A few weeks ago I cycled along behind another rider on my way to work. His bike was laden down with bags, it was clear he was going on a bicycle tour and as we wove through the back streets of King’s Cross and I wondered where he was going.

He stopped at a junction and I pulled up alongside him. “Off somewhere nice?” I asked.

“Yes, Northumberland.”

“You’re going the wrong way then. Shouldn’t you be heading north?”

“Yes, but I’m going to get the train. The legs aren’t what they were.”

We wished each other well on our journeys and off I went on my way to work.

Bikes are pretty good tools for finding adventures. They can go more interesting places than cars and cover more distance in a day than your feet alone. A few months back I met Anna McNuff – her bicycle adventure took her through 50 US states.

Last year I decided to go on a bicycle adventure of my own. I booked a week off work, looked at the map and wondered where my bike would take me. Six months later the date remained circled in my diary, but plans hadn’t progressed much furrther. But after five days of staring at the map again, today I’m setting off on my bike.

I’m not travelling alone, Phil will be coming too. Last summer we spent many miles on our bikes singing show tunes down country lanes and I’m looking forward to being the Barbara Dixon to his Elaine Paige again.

Our plan? Cycle a bit, eat a bit and drink some beer. So stops will be dictated by how hungry we are and whether we pass anything that looks interesting. Also probably punctures.

We set off early this morning heading for a ferry terminal and ultimately towards some good beer the other side of the Channel. Our final destination is flexible and will be decided by how our legs feel. We’re in no hurry to get anywhere. It’s a holiday, not a race, afterall.

If you don’t already, you can follow me on Instagram where I’ll post a picture of where we find ourselves each day. Also probably beer.