Dream Big – Breaking the World Record Hand Cycle Across the UK | Friction Collective

In 2019, GB Paralympian Mel Nicholls set out to break the world record for handcycling the length of Great Britain. The Lands End to John O’Groats world record is a highly revered and famous route, 874 miles through the heart of the country.
Mel suffered a series of strokes as an independent fit and healthy young woman and was left unable to walk and use much of the left side of her body following her third stroke in 2008.

Follow Mel’s dramatic story of unbridled positivity, determination and some very near misses on the road as pushes towards her final goal.

Dream Big.
A heart for sport and a soul for adventure.

A film by Friction Collective Ltd.

Featuring Mel Nicholls, Matt Kettlewell, Paula Clayton, Stephen Steel, Katie Tunn, Hywel Jenkins.

Directed, Filmed and Edited by Jack Davies
Produced by Lewis Smith
Additional Camera by Josh Williams
Sound by Patrick Henchman
Colour by Fin Davies
Design by Alex Dyson
Promotion by Josie Hodkinson

Supported by Marquis Motorhomes and Caravans

Copyright Friction Collective Ltd.

I never say never thought about to finish until that last day when I knew that I have to finish in me because I thought that I generally thought my goal of nine days there’s maybe too big and I thought I have I just flip this out the air is it is it possible no one’s done it you know even my good friends a really good hand cyclist that thought is insane and maybe it was maybe it was too much [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] you hi not surprised one particularly stateflow which is pretty fun but I’ve kind of go into that that’s just with Norway and I nearly fell asleep yep any fastest cycle I think allenge of a race is one thing but it’s kind of a safe place to challenge yourself but go out into the islands you know that the wilderness on your own is a different challenge I you don’t know what’s gonna happen you don’t know if you’re gonna be able to succeed and that’s what I really love so to be able to bring the con of the performance side into that kind of bigger ultra endurance challenge I think is really exciting and I love Great Britain so to be able to explore Great Britain who are stewing that as well bringing it all together is kind of I guess an accumulation of everything that’s happened that I’ve learned the journey I’ve been on the last ten years so we’re currently standing in the dark it’s 4:30 in the morning I believe we’re at Lambton it’s a little drizzly but we’re not to put off by that and we’re just getting everything ready to get going as soon as possible yeah so we’ve got a little bit drizzle but we’re not too too worried about it it’s not to wrench also and it is what it is it’s in loan so you know [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] last year I was waiting for some some heart surgery to have which actually put a stop to my racing so that was a really tough year and that I had to stop stop the season early and the reason I was doing sort of for the year really up to that wasn’t where I wanted to be because my body wasn’t letting me but then whilst I couldn’t race mentally that was really tough last year you know to be an athlete but not being athlete so I had to find another focus and that’s what I do so my focus you know but now we’ll thought well I’ve got this time I can’t focus on performance but I can still be active I can still get out my bike I can still go and explore places so I kind of had that opportunity and that time to do it which was great because I hadn’t had that before last year was kind of another at the start of the big adventures and the taken that the timeout just me my bike for a month on end and seeing where I could take it [Music] thankfully had the surgery at the end of last year which weren’t really well so now it’s kind of I feel like a new lease of life is better I can I can build on both of them you know I feel really good I can really push myself again and into those kind of those bigger challenges so obviously everyone knows about London John O’Groats you know it’s a British iconic ultra endurance and journey race whatever you want to call it and I kind of want to bring my performance side of my racing into my love adventure so I guess make it more about the race in a race against myself but against the world record this is her first stop of the day well the first stop of the entire trip so she was been a stop 50k off for hours she has so far done 60k in three hour so she’s flying and she’s feeling good she says so we were just waiting for it to come around this corner and I she’s just come in – sure so the awesome a team support team we had to start with we had Matt so he drove the motor home and he was also my nav man yeah and then everyday for the trip what what I had to go through the next day and he’d take me through the routes and took me through any challenging areas and we would come up here would come on yes and then we had to outriders stroke drivers stroke many of the hats so we had Hal who was my photographer that was his main role but he was also driving with support vehicle so he’d be in the car sat behind and he’d alternate so he wasn’t driving the car he’d be on a bike behind me have you noticed that this has been uphill [Music] but it looks downhill yeah we stopped pedaling we stopped moving yep that’s definite they’ve left we did some science on it when we think the trees are being blown that way so they’re altering the perspective right yeah we also had Stephen who was my mechanic and he would again be driving the car or he’d be on the bike so having the mechanic so close was fantastic and amazingly I didn’t have any punches which was great but it was good to have him there and if I had any gearing issues and he was really quick to just sort out so that was brilliant an awesome town the bike as well I’m doing a glass of red of antioxidants all sorts of goodies to repair damaged things inside but it’s gonna get me through the next read it somewhere you know nineteen twenties which were fun and we had Paul er who was my physio so she was there basically keeping my body going we had Steve and keeping the bike going Paul I was keeping my body going observation is we’ve just done end to end because we started in dark at four in the morning we’re gonna end is my dog so she’d be taping me off every day and sticking needles in me at breakfast whatever else is needed sorting out my sore arms my own bits and I’m just kind of keeping me going forward in that way Katie looked after social media side of things whilst obviously I was busy cycling and and also she did the best best eggs for lunch tire and the best porridge she was amazing cooking and I really missed that like that birds and she gave the best hugs as well and when when times are tough then yeah she should give him a big hug [Music] [Music] [Music] guess through the USB it’s I guess it’s that sort of ingrain independence that’s really important for me and and I’m pretty sure that all stems back to when when I was first illa when up when I had my stroke and I came out of hospital and I couldn’t do not much for myself at all at all and everything was really hard you know I couldn’t lift up the milk to make a cup of tea or anything like that if I could it I’d shake and I just didn’t have the strength and and my friends was you know wanted to they wanted to help and I said to them then and we had a you know a few arguments and we need to we want to help you you’re struggling and but to me and I needed to do it because at the time that if I couldn’t make myself a cup of tea if I can open my post then I didn’t see the point in anything there was there was nothing and I think just as much now and the more that the more time I’m struggling so when I would have been really feeling it what I you know when it got really tough is when I have to be more independent and I think that’s almost just ingrained now and and I don’t even realize I’m doing it but perhaps people on the outside might see that and might think I’m being what called or however but it’s just like it’s getting really hard now I’ve got to fight this so I think it’s just I’m gonna prove my body wrong I think my mind so yeah there’s the stroke the stroke I mean it will always be very much there and perhaps times the situations like that it’s perhaps more evident than the normal it’s kind of like fitting she gets very very so she can’t use her hands and her feet and they kind of go into that and kind of almost like a neurological spasm so it’s due to fatigue she’s incredibly cold it’s very wet today and yeah so the idea is that we need to get her where she’s not having to hold up her own body so once we can get her warm which is which was the main thing it’s about getting her to lie down so that she can she’s not having to hold up her own body so it can start to calm down so as soon as we were able to get her into the campervan and warm her up a little bit and get her lying down she starts to calm down quite quickly [Music] I think everything just got a bit much with the weather the storm and everything else so I had that kind of episode that I didn’t see come in and that was that was tough actually and when that happens normally it leaves me in such an exhausted state very much like after an epileptic fit so all I can do in that is rest and that day that situation for me that I guess it was an option but I wouldn’t give myself the option so for me I just had to get back on the bike so I’m really proud that I did that that was that was a yea big thing for me [Music] [Music] so times when it was tough when it was slow going I reminded myself just kind of where I was I was cycling you know the length of Great Britain I was out of my bike [Music] and however hard it was however slow I was going I just had to look around you know and see the mountains or the forests or even sometimes on the main roads and you’ve just got these kind of little wild patches and verges of grasses I could have run my hands through and a little insects and things it was incredible and there’s there was nowhere else I would rather be [Music] I was very much in the moment and that was really important but then sometimes at the same time I was quite far away always I was with people I was with friends and that I knew were supporting me I thought about people that aren’t here anymore that I know would love what I’m doing and that you know means so much to me and the people that they’ve left behind and that was really important to take those people with me now anyway I could the tree this afternoon through all Hampton it’s premature in a few [Music] so we were following former record route on a matter and it runs parallel to m6 and then suddenly the roots become the m6 so we had a little interesting some 100 meters scare before we pulled into a service and managed to get back on route on a safer for us we got pulled over by the police he were undercover somewhere and on max femur you then foot eventually saw the funny side and helped us yes and then they said when they saw that and Steven was under stone while cycling as well I think he was gonna book everybody so I think you being on your friend over there I think you being on your phone probably would’ve just tops up eventful day five beats Peppa we need to start with New Zealand’s guns English [Applause] this bonus leaves just like okay I don’t like the cops they knew good way to do well because this is wondering we can take to exercise for us to see you know you’ve got this listen this less although thou can t happen to apologize for me to get into the wrestlers well of as I said today it’s not a real adventure and he nearly got a rise Beauty again if it’s only in an adventure when you need to arrest his man just made that the only time my biggest fear is failure absolutely I think that’s where it’s important that I try and get get into my head is that that headspace that you know what is failure failure not completing is that failure maybe it is maybe it isn’t obviously I want to finish obviously I want to break the world record but there’s going to be a lot of demons along the way on an hourly basis it’s like what are you doing you can’t do this if you can do this they can’t do this and it’s exhausting and it’s trying to kind of stay in stay in the moment stay present and just do I know I can do yeah I’m worried about my body not been out to carry on and being at a point my shoulders my arms or anything that I thought I can’t keep going my arms hurt my legs hurt and we don’t use my legs my wrists really hurt from the bumpy roads my neck really hurts like obviously my shoulders hurt skin hurts my my chest hurts patitos but I think what is okay but I also know though there are a lot of demons in my mind my mind is strong and it is mind over matter and I just have to believe and just keep going [Music] [Laughter] [Music] you know I felt as the the journey went on as the race went on I found better and better and better and I didn’t sleep much during the whole trip but I don’t sleep anyway I think my years have been some knee over actually do me a favor after all yeah it was just I just didn’t want to go off the bike I just wanted to keep riding and I just I think I remember one of the breaks we had and the team said you know if if you want to carry on then we’ll carry on with you and for me I suppose throughout throughout the the whole race I’d in my back of my mind you know I’d kept it to myself but I thought if I could if I could take off some extra miles every day one that’s going to be a bit of a backup if I need it whether it’s mechanical or a navigational error perhaps or weather and if it might stop me but also you know I wanted to break the record – I would’ve smashed the record so if I could have that Bank of ours and take off that extra day I knew that the ninth day on the plan was the shortest day so I could take those in the idea world [Music] there was a day progressed our siege was feeling really good and we just knew that that I could keep riding good fight better go let’s go and Paula did say you know I think you should sleep for a couple of hours and then we’ll kick on and but I didn’t want to sleep I just knew that I could just keep riding my bike and actually I think I don’t think I would have slept anyway I wasn’t really sleeping and that was fine by me [Music] though the bumpy roads and up to the sprained my wrist joints are just clicking out a little bit so my showing rules we’re coming out ready now it’s wrist turn [Music] for now it’s this clock and then I’ll read ress it and then it’s the next book and then we would read ress it so that was always the case I knew I had to finish in me I just didn’t I guess know how long they got that bit was gonna take but I wasn’t gonna stop for any length of time to to hang around and wait for it well we started out at the edge of the Highlands proper because I took the sign I took a photo as a sign as we went into the pylons and we were planning on stopping probably about 10 miles and go but being so close we just decided we’re gonna push on and do this last 65 miles it’s well it’s 7 o’clock now also it’s gonna be a late one but we’re gonna do it tight yeah everyone’s feeling good we’ve got another rider joining us now turns out he’s gonna come in and jump on the other bike so have some support we’ve just done about 200 200 5k and yeah 65 miles left to mix it up push push push push push just weird I know it’s been it’s an emotional day and this kind of it’s near the end I think I’m mostly sad and I feel quite again and it’s like it’s not just been this week it spins yes this sort of thing that that started and I guess yeah he’s got just have got massive personal journey so it’s just it was just I needed to get in my head is force and everyone’s so excited awesome I just needed to remove myself and just think about things [Music] [Music] [Music] I didn’t know what the time was I knew I’d be wine for a long time and but I thought maybe I’m close to the cutoff and I didn’t want to go over to another day that’s no that didn’t one that happen [Music] looking back the next day when we drove that route I was really glad I think that it was dark because those hills are massive and hoping to see them it definitely would have perhaps put those doubts in my head if you can’t see it and there’s nothing to be scared about so baby that was the best tactic I know it’s over 300 kilometers it’s like playing and I was around 21 22 hours riding and so definitely my biggest day ever [Music] following the updates you’re amazing you so much so proud to be supporting you and amazing to be here with this guy as well and we are sending you every every it’s quite story title when you’ve been riding for 21 hours anyway and we’ll see you a little bit tired I remember commenting about the sunset and it wasn’t the Sun it was the new videos on the East Coast [Music] I remember thinking that it was pitch black and that I could see that the Sun coming up but it was car headlights coming towards me but trying to kind of focus where you’re going and it’s you know it’s so so dark and and obviously in the north of Scotland there’s no light pollution or anything I think Stephen and I didn’t speak to each other for about three hours not at all the final bit we’re just kind of probably in both of us and our own heads and just just pushing on [Music] I remember coming down this hill and I saw a light again flashing at me and in my head I thought it was Matt kind of telling me to turn off or something so I’m flying down the hill and and again I thought um I knew that the cutoff for the day was I think 10 to 5:00 in the morning and I didn’t know what the time was so I was pushing and pushing to sprint in that last bit in that I could I remember riding in to John O’Groats and not knowing where I was going and the crew had sort of said oh you’ve got a look for a carpark to come in you know everything [Music] it’s not about disability at all you know I have dreams of ultra cycling have dreams of ultra marathons ultra endurance and that’s that’s the goal that’s the bigger picture I guess it just happens I’m doing on a hand bike but for me that’s not the focus that’s not what it’s about [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] yes it was very very very good I still think I could go faster my goal was nine days and I thought that dream was too big their dream is too big [Music] [Applause] [Music] it’s nice to have a flexion like is it’s very attractive very successful [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you