My Next Adventure - 'Hughesy's Tri Nations Triathlon'

A self-powered journey by packraft, bike and foot in Wales, England and Scotland

When: 

19th-28th April 2024

How:

Single, continuous journey to paddle the longest lake and walk the highest mountain in Wales, England and Scotland and cycle between them all.

When travelling the length of the lakes, I will use a packraft carrying all my equipment, with my bike strapped across the bow. 

What is a packraft:

Small packable lightweight raft, small enough to be carried in a rucksack at around 3-4kgs once paddles and Personal Floatation Device (PFD) are included. This opens a whole new world of adventure creating multimodal expeditions where waterbodies become a part of the fun and no longer an obstacle to be navigated around! They are robust as well as wide and forgiving and some are designed for more bouncy water too.

Why: 

In late November 2021, I broke my ankle in three places whilst out walking in the snow in the North Pennines and was rescued by the Great North Air Ambulance, due to the cold temperatures and threat to my limb. 

This brought some things into sharp focus:

1. I can't believe this essential service is a charity!

2. The importance of just being outdoors for my mental health

3. Gratitude for what my body is capable of - even the rattly, crunchy, painful bits - and the desire to celebrate this while I can

I would therefore like to bring all these things together in an adventure challenge to shine a light on this incredible charity and raise as much money as I can for them whilst at the same time continuing to use the opportunity to encourage others to get out there and have a go! 

For me, it's not about being the best, the fastest, going the furthest or being the first - it's about finding your own challenge, enjoying the journey and finding the adventure along the way. It doesn't have to always be about comparing yourself with others and measuring your success against their achievements, it's about taking that inspiration to create your own. 

My measure of success will be to complete this with a smile on my face and some stories to tell. If it inspires others to have a try at something new or gives them the courage to step away from endless comparisons and self doubt then even better :) Let's celebrate what we have!

I need support!

First of all, this is going to be tough. I need to stay motivated and the best way of achieving this will be knowing that every km I cover is raising money for GNAAS. To find out more about the incredible work which GNAAS do, please do have a look on link below.

Every single penny raised goes straight to GNAAS. In return for corporate sponsorship i would be delighted to include you on my supporters page as well as in social media posts, wider media engagement where applicable and on my kit. Please do head over to my Just Giving page on the link above :)

In addition, if you have a product which you think I could showcase as a part of my adventure, I would be delighted to hear about it. I am desperately seeking a bikepacking tent with short poles as currently having difficulties loading my bike.

We are making a film of this venture and more details will be added in due course. The aim is to submit this at Kendal Mountain Festival.

Please contact me via my contact page.

Challenge commencing 19th April 2024.

See my route, follow my progress. View using the button below or download the 'Yellow Brick Races' app and search for Tri Nations Adventure Triathlon 2024