Cycling Across India in 1983/84

“Heroic pair pass test of endurance” - Daily Express 1984

In 1983 Mike and his best friend Rupert Rumney hatched a plan to follow the England cricket team around India for the 1983/1984 tour on a new type of bicycle - mountain bikes which they managed to secure for free from hand made bike manufacturer Overbury Bikes.  Mike and Rupert had a minuscule budget and for the most part, stayed in hostels and working men’s boarding houses as they traversed the sub-continent but they soon became known to the England Cricket team, the UK newspaper press and they were interviewed on BBC Radio’s famous Test Match Special.  The highlight of their tour came when the England cricket team asked the boys up to their team room after the pair had cycled 2,000 km (1,200 miles) in 12 days to reach Calcutta. They were given a standing ovation by the players as they were presented with 2 tickets for the upcoming test match ( a very boring draw…).  

Mike and his friend also got to know the correspondent from the Daily Express newspaper who covered their journey round India and the paper made a financial donation that covered their airfares.  The Daily Express also treated them to meals at some of India’s top hotels whenever they completed a leg of their journey, a welcome relief for two weary travellers more used to ingesting street food and staying in working men’s hostels &  dormitories. The boys cycled over 6,800 Kms (4,200 miles) in 42 days and they then took their mountain bikes up into the Himalayas where they thought they would be the first to people get bicycles up to Everest base camp.  Sadly, when they got there it was made clear that two Americans had just pipped them to it, four weeks earlier!

Not long after returning to England, Mike decided to start his nurse training - following in a long line of nurses in his family: his mum, aunt and grandmother.