An evening of inspiring tales from across the two-wheeled world, hosted by bike messenger turned ultra-endurance cyclist Emily Chappell and local cyclist Ben Dowman. This event is a joyous celebration of cycling and the freedom, opportunity, and adventure it brings to people.
We're excited to announce that we'll be joined on stage by...
Pippa York - who will be talking about her unique memoir "The Escape", a nostalgic voyage through the world’s most competitive bike race. For Pippa this was a chance to revisit the race she had ridden eleven times as Robert Millar. The book blends the details of their journeys with the iconic landmarks of the Tour de France to explore her early years in working-class Glasgow, her entry into competitive cycling, the psychological demands of the sport, and how they shaped her personality. It recounts her career highs and lows, life after racing, and her transition in her 40s.
Molly Weaver - this year Molly set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest circumnavigation of the British coastline by bicycle in 21 Days, 10 Hours and 48 mins. The previous record had stood since 1984 and a woman had never previously attempted the feat. Riding for around 18 hours a day, Molly cycled over 7700km while climbing the equivalent of over eight Everests, navigating heatwaves, gales, 18 days of headwinds, and long spells of torrential rain.
Harry and Stu - the Pro cycling superfans started out chasing fun at races across Europe almost a decade ago. This summer, they travelled to the Tour de France by Brompton, catching trains, planes and automobiles to cover the great race for their podcast, Life in the Peloton’s Race Radio. From riding their fold-up bicycles over towering alpine passes to slaloming through the cobbled streets of Montmartre in Paris, the duo enjoyed the adventure of a lifetime. ‘Grand Tourism’ doesn’t get better than this.
Ade Ola is the chair of the Women of Colour Cycling Collective (WCCC), a registered charity and support network for women+ cyclists from global majority backgrounds across the UK. She started finding her way back to cycling as an adult about 15 years ago, but the pandemic is when she really became ‘a cyclist’. She doesn’t do things by halves & decided almost immediately she wanted to become an ultra cyclist, setting her sights on London Edinburgh London as her first attempt. It was also her first audax and unsurprisingly, things didn’t go to plan but that didn’t stop her lining up for Ride Across Britain two years later.
Donna McConnell aka @the_ironempress is a 56-year-old cyclist and triathlete, and member of Chain Gang Cyclists and Rapha Cycling Club (RCC). Donna found her way to the London cycling community after deciding to take on an Ironman in 2021 at age 51. She found she had to overcome some barriers to build her confidence and find her place within a cycling community in which women of colour, older women and curvy women are a minority. She has since taken part in RideLondon 100, London to Paris, ridden the North Coast 500, and completed multi day rides in Rwanda, South Africa and Italy.
Justinas Leveika - Ultra racer and cult legend Justinas is a nurse who manages a nursing home in Norway. In his spare time, he manages to train for, and win iconic ultra races including the Tour Divide, Arizona Trail Race and the Atlas Mountain Race. In 2024 he broke the 8 year old record (set by Mike Hall) for the Tour Divide, knocking over 20 hours off the record and finishing in a time of 13 days, 2 hours, and 16 minutes. This year he won the gruelling and hotly contested Trans Balkan Race, and The Accursed Race, setting new course records on both.
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