record
- Thinking about and planning the route
- Working on the bike spec
- Figuring out the sponsorship and getting kit etc
- Thank you to Stolen Goat
- Getting travel insurance with Saga
- The budget for the trip and trying to stick to £50 per day for the 2 of them
- Camping across Europe to keep costs down
- Having families and telling them about the challenge
- Naming the bike ALICE…
- The magical moments on the bike
- Spending 24hrs a day together
- The challenges of being part of a team
- What did they learn about themselves from doing this challenge
- Getting tested physically and mentally while cycling
- Luxury items
- Listening to lots of audio books
- Raz sharing more about cycling over in America
- The struggles of getting food in America
- To go to McDonalds or not….
- Flying over to Morocco from America
- Heading back to Europe for the final ride home back to the UK
- Having to race against the pandemic to get the ferry back to the UK
- The final few weeks of the adventure
- Crossing the border from Spain to France
- The challenge of riding through France when shops and accommodation was closed
- Leaving France on the day of the lockdown
- Finishing the journey and getting to the end of the trip and not being ready to stop cycling
- Planning to take a month off
- Starting new jobs
- Making the transition from cycling everyday to being back in a full time job
- Quick Fire Questions
- Final words of advice and top tips
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