Congratulations to Peggy Crome for setting a new WUCA record for Great Britain S-N in the following categories: Female, 80+, upright bike.
Rider Narrative Summary
I set out to ride from John O’Groats to Land’s End in an attempt to set the point-to-point
cycling record for the oldest female.. I started from the John O’Groats signpost at 10:15am
on 12 June 2026 and finished at the Land’s End signpost at 2:10pm on 28 June 2026. I was
83 years and 57 days old on the day I finished.
The challenge brought a huge variety of conditions, from strong crosswinds and rain over
Shap (highest point of the route in England) to a heatwave further south. I took on the
record both as a personal challenge and to raise money for the Devon Air Ambulance, who
saved my granddaughter’s life after she nearly drowned as a toddler. Current total is at
£4324
I completed the ride on a Specialized Ruby road bike, wearing standard cycling kit, and
fuelled myself with porridge, bananas, crisps, biscuits, jelly babies, jelly beans, SIS gels,
water and electrolytes. This was a real struggle as I wouldn’t normally eat very much.
The best feeling was reaching Land’s End safely. It was a huge undertaking with many
unknowns, and there were plenty of obstacles along the way, but I managed to overcome
each one and keep moving forward. The toughest moments came on unfamiliar cycle paths
and during the extreme heat, when every day seemed to present new challenges with
different terrain and conditions.
One unexpected incident saw me badly gash the back of my leg on my own bike pedal,
requiring treatment at Aviemore A&E before I was able to continue. Despite the setbacks, I
reached the finish and successfully completed the challenge.
Peggy Crome