Cara Dixon

Harry Johnson

Aurimas Mickevicius

Lewis Barnes

Chris Summers

Liam Powis

Ian Coxon

Adam Bloom

Mark Whittle

Dan Bridle

Matt Whittle

Emma Pike

Jaydon Moller-Clarke

James Edkins

Derek Ahern

Anthony  Lovell

Chris Noble

Samuel Launders

Alec Mcleish

Robert Moormann

Sholto Campbell

Matt Chilton

Daniel Jannerstad

Jan Brodersen

Merlijn Van Loo

Kristian Robinson

Tony Mumford

Ted Fountain

Jason Radmore

Chris  Espejo

Alex Gidley

Paul Wilson

Kieran Moore

Maarten Van Schie

Jeroen Dries

Harry Godman-Dorington

Jeff Hardy

Kenny Balding

Jason Le Goff

Martin Gough

David  Kemp

David Crowe

Gregory Swayne

Tom Stewart

Johnny Turnbull

Lesley Sharpe

Tom Glendining

Rich Foster

Oliver Randles

Richard Hart

Peter Taylor

Rob  Huish

Nathan Williams

Adam Morgan

Paul Pearce

Robert Yeomans

Shane Hogan

John Amans

Martin Hickman

Trevor Bridge

Adrian Uttley

John Simpson

Randolph Burt

Russell Thomas

Vicki Ball

Keith Spencer

Robert Broomby

Jamie Morrison

Konrad Hohendorf

Jim Kirk

Danny Willson

Will Stewart

Richard  Gamble

Anda Wood

Tony Marvin

Peter Murray

Liam Payne

Bruce Watt

Hussain Ali

Philip Andrews

Chris Andrews

Daniel  Jannerstad (LOST)

Lee Stephenson

Matt Morgan

Adam Skitt

Charlie Stent

Jeremy Blakeborough

Lee Murrell

Rudy Ferrandis

Luke Robbins

John Saunders

Daniel Ricketts

Andrew Pledger

Jamie Howland

Jono Skilton

Christian  Haw

Marcus McEwan

Christopher  Parks

Justin Dean

Tim Skilton

The Great British Escapade has come to an end for another year, and riders have all made their way back to mull over just has happened over the last few days.

All the wildlife tales have really come out since my last post. We had bats flying in the face of one rider, more tales of wily foxes making off with riders precious possessions. Hussain believes a fox stole a sandwich out of his Tailfin bag, and chewed a hole in his bivy! There were badgers running up the road, which in the middle of the night felt like a spirit guide - although sadly another badger fared less well, when it collided with a rider. The rider was fine, the badger less so. There were also deer, black foxes, hedgehogs & snakes on the trails.  The problems and the beauty of night riding all rolled into one ride.

![Snake](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/p7gsKYmNHY50tFr3VzcDK/e047c41f75d828a500f42f266fb508a3/Snake.jpg)

![Hedge Hog](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5zFFNNLHoMmxAMGNYYpqBU/f3712c22605235e18b56db86f83d3830/Hedge_Hog.jpg)

![Fox loot](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/QEXyNMBIGUUboLAlPpZ2H/0566190dbc0712d27d97f9be9a895a65/Fox_loot.jpg)

Riders have loved the friendliness of the ride, and how they all help and encourage each other along the way, and as always new friendships have been made.

This is for many, the first introduction to ultra bikepacking, and whether they finished or not, is one that always bring fond memories - once the pain wears off. Lessons will have been learned for next one, which as anyone who has followed this event before will know, will probably be completely different.  I've done this twice, and both were a very different experience.  Some come back year after year, and I feel sure that they discover something different each time.

![cake](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5oZsh6XujGQ2hbrCSAZ4HR/9e8d674fb0341898b6a522d42f46b65d/cake.jpg)

That's it for me now, so I'll be off until the next one, preparing to launch my next edition of the Southern Divide (Sept 2025).  There's always some great bikepacking to found somewhere along the south, so if following this have made you want to try something like this for yourself, why not check out the Dotwatcher Calender to see what events are coming up.


That's all folks

# Watch out for the wildlife
And so we are now on the last day. 
On Saturday at least 37 riders crossed the finish line.  Why 'at least' you might ask? Well it seems that 2 of our riders trackers are going off on adventures of their own, without their riders!

On Friday, one tracker made a bid for freedom from a saddlepack, and appeared to be at St Martha's Hill just before CP1.  Riders behind were asked to see if they could pick it up on their way past, but none could find it.  But, according to the GPS, the tracker is still moving around, within the immediate area. Last seen 15 minutes ago. Ghosts maybe? Or most likely a curious fox mesmerised by the blinking green light.

And yesterday, Jamie Morrison discovered strange goings on while he was asleep just after CP2.  He woke up in the morning to no shoes, and no gilet (which contained a variety of things including tracker). After a search he found shoes, and his gilet, now a bit worse for wear - shredded by whichever critter had taken a fancy to its probably pungent odours. It was missing various items, including tracker and spare lenses for his glasses. Once again, on checking the GPS of the tracker, it's been moving around, but cannot be found.  I guess it's underground somewhere, lighting up a den, until the blinking stops. The signal has now been lost on this one.

There are lessons to be learned here I think for all of our dotwatchers who ride these kinds of events - make sure your trackers are secure, and don't leave smelly clothes outside your bivvy when wild camping.

# Closing stages

At the time of writing, we have seen 20 arrivals this morning, and there are still 8 riders out on the route, but they are all on course to complete within the time scales.

The finish welcomes riders with a wide array of food and cake options, and a chance to kick off their smelly shoes and catch up with the other riders who they may have only seen in passing since the start.

Enjoy some photos of finishers from yesterday and today
![WhatsApp Image 2025-06-01 at 09.20.29 c20cfa02](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6Qk4r11xZArygVNoNd0wf6/e13a0d5e67bac4249a08adc40a2a1115/WhatsApp_Image_2025-06-01_at_09.20.29_c20cfa02.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-06-01 at 09.20.29 6b7e6575](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6xKe6MRKlh40pVvDcaMZWW/66799cb5841abca0948447bdecfa6c4e/WhatsApp_Image_2025-06-01_at_09.20.29_6b7e6575.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-06-01 at 09.24.05 53b27f4e](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2z0EWkUZEChbArqSSk12bK/1c0890304d4def003c50a85bb7d3ceec/WhatsApp_Image_2025-06-01_at_09.24.05_53b27f4e.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-06-01 at 09.24.04 0d5ba94e](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6uzGomPbx6Ms99ZMWAtg1e/69b5ad1e9cf038ed691422d2d580f558/WhatsApp_Image_2025-06-01_at_09.24.04_0d5ba94e.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-06-01 at 09.20.29 5b941681](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6QNgwu1TfK7o9aoNLiGlNX/55867e342ee6134a5d0ff0663f91dc91/WhatsApp_Image_2025-06-01_at_09.20.29_5b941681.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-06-01 at 09.24.06 3463d588](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4hvuLB0RrURaHmGs6LhXkl/9faf7c564b3ea666334397cbbaeac59a/WhatsApp_Image_2025-06-01_at_09.24.06_3463d588.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-06-01 at 09.24.06 2f8ba6a4](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1s4xit9vM16nQrWIqnzAir/d85239eed6eea547e0f2db15bc305ca9/WhatsApp_Image_2025-06-01_at_09.24.06_2f8ba6a4.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-06-01 at 09.24.07 9e8f87e3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5pcHwzLuKXvAQvqngKGePi/f61e830c6da1f521b5c162d36b0a6365/WhatsApp_Image_2025-06-01_at_09.24.07_9e8f87e3.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-06-01 at 09.24.06 6a9d746a](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4YDwhxmVVIm7oWYI23CyPu/949fb7121f84fc20f7aac8dd2c7c4ccc/WhatsApp_Image_2025-06-01_at_09.24.06_6a9d746a.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-06-01 at 09.24.07 5e6e4327](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1zZ2qyYOBtQlk7E89zTfXw/a9e8e61e3032d9918d54ae9beaa8da2c/WhatsApp_Image_2025-06-01_at_09.24.07_5e6e4327.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-06-01 at 09.24.06 fe2caea9](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/28LU2D5HXmKEojb3gjuB3J/647f6e9e85ad02d557108caa26fa0a90/WhatsApp_Image_2025-06-01_at_09.24.06_fe2caea9.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-06-01 at 09.24.06 c41bda24](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/364V57Dbt7g5UN564OWDSt/f9a1c6764ec1f2cc82c7ab8208038892/WhatsApp_Image_2025-06-01_at_09.24.06_c41bda24.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-06-01 at 09.24.07 0570734f](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/74zhxDNTLn3sRCdzl596zq/a767d22b209227cbc51e4c64ab6b00b6/WhatsApp_Image_2025-06-01_at_09.24.07_0570734f.jpg)


Tracking Wildlife

# First finishers
Cara did not disappoint us, arriving first at the finish with a time of 27 hours and 23 mins. She arrived Friday evening at 20:20. Amazing ride from the beginning, with her 1st place pretty much assured by the early hours of Friday morning. Stationary time was less than an hour. 

Harry arrived just shy of 2 hours later at 23:09, followed at 1am Sat morning by Aurimas, to complete our top 3 riders.

Very close behind were the chasing group consisting of Lewis, Chris, Liam, Ian, Adam and Mark, who all made it back before dawn.

![Finish 4](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6JCjnetfCzQYA79gQjpQNx/5326485fd4c65ba3977c4bf68eb83378/Finish_4.jpg)

![Finish 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6dtSeCPd5zjbWb2j9nSiOP/625fff123d9f6078bd52335a4f97b5d2/Finish_1.jpg)

![Finish 5](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5mRvsudwPh6PDIWPyCT1BW/c86a1195043a8ab0405791eaa5378ef6/Finish_5.jpg)

![Finish 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3V6w30Cxc3fb7ZREjkOAWq/43c3a735a2262ac4576304b6ca10d27f/Finish_2.jpg)

![Finish 3](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5gwLRPld9yHa3yM1kpQrE2/9e8b191bee3edd16c8d13b808fe6cfbf/Finish_3.jpg)

# Rider thoughts

At the start we thought that conditions would be near perfect this year, with a fast and dry route.  However, sometimes this isn't the perfection that you might think. British riders are used to conditions being soft, even in good weather, but the exceptionally dry spring has brought about added problems for our intrepid riders this year.

I've already mentioned the dusty conditions in the first half of the route.  Normally riders have a few moans about the various sand pits included on the course, but I've not heard a single complaint about this - there probably has been, I'm just not aware.  No, what's really causing an issue is the South Downs Way.  Usually, despite it being really hard on bodies straight after the North Downs Way, it is considered a highlight of the ride, even in a headwind, riders can focus on the awesomeness of the scenery.  If you don't know the South Downs way, it's high chalk and flint grassy downlands, with fabulous views out to sea.  There are big climbs and some technical descents at every river, stream, or main road, but at the top it rolls along beautifully. However, this year, it's been baked solid after weeks of dry weather, which means it's really taking it's toll on the riders. I should imagine that a lot of it feels like riding over cobbles - and there's around 80km of this.

Between this and possibly the heat, we have seen quite a high scratch rate (27 so far), as stomach issues, and battered bodies have reminded riders that they are still only human, and that this is supposed to be fun!  Hopefully though they'll come back again for another try.

# Spare a thought for Kevin

Like myself with the Southern Divide, Kevin likes to be out on the route tracking down riders in the wild for the early stages, and then greet every rider back at the finish. But this doesn't come without massive sleep deprivation for him. He won't have had a full nights sleep since Tuesday, and with riders still likely to arrive through to the early hours this morning, he won't be able to snatch more than an hour or two in the corner of the village hall tonight.

He might not have ridden 488km, but I'm sure he'll be feeling every bit as tired as those who did.

But, I'm sure that he wouldn't change it for the world - we do this kind of thing because we love it, and all it entails.

Lots more riders due in today, so keep watching those dots.


And the top 3 are....?

It's all very exciting at the front. Cara is motoring along the tarmac as expected and is now just 67km from the finish - somewhere between 3 & 4 hours away.  Kevin is racing along the motorway to get there ahead of her. She has increased the gap on Harry now, who over 2 hours behind her.

Chasing Harry down though are Aurimas and Liam, who are just 22km behind him.  Just 1 longer stop and they could catch him up.  Nothing like a bit of pressure to the finish. Really close behind them are the group of Chris, Jon and Lewis who are charging up the Cuckoo trail. For those that don't know that trail, it's long, pretty flat, tarmac, off road and heads directly north away from the sea.  The biggest issues are dogwalkers and children to avoid.

CP2 at Alfriston now has seen a few more riders make use of the facilities and leave.  The next group, may get lucky and be able to resupply in the small local shop, but once that is closed, pubs are the only resupply points until they get to Polegate. For riders currently on the South Downs way, I hope they have plenty of provisions, or the Youth Hostel at Southease is likely to get a large influx of hungry riders shortly.

The next large group is currently around the Haslemere area, undoubtably stocking up ready for a ride into the evening. Anyone who has ridden this before will know that from Haslemere, the options for resupply after 5:30, are pretty much non existent. I would expect to find many from this group head towards the South Downs tonight, and bivvy somewhere on the top. Maybe a beautiful sunset is in store for these guys.

The groups at the rear are making the most of facilities around CP1. I wonder what their plans are overnight?

Keep watching those dots.


Almost there....

Well, this is turning into an exciting morning of dotwatching.
Cara is flying at the front....I mean she must be, in just 19 hours she has almost cleared all the main off road sections, including the South Downs Way with a stopping time of just 30 minutes. The tracker suggests that she could finish in around 8 1/2 hours, but the reality is probably sooner as she'll be hitting long stretches of tarmac really soon. She has already cleared CP2.

Harry has been hot on her wheels, but is currently about 10km adrift.

There is a strong group a little under 30km behind him, so I expect Kevin to be pretty busy at the finish throughout the night. Certainly the top 13 riders (at least) could all potentially make it tonight or through the early hours, but that could all change if the dozies start catching up with people.

It's been busy at CP1 this morning, with riders coming in exhausted after riding through the night, and much napping on tables, or bivvies just outside. But generally so far, it's all been pretty drama free. Riders usually at this point complain about the mud, but this year it's dust that's surprised them. It's not really an issue, but a clammy body does tend to get covered in a fine gritty mist of it. I bet they can't wait for more sand through Surrey. 

There seems to be around 5 distinct groups that have formed depending on how riders chose to spend the night.  Many opted to aim for CP1, then have a nap before continuing, whilst others bivvies somewhere along the North Downs Way.  The back group has mostly riders that opted for a proper bed for a few hours, so probably targeting a Sunday finish. 

A few riders have dropped out this morning due to a variety of issues.  The usual sickness, knees and mechanicals have accounted for most of the scratches.

As riders head now for the South Downs, I expect they'll be very warm and tiring fast. It's quite a muggy day down here in the south, and tired riders will really start to feel it soon,

Keep watching those dots, and I'll be back later.

Enjoy a selection of pics taken by Niel Copeland yesterday, who has been out and about on the course, chatting to riders.  You can see his interviews with riders on the Great British Escapades Instagram feed.
![4-IMG 7618](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7nwU9DMsSUhrIrRp05mnnZ/1a30a8674bbd47871c1c54d4790162dd/4-IMG_7618.jpg)

![3-IMG 7537](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/73EDsQGVx51KmJCdQ6QaOS/87ece3a3b7965c701f863df1765f0982/3-IMG_7537.jpg)

![6-IMG 7841](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7cv8xVWFmiYUZJ4sIkjGkP/37cf132288194b7320821dea6cb06a3e/6-IMG_7841.jpg)

![5-IMG 7829](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4nXmYxnr0S5YI8HKXaYgEL/db8154c47c58eb880061643076f9cd5a/5-IMG_7829.jpg)

![8-IMG 7896](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5ShD85v4vjNo6euEncNu9i/f70bb1d0740a03303c6e3587b5c5dc63/8-IMG_7896.jpg)

![9-IMG 7923](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4r3MHzVZAwsHnr3PcUX1wj/da42aea2b13b77c0e928f947bf7b5153/9-IMG_7923.jpg)

![1-IMG 7444](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/51ReiyrQmftOqdNuCeyoAY/3578989c800f7faec72df69d40d0cb8f/1-IMG_7444.jpg)

![2-IMG 7521](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6NTav97wZeLB2NeeLxLGJc/b5b1c947c19a751e4a3a1510953cbe3c/2-IMG_7521.jpg)

![10-IMG 7939](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5q39iJBhxhL6tpPL7xPszs/4917d7f753118a3a26ccf6f732272ccd/10-IMG_7939.jpg)

![11-IMG 7947](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/63TflChEgit7ZuhCRcGg6D/0f6d84577f38c29879af9c05856ec0b1/11-IMG_7947.jpg)

![12-IMG 7976](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3RBoRsmqnVbnlcd9ZCG4vH/22cd866b7cab2d38984cf0891a7f4c96/12-IMG_7976.jpg)

![7-IMG 7890](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/UY3517YCQoTsRxZnjYSY0/f4db7eff9eb9001a890683bb1fbf4ffc/7-IMG_7890.jpg)

![15-IMG 8067](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/32NytGML5xGJie85KKg6Lp/3ba056d1892b56d08722632a8c26f39b/15-IMG_8067.jpg)

![14-IMG 8066](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3OjczCr0etA9axywmEacPr/2110c3b7f1dddb786733d26018808dd3/14-IMG_8066.jpg)

![13-IMG 7984](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7xeCRjZ2ydSvF8xiy3qMpO/7b6b4493c944ad42a014636fd27a90dc/13-IMG_7984.jpg)

Lightning speed

We are now just over 5 hours in, and whilst the dots are quite even spread across West Kent, there is a very clear gap between the main pack, and the leading 2 breakaway riders, Harry & Cara. Just 1km separates 1st male, and 1st female riders, but then the gap widens to around 24 km to the next rider, Chris, who in 3rd place, just leads the main pack with many riders hot on his wheels.

Generally riders have made great time so far this year, testimony to the fast conditions out on the route. It should be noted though that riders who maybe didn't stop for provisions at the Bluebell garage, assuming a hot meal at McDonalds in Rochester will now find themselves relying on what they are carrying, as it turns out the McD's has closed early for maintenance.  There is nothing much else available after Rochester until morning, so let's hope riders are well stocked up.

I'm off to bed for now, but I'm sure there will be much to tell you by morning.
Keep watching those dots - where will they all be by morning?
Who will had decided to sleep, nap, or ride on through.
One thing I know for sure, anyone heading towards the Surrey Hills section of the North Downs Way at dawn, is in for a real treat - whenever I've ridden it, the sunrise has been stunning.
![WhatsApp Image 2025-05-29 at 22.12.53 377e918e](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6Lv0jD6jWbKqF6XUBlViCu/1d18eb278b58eba0fcd50fcae3dbf557/WhatsApp_Image_2025-05-29_at_22.12.53_377e918e.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-05-29 at 22.12.53 fcd4e7fe](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4Y5ff05Rsr0dtTFNtXcukz/afe234f90e363ee5281c62c5136a4d16/WhatsApp_Image_2025-05-29_at_22.12.53_fcd4e7fe.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-05-29 at 22.12.53 a51bf3ac](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2gocgsxI1GbcLijFMwO4Bd/59d08387e770ae1b0521c9fbd3fca9d4/WhatsApp_Image_2025-05-29_at_22.12.53_a51bf3ac.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-05-29 at 22.12.52 dc21a024](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5VKP2gqcgLVbIrU6X4IkSY/33670c1f2bc4bda43fec57213072b943/WhatsApp_Image_2025-05-29_at_22.12.52_dc21a024.jpg)

![WhatsApp Image 2025-05-29 at 22.12.52 54bfefb1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3isFubtjaTmU6nOg8Z1CVR/71819174d55f95c3c7483a85906a362b/WhatsApp_Image_2025-05-29_at_22.12.52_54bfefb1.jpg)

Fast, Furious & Hungry

Hi, and welcome to the commentary for this year's Great British Escapade. 
I'm Marcia, some of you will know me as creator of last month's Southern Divide, and I'm returning Kevin's commentary favour by giving you the lowdown on his event this year.

If you haven't followed the Great British Escapade before, it's a fabulously tough event that takes in most of the North Downs Way, a bit of the Surrey Hills, a good chunk of the South Downs way, and some lovely Kentish lanes and trails.  There are hills galore, chalk, sand, flint, reservoirs and woodland.  If you thought riding just one of the national trails was ok, doing both back to back on very little sleep can really take it out of our riders. 

There will be a real mix of bikes, both gravel and hardtail MTB, although there's often the odd full-sus for good measure.  Each bike has there advantages on this kind of ride, although the MTB riders tend to arrive at the end feeling slightly less battered from the terrain.

It's an early evening start to this event, which means that most riders will probably ride through the first night, with maybe just a power nap if needed, though expect big gaps to appear between the front pack and the rest from midnight onwards as the witching hours catch up with some of the group.

Weather usually features on Kevin's ride, although this year the ground is dry and no rain is forecast, so it could make for a very fast event. Gusty westerly winds shouldn't affect our riders much in the first stages, as there is lots of tree cover. The wind will drop right off through Friday night and early Saturday morning, before picking up again on Saturday.  It doesn't look like they will need to deal with any dreaded headwinds on the South Downs, although gusty cross winds might be troublesome to some riders.

All in all though, the weather conditions look great for this edition, so will the course record be broken this year?

Stay tuned to find out.

Welcome To This Years Escapade

Marcia Roberts

An off-road loop through areas of outstanding beauty and National Parks, the Escapade seeks the best trails in Southern England including the North and South Downs Way.

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