In the dark days of the Covid-inflicted lockdowns , Simon Parker had hit crisis point. A career in travel writing and journalism had vanished into thin air, and shortly afterwards he, like many others at the time, received the news that a close friend had passed away.
It has been well documented that due to the tsunami of sorrow that the pandemic unleashed, cases of anxiety and depression skyrocketed. Simon’s life was no different and he soon found himself feeling the effects of panic attacks and anxiety.
That was until his bike began calling along with the promise of hundreds of stories just waiting to be told across the country.
“I think due to the circumstances that we were in, with social distancing, regional lockdowns and the fact we weren’t really allowed to speak to people inside, being on my bike was just the perfect mode of transport for an adventure around Britain in the pandemic,” Parker tells Cycling Weekly .
“I was also dealing with my own mental health crisis, and I think any cyclist will be able to empathise that there’s something very therapeutic and soothing about the forward motion of being on a bike.”
“It did wonders for my mental health when I, like millions of other people during the pandemic, went through depression, stress and anxiety,” he adds.
In what eventually totalled a journey of 3,427 miles, Parker travelled the length of the country to the far flung corners of Shetland and the Muckle Flugga lighthouse, all the way to the […]
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