Tania’s electric adventure 

How an e-bike makes the dream of John O’Groats to Land’s End a possibility

Chris and I had always said we wanted to do John O’Groats to Land’s End (JOGLE) together – Chris has ridden it twice before. Chris is a very keen cyclist: the e-bike means we can go out and do the mileage he wants to do without me moaning.

I just never thought I’d be capable but an e-bike makes it possible.

I got back into cycling during lockdown. I’d cycled in the past and we cycle toured in Ireland and Normandy with the children, carrying tents and everything with us. But I just gradually got out of the habit of cycling. 

Someone on our street What’s App group mentioned they wanted to get back into cycling and before long a group of us ladies started out going out for short rides. A Bikeability instructor introduced us to some off-road routes, along the canal towpaths. We built up to doing 25-30 mile rides, discovering great cafes to stop at, like COGS café in the Waseley Hills. 

 It’s not just the cycling, it’s the social side that I love.

It’s nice to get out for a ride, get a cup of coffee and a slice of cake and have a laugh together. And it’s great for mental health: when you get up and out of the house, it sets you up for the day.  After a long day out riding, you can flake on the settee and think “that’s alright”.  

We’re raising money for the Breast Unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. It’s a way of saying thank you.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2021 and had surgery and radiotherapy. I’m incredibly lucky the cancer was caught so early, many people including friends haven’t been nearly as fortunate. 

Throughout my treatment, the team at QEHB were brilliant. So this is our way of hopefully making life a bit easier for people going through the same  experience now.  So far we’re raised over £1,000.

We’re not trying to do the trip in record time: we’ve got three weeks. Each leg is under 60 miles and we’re staying in B&Bs along the way. Having seen Scotland by car, I wanted to appreciate the beautiful scenery from a cyclist’s point of view. You forget how much of the distance is in Scotland. People say it’s easier than Cornwall, as the roads go around the hills rather than straight over them! 

I definitely wouldn’t be able to do the trip on a normal bike. I just don’t do hills!

We did a recce recently with fully loaded panniers on the e-bike and I didn’t even know I’d got them on. The e-bike has been key to this whole trip, I’m so looking forward to it. 

Chris and Tania start their JOGLE trip on 5 May. You can follow their progress on Instagram: taniaandchrisjogle2023

To donate to their Just Giving page for QEHB charity, here

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-connolly11