© Kristian Pletten

Author and endurance cyclist, Emily Chappell, spent six years working as a cycle courier in London before realising she had a talent for riding a very long way. Her bike adventures have taken her all of the world with wins in races such as the infamous Transcontinental (3500 miles, non-stop and self-supported from Belgium to Istanbul) and the Strathpuffer 24-hour mountain bike race. She also leads the annual amateur Tour de France ride, Le Loop, each summer too.

Next month Emily launches her new book Where There’s a Will: Hope, Grief and Endurance in a Cycle Race Across a Continent, which chronicles her long-distance bike racing journey and what inspired it. She’ll be speaking about this and more at the Kendal Mountain Literature Festival on 16 November (get your tickets here). In the meantime, Emily shares her love of riding, the secrets to cycling in -40°c temperatures, and the memorable moments from her worldwide bike adventures, with me here.