APN22 Ride Reports & Media Coverage

“Those five days spent almost entirely outdoors showed me what I already knew in the back of my head: the outdoors is perfectly survivable and waiting to be explored. Despite the route not being super remote, and making good use of bits of human infrastructure for shelter, the experience was an important reminder of the simplicity of our basic needs and how we can take them for granted.

“Ultra-distance events make you focus on meeting those key needs in whatever way is feasible and convenient at the time, stuffing your face with lentils outside of a supermarket or sleeping at a petrol station forecourt. Having this permission to act without social norms is incredibly liberating.”

birdoutdoors.com/blogs/news/all-points-north-a-rookie-recount

“The hills are just, like, unrelenting… Oh god this is so hard… This is too many hills for me. Basically all the points are in really ridiculously hilly, hard to get to, places.”

“This is my first ultra distance bikepacking race and so it’s all a massive learning curve.”

“As I rode those final few metres towards the finish line it took everything within me to hold back the tears. In four days I had ridden 1157km and climbed over 14,000m, the emotion was simply overwhelming. As fellow riders applauded my return my partner whispered in my ear “You’re the first rookie back!” and then the tears flowed. I buried my head in my handlebars, simply overcome with the emotion of the moment; all I could do was cry! Together we’d raised nearly three and a half thousand pounds to help end the suffering of Huntington’s disease. I’d taken my body and my mind to the brink of hell and had the pressure sores to prove it, best of all, I did it!!!! I smashed my goals and did something others had politely suggested was beyond my capabilities. “

www.mindfulcyclist.com/blog-3/all-points-north-a-beginners-guide-to-ultra-endurance

“I feel too self-conscious to go around openly declaring that All Points North was a life-changing experience, because I honestly think if you’ve never done something like it – something that pushes your mind and your body so far beyond the limits of everyday life – you just won’t get it, and I’ll probably come across as really pretentious. Perhaps you’re reading this and already thinking I am. But the truth is, it was life-changing. You cannot spend 99 hours (including some of the best and the worst hours of your life) in your own company and come away the same person you were before. The way I view myself has been completely altered. I know that I am incredibly resilient and determined, and nothing/nobody will ever be able to take that knowledge away from me. I have confidence that nothing can break me. And the way I view my life has been completely altered, too. The only way I can describe it is that it feels like, before APN, my view was incredibly zoomed in. Suddenly it is zoomed out and I can see the whole field. Things that would have previously made me upset, or anxious, just don’t. You get one life, and I have gained the sense of perspective to know what – and who – is important in mine.

“(And if you think all of this sounds insane, go and ride a bike – or walk, or run, or row, or swim – by yourself for 99 hours, and then come back to me and tell me how you feel. 😉)”

alicejanelake.wordpress.com/2022/06/12/the-girl-who-cycled-the-north/

“Not sure how or why… but I can say that was the hardest thing I have done and it will take some getting over mentally and physically.”

ruthgamwell.wixsite.com/rgescapades/post/allpointsnorth

“As part of our support for APN we hired local photographer Mark Harvey of iD8 Photography to capture as many of the riders as possible before the start and at their finish. There are stacks of great images available with our compliments. Please tag Kinesis Bikes and All Points North in any social posts you make with these.”