EXTREME TRAVELLERS

What inspires women to embark on the most challenging journeys? We talk to three epic adventurers

‘We broke the world record’ Raz Marsden, 55, is a motor neurone disease nurse consultant from Oxford. In June 2019, she started a round-the-world trip on a tandem bicycle with Cat Dixon, 54, a CEO from Yorkshire. Crossing the border from Myanmar to Thailand, it was nearly midnight, we’d run out of water and couldn’t find anywhere to stay. Cat was not well, I felt sick, we’d had seven punctures over the past two days and now a slow puncture was threatening our back wheel. Alone,

moments like this would have been completely overwhelming, but on a tandem bike, you’re never alone. We were often hungry, exhausted and grumpy, but because we had each other, every day was filled with laughter.

BEATING THE MEN

Cat and I met on a charity bike ride from London to Paris five years ago. Both avid cyclists, she told me she dreamt of cycling around the world and I thought that sounded fun. We decided to try to beat the world record for circumnavigating the globe on a tandem bike, a record previously held by two men.

We took off from Oxford in June 2019 on a bike we named Alice. We cycled through thunderstorms, brutal headwinds, heatwaves, fog and hail. Alice went wrong often, usually miles from a repair shop, but we developed a deep love for her. Riding tandem is different from riding solo. As the stoker at the back, I don’t steer, brake or change gear. We learnt to ride in sync and understand each other intuitively. We carried our own kit and our fully loaded weight was 200 kilos. We would fly downhill, gaining speeds of 50mph, and Cat doesn’t like to brake! But we made it without falling off. We met so many generous people who invited us into