Daniel Hughes
Adventurer
Tell us about yourself and your cycling or adventuring achievements
I owe everything to the military, where at the university I flew with the airforce and then after spent 7 years serving as a reservist in the Army. Without a doubt the military my quest for adventure. Over the years i’ve been lucky enough to do a 220km canoe race in Canada, canoe the Chattooga River (deliverance! and just survived), run ultra marathons, cycle the rockies, race duathlon for Great Britain (age group) , throw myself out of perfectly serviceable aircraft and more. I guess my most accomplished adventure however was preparing for and summiting Mt Everest in 2013. Very proud to have raised lots of money for Comic Relief by taking the first red nose to the summit.
What are your favourite things to do on the bike
Push my body to within an inch of my life and cycle with mates to the cake shop. A hard ride to the cake shop = perfect!
Where is the most exciting place you’ve ridden your bike
In 2013 myself and my wife cycled the rockies on touring bikes. Really fun trip as got to build our bikes (surly disc truckers), plan the route and of course take in breath taking scenery. Our route took us from Calgary to Banff, then up the ice field parkway to Jasper. I think the best bit was the next few days from Jasper to Kamloops. From the rugger and glacial mountains of the ice field parkway descending below the freezing line where the forest was lush and green, open prairie land to the dry arid scenery of Kamloops (rocky dry interior). From there we had gruelling few days up through Lilioeet (hottest place in Canada with a 17% incline!) to Whistler and then cruised down to Vancouver. A really brilliant trip and recommend it to everyone!!
Where is the most exciting place you’ve ridden your bike
In 2013 myself and my wife cycled the rockies on touring bikes. Really fun trip as got to build our bikes (surly disc truckers), plan the route and of course take in breath taking scenery. Our route took us from Calgary to Banff, then up the ice field parkway to Jasper. I think the best bit was the next few days from Jasper to Kamloops. From the rugger and glacial mountains of the ice field parkway descending below the freezing line where the forest was lush and green, open prairie land to the dry arid scenery of Kamloops (rocky dry interior). From there we had gruelling few days up through Lilioeet (hottest place in Canada with a 17% incline!) to Whistler and then cruised down to Vancouver. A really brilliant trip and recommend it to everyone!!
What is your goal in life, cycling or otherwise
To keep pushing myself both on and off the bike.
Who are your sporting heroes
I’m not sure I really have heroes, but there are some athletes which just blow your mind. To name just three (no particular order), Eddie Merckx, Michael Phelps and Roger Federer. These guys annihilated their fields for years. If you’re against them you either have to embrace the fact that your not going to win, or spend lots of time sobbing!
Tell us how you know spokes of Bagshot
Over the years i’ve made some great friends who have been involved with Spokes and they introduced me to James and Spokes.
What does being a spokes ambassador mean to you
Although i’m a big fan of pushing myself, without a doubt I’m a people person and team player. I hope to share some of my stories, and hopefully create some more with Spokes.
If you had one piece of advice for someone new to cycling what would it be?
It’s easy to see someone whizzing passed you and get frustrated, but its more fun to cycle with friends to the cake shop and get there in one piece. Speed isn’t everything, enjoying your time on the bike is and a proper bike fit will probably make your ride to the cake shop even more enjoyable!
