Across the UK by Bike – My Journey to Italy Begins

I’m riding the Velo Route 5 all the way to Brindisi, Italy—over 2,000km on my newly bought Dawes Galaxy touring bike.
This is the first leg of the journey, starting in Pembroke, Wales. I pedal through Carmarthen, jump on a train to Reading, ride into the heart of London to meet a friend, then push on to Maidstone. Somewhere in between, I find myself camping in a sketchy spot down a dark alley just outside London… it’s all part of the adventure.

This is more than just cycling—it’s a solo journey across countries, chasing the open road, and seeing where two wheels can take me.

#longdistancecycling #solobackpacker #biketravel #touringbike #UK

My name is Shane and in this video I’m riding from Pembrook through Reading in London to Maidstone in the UK over 5 days. You know, getting used to life living in a tent again after 2 weeks being at home, pedling around this extremely heavy bike and just how tiring being on the road is. You know, you’ve all your gear to be constantly organizing. That is the hardest thing that I find. When I was walking the commun, I had this really heavy backpack and just keeping everything, organizing it, packing it, unpacking it, camping, taking everything down. It really took its toll. There’s an hour of it in the morning and there’s almost an hour of it at night time. I’m being kind of gentle with myself. You know, it’s hard to get used to everything on these adventures. There’s so much going on. So, after a good eight hours spent in this park, day one of cycling would begin. I was unsure of what to expect over the next five days in terms of weather and the terrain ahead. The weather so far today been a little bit difficult. I’ve had to stop and start and hide under a tree a few times. Also, a lot of rolling hills as well, which is quite difficult with the torn bike. You know, it’s day three on my legs, so definitely not as strong as I’d like to, but you know, it’s good to be here. I am definitely surprised with how lovely and how beautiful Wales is. You know, it really is cool. Some nice beachside towns. The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. I enjoyed the sea breeze and the amazing coastal views. About an hour away from Cararathon. I did about three or four hills today. I’m going to call the mountain. It was grueling, desperate, miserable. But anyway, today is over. I have my zero beer with me, pack of noodles if I want them. Just going to set up this tent and go to bed and try and get a full 8 hours of sleep in. The next morning involved a short cycle to the train station in Reading where the Euro VO 5 would officially begin. I got the train into Reading fairly late in the day and it is now4 to 8. It’s going to be getting dark in an hour and a half and I need to find a place to camp. So, what I’m going to do is I’m just going to cycle outside Reading and hope for the best. This is a common situation for wild campers. I believe over time you develop a keen eye for spotting a good camping spot. Right, so I’m on the outskirts of Reading and there is a big park and it really is an idea because it’s getting kind of dark, but I think I’m just going to keep on cycling. there’s too much traffic and too many people. Although people will clear out of the park at night time, you know what I mean? It’s better to just keep on looking until I find a place that’s going to be dead quiet throughout the night. Cuz when you’re looking for a place to camp, also another risk is people coming by drinking and smoking. On my first night in Wales, there was a couple of young fellas and they just done loads of drugs and they proceeded to spend the entire night screaming and making animal noises. To find a spot in the densely populated south of England was proving quite difficult. Now, I must say I do find these situations kind of scary. It’s a weird feeling. You know, it’s starting to get late and you’ve no place to crash. What I have done is I’ve had a look through Google Maps on my phone and I really think as I start getting further out close to the motorway in Reading, there’s going to be a lot of space and trees that I can camp in. So, that kind of puts my mind at ease. Okay, I have managed to find a quiet spot in the outskirts of Reading. Now, it’s not the most fantastic spot cuz there are houses around. So, I’m definitely going to have to be quiet. I was really starting to get worried there. I was cycling around. It was getting dark. Not a good position. And the estates were just going on and on. The houses were just going on and on. I couldn’t find a spot anywhere. Also, another thing is by 7:00 a.m. I’m going to be up and by 8:00 a.m. I’m going to be out of here. So, that just lowers the risk of someone seeing my tent in the morning and calling the cops. A big day lay ahead. A 4-hour cycle into London. As we all know, London is a massive city. I’m a little bit nervous about it, but hopefully it’ll all be okay. I did think that I needed to keep my wits about me on the busy roads into the capital. Okay, guys. I’m about an hour away from London. Roads are starting to get absolutely hectic, so I won’t be doing too much filming on the way in. It’s been a lot of just really busy villages on the way. I was looking for cycle routes, but half of them were taking me into forests and stuff like that. So, I’m just going to stick to the busy roads to get into the city. So, after one last food break, I would brave the motorways into the city, followed by the tame cycle path that brought me into the city center. I’m just on the outskirts of London here about to pack up my things and hit the road. I was just cycling through this estate last night and I saw a bit of a dark alleyway. Thought I could just set up. It’s the idea, you know, you set up late, get out of there in the morning. I don’t think you’re going to be bothering anyone. Got my little setup here, my green tent. It’s pretty hard to see, especially if I’m under a tree or in the shade or something like that at night time. So, so I’ve got about a 45m journey. It’s going to take me about four or five hours today. And finally, I had left London and was in the beautiful and historic county of Kent. I made it to my final destination. I’m staying with a cousin of mine in Maidstone. That’s all for today. That’s 5 days cycling across the UK. Pemrook to Maidstone. Next stop, Europe and the road to Italy. Subscribe to follow my adventure.