Catherine Dixon (Cat) and Rachael Marsden (Raz) – known as TandemWOW – had an ambition to raise £1 a mile as they cycled around the world on a tandem bicycle.
After 263 days they arrived back in the UK at the end of March 2020, just before lockdown.
After cycling 18,000 miles they raised a massive £37,000 for charity. They also set a new world record, beating the previous men’s record by more than 17 days.
Always with a smile they cycled through storms, monsoon rains, brutal headwinds and fires. They endured emotional and physical hardships, hunger and exhaustion and, through their incredible determination, have shown us all that anything is possible.
Listen to Cat and Raz on the Tough Girl Podcast. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Make sure you hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out The tough girl podcast is sponsorship and ad free thanks to the monthly financial support of patrons. To find out more about supporting your favourite podcast and becoming a patron please check out www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.
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Show notes
Who is Cat and what she does
Who is Raz and what she does
How Raz and Cat met about 3 years
Who’s idea was it to cycle around the world!
What Raz’s first thoughts were about cycling around the world
The planning and the preparation for the challenge
The rules for the Guinness World Record
Thinking about and planning the route
Working on the bike spec
Figuring out the sponsorship and getting kit etc
Thank you to Stolen Goat
Getting travel insurance with Saga
The budget for the trip and trying to stick to £50 per day for the 2 of them
Camping across Europe to keep costs down
Having families and telling them about the challenge
Naming the bike ALICE…
The magical moments on the bike
Spending 24hrs a day together
The challenges of being part of a team
What did they learn about themselves from doing this challenge
Getting tested physically and mentally while cycling
Luxury items
Listening to lots of audio books
Raz sharing more about cycling over in America
The struggles of getting food in America
To go to McDonalds or not….
Flying over to Morocco from America
Heading back to Europe for the final ride home back to the UK
Having to race against the pandemic to get the ferry back to the UK
The final few weeks of the adventure
Crossing the border from Spain to France
The challenge of riding through France when shops and accommodation was closed
Leaving France on the day of the lockdown
Finishing the journey and getting to the end of the trip and not being ready to stop cycling
Planning to take a month off
Starting new jobs
Making the transition from cycling everyday to being back in a full time job
Quick Fire Questions
Final words of advice and top tips
Social Media
Website www.tandemwow.com Tandem WoW Facebook Group Instagram @tandemwow Twitter @TandemWow
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