Not a Race.
Not Symbolic.
Both.
RideTogether 200 is a structured multi-day endurance crossing where riders of different abilities complete 221 miles together, on the same route, under the same conditions.
This is not a race. There is no podium and no individual finish time. It is also not a symbolic participation event. RideTogether 200 is a cooperative ultra-endurance challenge where success is collective: the team finishes together, at a shared pace, or it doesn't finish at all.
Long-distance endurance events centre on speed, competition, and individual performance. Inclusive cycling initiatives frequently focus on short-distance or introductory participation. That leaves a gap: serious endurance experiences that are genuinely inclusive by design. RideTogether 200 fills that gap.
Inclusion is not added on. It is built into the structure of the challenge.
One Road. One Crossing. One Team.
221 miles coast-to-coast is a genuine ultra-endurance challenge. The distance is not reduced, simplified, or softened to accommodate mixed ability. The route has been engineered to make the full distance achievable for a mixed-ability team.
The team progresses at a shared pace with regrouping built into the format. No rider finishes alone. No rider is left behind. Completion is collective. This mirrors the voyage crew model aboard SV Tenacious.
All riders complete the same road, the same distance, and the same experience. There are no parallel events, no modified routes, and no reduced expectations for disabled participants.
Over 100 miles of the route uses traffic-free infrastructure: canal towpaths, National Cycle Network sections, and quiet lanes. This makes the route accessible without making it trivial.
The ride is split across three weekends — not necessarily consecutive — to support sustainable endurance and wider participation. This is not a concession. It is a design choice that allows the full 221 miles to be taken seriously by more people.
RideTogether 200 is designed to be a replicable framework for future inclusive ultra-endurance events. It demonstrates that serious distance, structured challenge, and genuine inclusion can operate together without compromise.
Liverpool to
Cardiff Bay
The route runs southbound from the Liverpool waterfront across the Wirral, through the Welsh borders, into Mid Wales via the Severn Valley and the upper Wye Valley, across Bannau Brycheiniog (the Brecon Beacons), and down through South Wales to Pedal Power at Cardiff Bay.
The route deliberately leverages the UK's highest-quality traffic-free cycling infrastructure: the Llangollen Canal towpath, the Montgomery Canal towpath, and the Brecon and Monmouth Canal towpath form the backbone of the inclusive design. These sections are not compromises. They are some of the finest long-distance cycling in the country.
The route has been through multiple iterations of refinement. Known accessibility barriers have been removed. Unnecessary climbing has been reduced. Rail resilience — the ability for participants to exit safely if required — has been built in at regular intervals.
Key Waypoints — Liverpool to Cardiff Bay
Liver Building waterfront. Coast departure. Mersey crossing by ferry to the Wirral.
Coastal Wirral section on quieter roads.
Border approach and transition point. Rail access at Chirk station.
UNESCO World Heritage Site. Llangollen Canal towpath begins.
Entry into Mid Wales via the Severn Valley. Montgomery Canal towpath.
Key services and last reliable northern rail exit point.
Gateway to the upper Wye Valley.
Mid-Wales transition point.
Approach to Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons).
Extended traffic-free canal section. Brecon and Monmouth Canal towpath.
Major southern services. Rail access.
Final urban transition toward the coast.
Inclusive cycling centre finish. Symbolic coast arrival. Partners in the event.
Cardiff and Wales were chosen as the finish because of strong existing links with Pedal Power in Cardiff, local organisations in Montgomeryshire, and a growing network in Liverpool. The partnership with Pedal Power — an inclusive cycling centre in Pontcanna with direct access to cycle trails — extends the event's reach beyond the ride itself.
The Numbers
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total distance | 221 miles (355 km) |
| Total elevation | ~7,975 feet |
| Traffic-free riding | Just over 100 miles (~50%) |
| Direction | Southbound — Liverpool to Cardiff Bay |
| Format | Staged multi-day endurance journey |
| Surface mix | Quiet road, canal towpath, NCN cycle routes |
| Climbs | 7 categorised climbs |
| Hardest climb | Category 4 — 7% grade, 1.19 miles, 134m gain |
| Weekend stages | 3 (not necessarily consecutive) |
Technical Notes
After Talgarth there is one short steep ramp at approximately 14% gradient. The routing around this section adds approximately 1,500 feet of climbing. Current plan: a short managed walk if required — this is one of the few points where the route acknowledges a physical limitation and offers a practical solution rather than a workaround.
Rail resilience is strongest at Liverpool, Gobowen/Chirk, Welshpool, Newtown, Abergavenny, Pontypool, Newport, and Cardiff. A participant exit plan exists at each of these points.
The route is at version 5.1. Known accessibility barriers from the 2024 scouting have been addressed. The St Mellons barrier section identified in 2024 has been bypassed.
The Lineage
RideTogether 200 did not appear from nowhere. It is the fifth event in a sequence that began with a voyage crew model aboard the tall ship SV Tenacious and has been translated ashore, progressively, over four years.
Every event in the sequence has tested a core question: can disabled and non-disabled participants share the same challenge, at the same scale, as equals? Every event has answered yes. RideTogether 200 asks the same question at the largest scale yet attempted.
Snowdon in a wheelchair. 3,560ft of ascent. Torn rotator cuff. Mixed-ability team. £20,100 raised. The idea for Race the Ship formed on the journey home.
197 miles over 4.5 days, Great Yarmouth to London, racing SV Tenacious. Mixed-ability team. Human-powered. The proof of concept that multi-day inclusive ultra-endurance is viable.
92 miles over three days, Barry to Gloucester. Mixed-ability crew including veterans of SV Tenacious. Finished at Gloucester Quays where Jamie McDonald set his world record in 2012.
144 miles over two and a half days, Kent. Six riders including Rosemary Scott, Graham Strudwick, Tim and Ruth Tayler, John Churcher, and Lauren Bean. 3,523ft of elevation. The spirit of Tenacious ashore.
221 miles, Liverpool to Cardiff Bay. The UK's most inclusive long-distance cycling event. The fifth event in the sequence. The most audacious yet.
Four years after the original climb, Wheels for Tenacious returns to Snowdon to reunite as many of the original team as possible. Celebrating how far the initiative has come since that day in September 2022.
Who We Are
Wheels for Tenacious is a small team. Behind every event are Graham Strudwick, Tim and Ruth Taylor, and David Bainbridge. The initiative has remained deliberately lean, focused on doing the work rather than building infrastructure around talking about doing the work.
The Cantii Way in September 2025 brought together Rosemary Scott, Graham Strudwick, Tim and Ruth Tayler, John Churcher, and Lauren Bean. RideTogether 200 builds on that network, with strong existing connections to Pedal Power in Cardiff, local organisations in Montgomeryshire, and a growing community in Liverpool.
Tenacious' legacy lives in all of us. None of this would have been possible without the unwavering support of Graham Strudwick and Tim and Ruth Taylor.
wheelsfortenacious.co.uk →One Road.
One Crossing.
One Team.
RideTogether 200 is open to riders of all abilities. If you want to be part of the UK's most inclusive long-distance cycling event, or if you represent an organisation interested in partnering with Wheels for Tenacious, get in touch.
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