“Life is not a linear path”, they say. Unless, of course you’ve decided to cycle the length of Britain in a straight line. Almost a year on from cycling the coastline of Britain, the next challenge was obvious – a vertical straight line through the centre of the country on land (and bridges) only!
Initially I thought I’d invented this concept myself, then came across ‘The Bryson Line’, a theoretical path conjured up by well-known author, Bill Bryson in his book The Road to Little Dribbling. It’s the longest straight line drawn with a ruler through the length of Britain from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath and doesn’t cross salt water. In reality, to cycle or walk this line you’d need to catch a ferry to reach Cape Wrath.
So what’s one of the longest and straightest lines you can cycle without taking a ferry? Shoreham-by-Sea to Oldshoremore! Not only my home town as a starting point, but a ‘shore’ theme going on here…
Cycling in a 340 degree direction for 1,300km (800 miles), I’ll be leaving Shoreham Beach on August 9th 2023 and arriving on the beautiful Oldshoremore Beach in the Highlands at the end of August. Travelling solo, I’ll be camping each night and riding ‘Cindy’, my Kona Cinder Cone hardtail mountain bike, fully loaded with panniers. I’ve never toured on a mountain bike before, but I’m hoping it will be like riding a sofa.
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