It’s now more than ten years since our epic bicycle expedition from London to Hong Kong – we arrived at The Peak in April 2015, having pedalled 17,000km across 21 countries.

The final chapter of that journey was beyond the finish line though. Since then I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on our adventures, the challenges we faced, and the hundreds of strangers we met who went out of their way to ensure we would overcome them.

Journey to the East will be published in the UK on 28 September by the Book Guild. It brings together the best of Lobby and my stories from the adventure, based on route diaries, photos and videos at the time. All my proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to Prostate Cancer UK – the same charity we supported along the expedition.

It was a lot of fun to write, and I hope it will be to read too! Pick up a copy using one of the links below:
https://bookguild.co.uk/bookshop/sport-hobbies/journey-to-the-east
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Journey-East-Bicycle-Expedition-London/dp/1835745105

Nick x

Cover description:

Two friends. Two bikes. One audacious challenge.

Fresh out of university, Nick Codrington and Lobby Gribble set off to cycle unsupported from London to Hong Kong, raising money for Prostate Cancer UK. They’re not elite athletes or professional adventurers, just determined, novice cyclists chasing an idea that quickly proves far bigger than either of them could have imagined.

From sodden campsites in rural France to the vast deserts of Central Asia, their journey is shaped as much by human kindness as by hardship. In Turkey, two men with rifles confront them in a dark field, then invite them for tea. In Azerbaijan, a retired welder sings love stories over toasts to the Soviet Union. In Afghanistan, their host keeps watch for intruders while they sleep. As they journey east, illness, political tensions and increasingly urgent warnings begin to shadow every border crossing.

Winter closes in and the real test looms: the Pamir Mountains, where temperatures plummet to −35℃ and roads are buried under snow. Lobby’s hands seize up. Wolves block their way. Battling exhaustion and fear, they are forced to confront what they’re truly made of and what it means to rely on each other when the wheels are literally falling off.

Raw, gripping and deeply human, Journey to the East is a story of endurance, friendship and the stubborn, half-mad power of not knowing when to quit.