In my childhood, I loved bashing about in the Australian scrub on bikes. So when I heard about the "Big Un" ride in Faversham, I couldn't resist the chance to do it all over again. (Kent is the Outback of England, right?)
The "Big Un" ride is an annual event organised by Brother Cycles. I keep wanting to call it the Big Brother ride, but the vibe is much less Big Brother and much more Band of Brothers - and Sisters!
I'm not terribly well prepared for this ride, the basics are in place but not a lot else. I have my Fara GR ready and a great lineup of podcasts about the role of trauma in endurance sport. It's an idea that has captivated me for a little while now. I'm looking forward to the space and time to listen to the latest psychological insights.
I arrive too late for the Friday film night at HQ and just have enough time to roll out a sleeping bag.
In the morning I wake early, refreshed and ready to ride.
But wait, which ride? The "Big Un", or the "Bigger Un"?
I opt for the "Bigger Un" because I like being in pain, of course. But when I ask around at registration in the morning I can't find anyone else doing the long option.
Registration and breakfast is served in the Tractor Barn. It's an unpretentious affair and the coffee and pastry are genuinely delicious courtesy of Gill's Cafe.
We roll off, and when I reach the gate where the decision is finalised - turn left for Big, or right for Bigger - I wait. It's like the red pill or the blue pill quandary from the Matrix. Riders arrive, solo or in bunches. Everyone turns left.
After about 20 minutes it becomes apparent that if I was going to take the red pill I'd be riding solo. The "Bigger Un" ride (155km) goes in the opposite direction to the shorter "Big Un" Ride (113km) and given that the shorter ride is big enough, I take the blue pill.
Left I go, and quickly find myself in a bunch drifting gently single file across a grassy field and onto the legendary singletrack that this ride is well known for.
Recent weather has left the trails covered in debris. We're dodging sticks, leaves, branches, rocks, and plenty of horse poo to add that extra spice to the challenge. We all love the thrill of dodging the obstacles and trying not to crash into an unsuspecting dog walker. But trail junk is flying up everywhere. The rider in front of me cops a stick in the derailleur, like a lawnmower hitting a stump - but he just kicks it out on the fly and expertly carries on.
Shout out to Shona and Richard from Keep Pedalling, where you can buy Brother bicycles. These guys have done a lot of miles on that tandem including the Atlas Mountain Race - and now the Big 'Un in Kent.
We come across a fallen tree blocking the path and I wonder if it has been placed here intentionally to help connect us to nature. Ctrl-alt-delete, we hack our way through a dense thicket of bushes into an open field. Suddenly, our ride reboots, and we kept going along an unplanned path with a renewed sense of wild adventure.
Get used to opening and shutting gates and climbing stiles. There are plenty of them on the Big 'Un ride but far from being annoying, they nicely punctuate the landscape and make great opportunities to regroup.
Excitement levels rise at a deep gully that requires full attention. I bombed down hard to give myself the best chance of getting up the other side.
At the top, I shot out to an abrupt stop in a clearing where a troika of "Nawdy boyz" are milling and trying to get their bearings. They're locals and they're having a ball getting lost and fooling about on bikes with drop bars and flat pedals and little care for cycling convention in baggy t-shirts. I boot up komoot and sus a way back to the trail. The boys follow me and I can hear them cackling with laughter as they run into the undergrowth and each other - they are adorable.
The trail leads along the side of an open escarpment where the hedge has grown so high that it meets the canopy of the wood on the other side of the trail and it forms a tunnel from which views can be glimpsed in gaps in the hedge as you whiz past them.
No time to stop to take photos, the trails are too much fun and the thrill of bombing into the unknown surrounded by other bikes is all consuming.
The first stop is 30km in at The Hub with delicious coffee. I have a yummy toastie for fuel. The Hub has plenty of bike racks and they do a fantastic job of serving all the riders.
Many of the bikes here are old steel classics that have been updated with unique components. My carbon Fara eats these trails for brekkie, but I feel nostalgic for the custom steel bikes that capture the spirit of this ride rather accurately.
I talk to many of the riders and am struck by their love of bikes as well as cycling. Everyone I talked to had built their own bike. It's a peculiar corner of the cycling community where many of the riders have mechanical skills way beyond the norm.
The ride continues down and up a steep gully. As my climbing momentum stalls a rider comes shooting past me on the right and nearly knocks me off, then another on the left and again on the right in quick succession... It's the "Nawdy boyz"and they're still laughing with unbridled freedom.
I laugh with them laughing at nearly crashing into me. I follow them into a steep gully that's like a skate bowl with high rounded edges.
The boys ahead of me are fish-tailing, jump-braking and generally ripping the rims off the gully - all the debris they dislodge comes crashing down into the bottom of the gully where I conservatively choose to ride, but now I find myself in an avalanche of sticks and stones. We all go rumbling out of control into a tight turn at the bottom where we nearly end up in a pile of bikes and bones and laughter.
About four hours in and we hit the secret feed stop! I'm feeling glad I took the blue pill. The trails so far are technical, there is little or no respite, it's hard going. Plus the company has been so much fun, the nawdy boyz have made my day - but brother, where art thou?
The secret feed stop is manned by brother Will, half of Brother bikes and organiser of today's event, with an infectious smile and a table full of muesli bars, watermelon and a novel sweetie labelled "magic mushrooms". Will points out that they're not actually hallucinogenic to avoid any confusion or just to make me grin, I can't be sure which.
The next opportunity for food is a Co-op about 10km away and since we've been off road and away from civilisation for hours the drink break is welcome.
David picking his way over the flint on a steep and freshly ploughed field... There are no free miles in the first half of this ride!
The second half of the route is much faster: roads take us through Canterbury and bike lanes and forest trails, farmed fields and grassy paths all lead us to Faversham.
I'm with a skilled rider called David. He is on a Canyon that he rebuilt to suit himself. We spent the middle of the ride chatting about life but now we've settled into a companionable silence.
The podcasts on my earphones get me thinking about trauma and my own experiences of life and those of people I know. The notion that we are all out here on these trails healing from some sort of trauma darkens my mood. A well of empathy for the human condition opens up in my heart and overwhelms me.
We roll into ride HQ with a full head of endorphins. Will tells us we are the second and third riders home and I finally get to chat with him and his brother, James, about their beautiful bikes.
I had no idea how much fun this ride would be when I signed up, but it really was a terrific day out. For a while there, I was transported back in time to happy childhood days bombing around on bikes with gangs of unruly children from the neighbourhood.
Who among us would not enjoy being part of that gang for a day?
Brothers in arms...
and legs, mostly legs
The annual Big 'Un ride is organised by brothers Will and James Meyer as part of Brother Cycles. I'm really pleased to meet them, they're obviously super fun guys.
The Brother range is designed in the UK and made from steel in Taiwan. They're sent to the UK where Will and James run a small but highly energetic operation. They have built up a cult level following and an impressive partner list that spans the whole globe.
Over the last 15 years, they have curated a unique range of steel bikes, mostly in the adventure genre but also in touring and even road and single speed bikes. There is a classic timelessness about the bikes, they are charming. I would strongly encourage any cyclist to spend ten minutes on the Brother Cycles website to find out more: www.brothercycles.com.
Knowing a bit about building and running a bike brand myself, I'm surprised by how effective this duo clearly are. They have mastered the art of "getting shit done". There are many tasks, it requires organisation, a rock solid vision and unwavering determination. I'd love to understand more about how they do this magic trick, so I start with asking about who does what?
"Luckily, and perhaps this is the secret to siblings being able to run a business without killing each other, the division of labour is pretty clear between us," says Will.
"I run all of our events and industry shows such as Bespoked or the recent Brooks Open Factory. Alongside this I guess you could say I directs all of our marketing, photoshoots, press releases, product launches, social media etc.
James deals with our product design and manufacturing, on top of this he handles all our logistics and finances. We then come together over bigger decisions such as what new products we should be developing and how these should look.
It just kind of ended up this way, we didn't plan it, but it works well. Although, at any one time each of us are doing two or three different jobs so it can be exhausting!"
Looking at all the things you do - it's a lot! Would you say there is something that Brother Cycles does really well, or really badly?
"Ha! Good question... The obvious answer would be that we make really great bikes and run fantastic events. But honestly, what we're most proud of is how efficient we are with our time and how quickly we make solid decisions - often under serious pressure. Like you said, we do a lot, and with only the two of us running the show, that's something we're really proud of."
Where would you like the brand to be for your 20th anniversary or beyond?
"Our 20th anniversary will be in 2030, five years from now. That's not a long time in the bike world! If we're still around, still making products we're proud of and still involved in this awesome corner of the bike industry then I think we'll be happy."
I see you started with a track frame but then went on to make road, and adventure bikes... I wonder if you could each only choose one discipline for the rest of your lives... what would it be?
"For me (Will) it would be the more MTB end of the 'gravel' scene. Cycling for me is about getting out into nature and I love being able to travel long distances off road, seeing places you couldn't reach by foot or even by car in a day - I can't see myself ever wanting to stop doing that.
And for James?
"Well, unfortunately I don't get out on a bike that much these days. Fatherhood and then some health issues mean I have to take it easy in the saddle. I guess you could say it's more the fun side of riding that appeals - a day out with my son in the park, pootling round the city etc. In that vein we have something fun in the works, watch this space in 2026..."
I'll be watching! I get the brand and I fancy having a go at building up a frame but I'm a bit time poor at the moment. Have you got any plans to sell complete bikes? It looks like you used to but not any more?
"We would love to bring them back and keep planning on doing so, however, other projects take our attention and then another year passes - we're big believers in focusing on what we're interested in and not what we think we should be doing.
Perhaps this has been a good thing as it is the complete bike market which has struggled these last couple of years and we've been protected from that by only offering framesets."
The brothers have a flair for beautiful bikes and their display of frames sends my mind into overdrive thinking how fun it would be to build one of these babies up with top end components.
Find out more at www.brothercycles.com
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