REAL RIDER

Ben Hubbard (centre) and friends rode the 430-mile Camino de Santiago pilgrims’ route in aid of the Samaritans

My two friends, Ivo and Luke Gavin, and I began our ride in Biarritz, France and finished at the cathedral city of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. We chose to cycle the Camino in memory of my uncle Henry who walked the same route a year or so before he took his own life.

We chose to cycle the northern route because it’s the hardest and crosses a number of mountain ranges, but we got off to a bad start. We managed to miss two flights to France - the first because of an issue with taking bikes on trains. Then, after returning to the airport the next day, we made it through security, before being told that our flight had been cancelled for ‘operational reasons’. When we finally did hit the road in the south of France, we clocked up 430 miles, 38,000 feet of climbing, nine punctures, a snapped chain and one hefty crash in just over five days of cycling. We stayed in ‘albergues’ (hostels) and lived off small bar snacks and beer. The fourth day was the most challenging: 93 miles long with climb that took 90 minutes. At the end of it, we were told that the hostel we planned to stay at was full, and it was another 15 miles to the next one. We were all utterly spent when we finally made it. When we eventually reached the cathedral at Compostela, it was a deeply satisfying moment for us all. Our thoughts turned to my uncle Henry who had supported the Samaritans but unfortunately didn’t use the charity when he needed it most.

The fourth day was the most challenging: 93 miles long with a climb that took 90 minutes