If you fancy soaking up every minute of the summer solstice in the saddle, the free Chase The Sun challenge ride might be for you.
An annual event to be held this year on Saturday June 22, riders will leave the Isle of Sheppey in Kent at sunrise with the aim of finishing on the seafront at the Somerset town of Brean Sands at sunset, some 17 hours later.
Coordinator, Olly Moore, described Chase The Sun simply as “a ride”, with no competitive or charitable agenda, and said it was primarily a group event, dependent on teamwork and motivation.
“Keeping on the route and being aware, and ahead, of time is the key to a successful ride,” said Moore.
He added that a growing spectrum of abilities is expected this year, likely to form small groups on the road which will work together.
The route, recently unveiled on the Chase The Sun website, is described as a “carefully considered cross-section of the UK’s diverse geography and history” and includes coastal industry, natural wetlands, Roman roads, villages, vales, rivers and gorges.
Moore said the ride takes its inspiration from the Dunqych Dynamo, a night ride from central London to the Suffolk Coast, and is in part a tribute to the artist and keen cyclist, Richard Long.