22 Dec 2022
A Derbyshire vet is enjoying a festive rest after completing a six-month, 18,000-mile cycling challenge.
Allister Webb
Job Title
Vet Laura Massey-Pugh and her husband, Stevie Massey, covered around 18,000 miles in 180 days.
A midlands vet has become a record breaker as one half of the fastest round-the-world tandem cycling team.
Laura Massey-Pugh endured border closures in Azerbaijan, illness in India, a crash in Malaysia and freezing temperatures in both Canada and Europe alongside her husband, Stevie.
But, despite all that, the couple from Derbyshire – who styled themselves as SteLa Tandem – covered around 18,000 miles in just 180 days, knocking a full 83 days off the previous mark.
Relatives and friends also braved a blizzard to greet them at their finishing point, Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate.
Dr Massey-Pugh, a 2009 graduate from The University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, said: “I have always been a commuting cyclist, but when I met Stevie, he regaled me with stories of long-distance cycling and I was hooked.
“We’ve ridden long-distance/ultra-distance solo and tandem rides since, and when we saw the female world record holders come in just on the verge of lockdown 2020, we were inspired by them and also had seriously itchy feet from lockdown.”
So far, the couple’s efforts, which were chronicled throughout in an online blog, have raised nearly £5,000 for Vetlife, plus around £6,000 that is being shared between Mind and Sustrans.
You can read more about the challenge at www.stelatandem.com and donate via www.justgiving.com/team/SteLa-Tandem
