{"id":150560,"date":"2025-09-21T04:59:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T04:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/150560\/"},"modified":"2025-09-21T04:59:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T04:59:08","slug":"cross-britain-cycle-ride-brings-self-discovery-for-local-author","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/150560\/","title":{"rendered":"Cross-Britain cycle ride brings self-discovery for local author"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former diplomat Claire Davies has shared the story of her remarkable cycling<\/a> challenge \u2013 riding solo and unsupported from Land\u2019s End to John O\u2019Groats.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo this day, I find it hard to explain why I did it,\u201d said Ms Davies, 53. \u201cBut I\u2019d been suffering from anxiety<\/a> and was craving space, silence, and a physical challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

What began as an endurance test turned into a journey towards better physical fitness<\/a> and mental health<\/a>, as well as empowerment and self-discovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was such a fantastic experience that I wanted to share it with others,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\"Local<\/p>\n

Claire Davies signing copies of her book ‘Braver Than You Think, Cycling to Self-Discovery, From Land\u2019s End to John O\u2019Groats.\u2019 (Claire Davies)<\/p>\n

\u201cFirstly, I wanted people to know that cycling from Land\u2019s End to John O\u2019Groats isn\u2019t just for fitness freaks: if I could do it, unfit as I was, anyone could, given enough time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Davies said she hopes her story will inspire others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also wanted to share \u2013 particularly with women in mid-life or older \u2013 how empowering it can be to step out of your comfort zone, and how healing it can be to spend time alone in nature<\/a>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned to see myself anew, through the eyes of people who knew nothing about me. To put it another way, if people call you brave often enough, you start to believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has documented her adventures in her new book, Braver Than You Think: Cycling to Self-Discovery, From Land\u2019s End to John O\u2019Groats, which she launched in Ancells Farm in Fleet on September 17, before an audience of more than 80 people.<\/p>\n

Some guests even travelled from Portugal to hear her speak and take home a signed copy.<\/p>\n

Ms Davies now spends her time writing and cycling. Her next goal is to ride across every European country from end to end, a challenge she began in 2023 and which has already taken her through nine nations.<\/p>\n

The book is available from major bookshops and on Amazon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former diplomat Claire Davies has shared the story of her remarkable cycling challenge \u2013 riding solo and unsupported…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150561,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-150560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}