Meet the couple pushing ‘Sadiq Cycles’ to their limits…

In October 2017, Transport for London and creator Pashley unveiled the latest generation of docked city bikes to be utilised in the future of London’s cycling infrastructure.

The bikes, which have since garnered copious amounts of both praise and criticism – given the constraints of the first-generation bikes – were rolled out across the capital, and can now be found in nearly every borough. 

After winning the bid to create the next generation of Santander Cycle, British firm Pashley commented that the bikes would be designed for extreme durability and comfort – two areas that Islington-based cyclist couple George and Bea Neville aim to put to the test in a new endurance challenge.

The pair aims to travel from John O’ Groats to Land’s End using nothing but two Santander Cycles as their only means of transport.

The couple will be cycling through Scotland, starting off by hugging the coast to Inverness, then cutting across down Loch Ness, past the west side of Glasgow, through Dumfries and over the border. They will then go as directly as possible through England, cycling on the edge of the Lake District, past Preston, Bolton and Liverpool. 

The duo will then hug the Welsh border, go over the Severn bridge, and round the top of Bristol. The final leg will involve weaving their way through Devon and Cornwall and finishing at Lands End.

The Nevilles are allowing three weeks for the whole trip, in which time they will cover around 50 to 70 miles per day, depending on the terrain and weather.

“We have a strong passion for charitable work, and are particularly close with the two charities we will be riding for – The Bridge Project Tadcaster and Hop Skip & Jump,” commented George Neville. 

“We wanted to raise as much money as possible for them, and so we thought what better way than on these heavy, three-geared, London hire bikes very better know as a Santander Hire Cycle. We thought that by doing it on these bikes we could gain more attention for the charities and therefore raise more money for them.”

The ‘Dare to Santander’ project can be followed on various different social media platforms such as Instagram (@daretosantander) and Twitter (@georgetcneville and @beatricercneville.)

Donations can be made here: Hop, Skip & Jump, The Bridge Project Tadcaster.