Hanging On for Dear Life:
Two Days,
Two Countries,
One Very Good Truck…
Steph’s Story
Day 1: Northumberland tried to send us back to Newcastle
We set off from Whitley Bay - Ayr bound - very early on the morning of Saturday 25th September, and the lovely lassies Adele and Lorna, facilitators from the new Gateshead ADHDAF+ Peer Support Group, came out to see us off. It was a great way to distract our nerves at the start and a reminder of why we were taking on this gruelling challenge. So good of them to come along to support us!
Then the wind arrived. It was unforecast and relentless. It scoured us to the bone, and we hung on for dear life while two park rangers on quad bikes checked we were still alive. We reached the Tower Knowe cafe in Kielder three hours behind schedule. The angel behind the counter had taken our orders by phone and stayed open late just for us. She told us a windsurfing competition had been cancelled for being too dangerous. We were still out there, exposed on bikes, fighting the headwinds.
After battling those headwinds all day, with legs feeling like broken glass, we got another surprise. Darren and Claire from the big ADHD fundraiser showed up on our route shouting support. It put the wind in our sails, in the right direction at last, and lifted our morale when we were all spent.
We stopped 20 miles short as the light faded. The Eskdale Hotel, who we again called ahead, kept the kitchen open and fed us, which was so kind of them, given we looked like the cast of a survival documentary.
Day 2: The sky wasn’t finished with us!
We agreed to leave early, which cost me my full Scottish breakfast. I'm still grieving! Az at the hotel softened the blow with porridge pots, fruit and croissants, and we were away ahead of schedule.
Then Lockerbie, where the heavens opened. But we got a huge boost to carry on when Darren surprised us by joining the ride, just in time for the wettest leg of it. The rain was horizontal, and I genuinely couldn't tell if I was cycling or drowning. Then I got a puncture, because why not.
Enter John, our hero!
John, our driver, fixed the puncture in the horizontal rain (aye, horizontal, because normal rain is for tourists). He also sourced cell batteries for my gear shifter in the middle of nowhere, and he'd customised the truck for us. Without him we'd likely have been three damp corpses in a ditch, found by a sheep in spring. The truck deserves a medal too.
We sheltered in Thornhill with pots of tea, changed back into yesterday's dry but sweaty kit (glamorous), then hitched a short lift to get ahead of the worst of it. The last 20 miles brought sunshine, though the wind kept kicking all the way to the finish in Ayr. Scottish weather at its best. Never have I been so glad to finish a ride, but we were all still smiling.
Beth’s Story
Day 1: If Steph Briggs ever invites you on a girls weekend, proceed with caution….
As the 2026 Big ADHD Fundraiser needed to take a different format this year, Steph, Mickey, and I thought we would still like to do a bike ride—just on a much smaller scale than last year.
As we started to plan what we needed to do, the first thing we noticed was just how much effort the logistics and planning took. Hats off to Darren for what he has done in previous years! Even having helped him before, the extra stuff is so much work and takes a lot of effort.
We ended up deciding on two days and around 200 miles. We had done 300 miles in three days last year, so this should be easily achievable, right? Well, how wrong could we be?
In true ADHD fashion, the weekend started off with lots of logistical issues. Steph was abandoned at Jesmond Metro Station with her bike and bags. Just a few hours before, I had said we shouldn't need to fit all three bikes in the pickup all weekend. That was also totally wrong. With a bit of on-the-spot joinery, we had all three bikes in the back of the pickup and all three riders inside—along with my dad, who was our support driver, bike mechanic, and chief sorter-outer. We were packed in, and there's a photo to prove just how cramped it was.
Day one started off well. It was a beautiful morning in Whitley Bay, and we were cheered on and seen off by my dad, as well as Adele and Lorna from the new Gateshead ADHD Support Group.
We made it to our first stop in good time. After that, however, the wind started to pick up. It had been a bit of a headwind already, but it got stronger and stronger as we went. Our legs were getting more and more tired, and it felt like we were moving a lot faster than we actually were. Dad got a couple of videos that showed just how fast our legs were moving compared to how slow we were actually going.
The thing that really stood out was a hill road just as we were dropping down to Kielder; it was horrendous. I think each one of us had a moment where we just thought, "What are we doing? What is happening?" It was so, so windy, and we were totally exposed on the road, dodging sheep and cows. At one point, I even had Dad drive right in front of me to see if I could catch a slipstream—it did not work!
We finally made it to our halfway point at Kielder between 4:30 and 5:00 PM, which was supposed to have been a late lunch stop. Before pushing on, we actually had a lovely lunch. We had called the cafe at Kielder in advance to ask if the owner could cater something for us to grab quickly, and she was an absolute star. She had it all boxed up and even let us sit inside while she was closing up. It was amazing and just what we needed. We had a bit of a team talk and decided to carry on until we hit the England–Scotland border, about 10 miles up the road.
We had pre-ordered our meal with the lovely host at the hotel and arrived just in time. He had set up a cozy private room for us, which was perfect. We all sat down and had a lovely steak pie, focusing on refueling and getting sorted for the next day's even higher mileage. We reviewed the route and adjusted a few sections to make it a little gentler on the legs.
A steak pie, a hot bath, and some rest were just what my legs needed. I expected to be in a lot of pain the next morning, but it wasn't too bad.
Darren had a sneaky surprise up his sleeve: he had brought his bike! The plan was for us to set off, and he would meet us at the first stop to join us for a 25-mile stretch.
We headed off thinking, "Oh my goodness, what is going to happen? We are so far behind time."
On top of that, we’d had an earlier bike issue with some obscurely sized batteries that needed replacing. Luckily, after ringing around, a woman at the National Trust Wallington Estate spoke to their bike hire team, found somewhere that had the batteries, and Dad was able to go pick them up.
As we were heading for the border, just on the last corner before the sign, a car came hurtling past with someone shouting out the window. Just as I was about to turn around and tell them to f*** off, I realised it was Big ADHD Fundraiser Founder Darren and Claire! They had hot-footed it all day from down south to meet us at our stop for the night in Langholm. They’d driven nonstop all day, and honestly, it was just what we needed. We were feeling totally deflated and considering stopping early. They pulled over, gave us a big hug, and said the border sign was just around the corner. We snapped a photo there, had a quick chat, and decided to keep going for another 7 or 8 miles until the next junction to re-evaluate our time, remaining daylight, energy levels, and plans for the next day.
We cycled that next stretch, which was lovely, and reached the road for another team talk. We were on a tight schedule because our hotel had a cutoff time for serving food. So, we decided: all bikes back in the pickup, everyone into the vehicles, and straight to the hotel. We finished that day early because it felt like we had cycled far more than we actually had, purely from the sheer effort required. It felt like doing double the distance at least.
Day 2: The next morning, we were up bright and early, got the bikes ready, and set off on a lovely morning ride toward our first stop at Lockerbie Tesco. It was a gorgeous 25-mile ride, though it started to rain as we got closer to Lockerbie. We fueled up with breakfast food, coffee, and energy bars, while Darren got his bike ready to join us for the next leg toward Thornhill.
The rain started fairly early into that leg and got heavier and heavier. We faced some horrendous hills—the kind where even when you reach a flat section, it still feels like an incline. The descents weren't much fun either because of all the running surface water.
Just a few miles out from Thornhill at the bottom of a massive hill, Steph hit something and got a huge puncture—too large for the tubeless sealant to fix. Since we weren't far away, Steph was bundled into the pickup (soaking wet, I might add), and they drove ahead while the rest of us cycled the last mile or so into Thornhill.
A few hundred yards from town, almost within sight of the welcome sign, a car drove past through a massive puddle. I saw it coming and turned my head so I didn't take it full in the face, but a wall of water completely drenched me. Although I was already wetter than an otter's pocket, I was completely soaked through at that point.
When we got into Thornhill, we found a lovely hotel with a covered alleyway. We asked if we could store the bikes there, look at the puncture, and change. Their Sunday carvery was fully booked, but they set us up with plenty of pots of tea. Steph, Mickey, and I took over the ladies' bathroom to do a full clothes change into dry cycling kit. It wasn't necessarily clean—some of yesterday's gear had to go back on, which wasn't ideal, but it was better than wet clothes. Our helmets, shoes, and jackets were still soaked, but everything else was much better.
We had another team talk. The conditions were becoming dangerous to cycle in due to standing, running, and flooding water hiding potholes and creating slide hazards. Even though our bodies felt capable of continuing, the risks were too high. Having bought lunch at Tesco earlier, we loaded all three bikes into the pickup once again—despite my earlier promise—and ate our lunch inside while Dad drove us ahead to bypass the worst of the rain and poor road conditions.
We felt deflated because we wanted to complete every single mile, but it wasn't worth someone getting hurt. Once we drove ahead, the wind had picked up, meaning we had to pull on cold, wet cycling shoes for the final stretch. But we pushed through the last section just to get it done.
It meant we finished in good time to clean up, change, and head to the pub for what was probably the best Sunday roast I've ever had.
It was great to finish, even if it felt slightly incomplete. Looking back, the whole experience highlighted just how important it is to have the right support network.
We were backed by an incredible support team with my Dad, Darren, and Claire. But beyond that, it was the little things: people cheering us on, sending encouraging messages, and donating money —which is what it's all about.
Even complete strangers went above and beyond…
The lady from the National Trust who helped us track down obscure replacement batteries.
The cafe owner at Kielder who took our pre-order and let us sit inside past closing time to refuel.
The hotel host who welcomed us warmly, prioritized feeding us before taking payment, set aside a private room, and provided early room breakfast.
So yes, I was completely wrong on a few counts:
We definitely needed to haul all three bikes in the pickup multiple times.
200 miles in two days turned out to be about ten times harder than the 300 miles in three days we did last year.
Steph's idea of a "girls' weekend" was not quite what I had in mind!
‘If this trip doesn't highlight how vital support and accommodations are, I don't know what does.
People with ADHD face everyday barriers constantly.
But when people offer small accommodations - which often cost nothing, like offering flexibility, granting grace with timing, or handling a pre-order - combined with kindness and compassion, we can achieve great things!’
What we learnt:
Forecasts aren't gospel.
Phone ahead. Kind people exist.
Knowing when to stop is smart, not soft.
Every ride needs a John!
Thank yous
Thank you to John for being our hero. Thank you to Darren for gritting it out beside us. Thank you to all that came out to support us.
And a special thank you to everyone who sponsored us and sent messages of support when we felt like ‘we had nothing left’ - knowing how many people your donations will help is what got us through.
You can still donate here: https://givestar.io/team/the-tremendous-trio