Where My Wheels Go

24/04/2026

Running two marathons a day for twelve consecutive days is not something most people would describe as a hobby. But Keith Bulge is not most people.

Keith got in touch recently — and his message was unlike any other I've received. He opened with a stark fact: su***de is the leading cause of death in men under 50, and men are three times more likely than women to die by su***de. He was writing to tell me he was doing something about it.

The charity he's running for, James' Place, has treated 245 suicidal men since HRH The Prince of Wales opened its London base just one year ago. Operating from Bunhill Row near Old Street, London, it offers free, life-saving treatment — typically six to eight face-to-face sessions with a trained therapist in a safe, non-clinical environment. No waiting lists. No cost. Just help, when it's needed most.

Since announcing his challenge, Keith has had many messages from people who have lost loved ones to su***de. "It has been both shocking and motivating," he told me. Knowing he runs long distances for pleasure, he felt he needed to attempt something genuinely extreme to inspire people to support him.

That something is 1,000km in 12 days — roughly two marathons every day.

A quiet lane in Surrey.
I joined Keith for the first 25km of his journey, weaving through the streets and along the canals of London. I'd braced myself for a breathless, laser-focused athlete, earphones in, head down. Instead, I found myself in easy conversation with a relaxed, and kindly man. We talked nutrition (beer plays its part), rest, mental resilience — and how he'd ended up on this particular route.

"I needed something testing but safe," he said. "An internet search led me to wheremywheelsgo.uk and I was sold. The Thames to the Tyne had a nice ring to it — so here I am."

He is somewhere out on the road right now, covering around 50 miles a day through East Anglia, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and up to the Northeast. He sets off each morning between 7 and 8am, and finishes — still smiling, apparently — around 7 to 8pm.

If you live anywhere along his route, Keith would love to hear from you. Can you run a few miles alongside him? Drop off food or drinks? Offer a bed for the night — particularly in the Norwich or Middlesbrough areas? Any offers of support can be sent to [email protected].

And if you can't be there in person, the most meaningful thing you can do is donate. Every pound goes directly to James' Place and the men it helps back from the edge.

👉 Keith Burge is fundraising for James' Place Charity — www.justgiving.com/page/keith-burge-1000k-challenge

A live tracker will show you exactly where Keith is at any given moment. Go find him. Cheer him on. Better yet, help keep him going. Thames to Tyne / 23 Apr – 4 May | Track-Trail-Live

If you or someone you know is having a difficult time, free support is available

18/04/2026

It's bluebell time again. Great rides in ancient woodlands. Enjoy the ethereal haze whilst riding through the spring, whilst breathing deep the soft sweet smell of over half the world's collection of Hyacinthoides non script. A treat of a gravel ride is this.

A double loop of gravel tracks around Berkhamstead. A super of-road route suitable for gravel bikes. Ride on farm tracks, woodland trails, bridleways and quiet lanes. The route is lovely at any time, but in spring when the bluebells are out it becomes more than just special. Short sharp hills, fast

12/03/2026

Bluebells in March? Is the year in a fast forward?

03/03/2026

The badlands of Atri.

23/02/2026

love the Thames estuary with its decay, monuments, ships and marshes. It’s not soft, nor grand, nor tidy. It’s rough and unkempt and home to more wild nature than all the national parks. It’s loved by those who seek a different type of beauty.

22/02/2026

Thames estuary in winter. Bleak and beautiful. Ruins, ships, marshes. Open air, free from the city.

16/02/2026

Making the most of a (rare) sunny day. The penultimate day of this winter's project, to ride as close to the sea as possible from London to Portsmouth.
The off-road cycle trails around the Manhood Peninsula (who gave it such a name?), The Saltern's Way and the Bill Way, make for an excellent ride around the Chichester Harbour National Landscape. Brent Geese in their thousands, sand, sun and sea. Too much dilly-dallying on the beaches enjoying the sun, meant a scamper along the last few miles to catch the Itchenor/Bosham ferry. Thanks to the ferryman for waiting!
And a pint at the Anchor Bleu in Bosham to round off a perfect day.
Full route coming soon.

06/12/2025

Is the most varied coastline in England found in Kent. Cliffs, saltmarsh, naval ports, castles and an array of seaside towns. Even Britian's only desert. Great food, some good pubs and always the sea.

14/11/2025

Magic, mud and Epping Forest
From the calm of the forest to the wide waters of the Lea Valley, our latest adventure mixes firm gravel trails, autumn light and leaves. Ride through history and stillness, trace the routes of kings and commoners, ride away from urban weirdness behind. It's a magnificent route, perfect wide-paths, a little single-track and trees. Along the way there's a superb café, the Butler's Retreat. Full details of the ride, free to download map, details of how to get there, where to stop, what to see, can be found at https://www.wheremywheelsgo.uk/routes/epping-gravel-ride

15/10/2025

The Dragon and the mermaid
A pallid dawn light illuminates me and a dragon. It is nibbling the scales on its tail whilst I sit on its back drinking coffee. Heavy and ancient walls enclose us. Cream coloured. Air smells of stone and a thousand prayers. A brassy knight and his missus stare at us from across the choir. Impassively.
Silence wraps the dragon and me.
Medieval pilgrims on their way to Compostela, Jerusalem, Canterbury or Rome often stayed in churches. However, this is neither the medieval era and nor am I a pilgrim, but it’s is a journey of sorts; one to discover unusual and affordable places to stay for a night within an hour or so of London.
Earlier, under an orange evening sky, having caught a late afternoon train from the city, I bike-surfed the chalky waves of the Chiltern’s hills and dived down into a couple of dry valleys filled with sheep. Somewhere I missed a rideable track, which meant having to push the bike on a bramble-lined path up to the beech woods which mantled the ridge. Woods, heavy in their mushroom-damp, wood-rotting smells were silent save for the patter of my tyres. Other than a couple of rambling dogs, the tracks were mine alone, as were the views from Ivinghoe Beacon across the Vale of Aylesbury. Occasional intrusions of impatient traffic noise rose up from the valley below. The rest was peace.
Now, dusk is giving way to night when I arrive at St. Mary the Virgin, Edlesborough. In the beam of my bike light, I retrieve the keys from their secret place, shared with me when I booked, and I unlock the big oak door. It’s cold inside, twilight dark and stoney quiet. A camp bed is laid out beside the 15th century font. A kettle stands nearby waiting to make a post-ride mug of tea.
Dinner is eaten at a nearby inn. Some pubs are beyond disappointing and the one nearby safely fits into that category. Back in the church, excitement bubbles at the prospect of a sleepover in the treasured-filled room, the grandest and biggest in which I have ever slept. There are no bats. No ghosts. Nobody. Just me enveloped in my bag, listening to the gentle pulse of the clock in the belfry and the breathing of stones. Pews and the rood screen creek as they settle down for the night.
I sleep like an angel.
Morning breaks the bonds of night. With, as yet little light and sleepy eyes, it’s hard to see, but as the clock quietly beats and the light strengthens, the angels, mermaids and mini-beasts appear on the walls as does a pre-Raphaelite painting of God above the chancel arch. It is the most glorious of wake-ups.
I take my steaming cup of coffee and a bowl of instant porridge (which I have to eat with a fork because I forgot to bring a spoon) and sit on the dragon. It is a medieval carving on a misericord. I am a Champer. Slow time. The brassy knight continues his stare.
I linger in the church reluctant to leave. I play Bach’s Magnificat on my phone and place a little speaker in the choir. I am blessed with sound. Dust motes dance to the tunes.
Later, after the last Amen, I pack up and ride over the misty Dunstable Downs, before the rest of the world is up. I ride on chalky-green roads, lined with gaudy-leafed hedges. Crab apples have showered their fruit onto the path. There’s a squelch and the sweet smell of fermenting fruit as I ride over them.
Tracks around fields. Rabbits caught on the hop. Dog-free paths. Woods and views. Coffee and cake in a pub - The Albury at Fingest.
There’s a final hill to climb.
Downhill to the station.
A train. Noise.
The morning’s magic.
Broken.

13/10/2025

A Golden Elephant, a Duchess's cadaver, the village of Dibley, (but minus its vicar) and a night in a church. This often overlooked corner of England is a wonderland of gravel tracks and trails, beech woods, chalky hills and endless cultural surprises.
The latest gravel adventure weekender, The Chiltern Explorer, is finally ready to ride.
Only 40 minutes from Central London, the route has taken a year to prepare. Many hundreds of kilometres of gravel tracks, by-ways and bridleways have been ridden in all weathers. We have camped, Champed (more on that on the website), Inn-ed, and Glamped. We have found the best the trails and tracks that the Chiltern National Landscape has to offer as well as its historical, gastronomic, geological and cultural highlights.

It's a route which can be ridden either as a series of one day rides or as a long weekend.
https://www.wheremywheelsgo.uk/routes/the-chiltern-explorer