This article was produced in collaboration with Santini and first published in Rouleur Issue 144
Imagine you'd just ridden a thousand miles – because for most of us mere mortals, imagining is as close as we'd ever get. What's the first thing you would do? Have a shower? Eat copious amounts of food? Collapse in a heap on the floor? Curse at your bike and vow never to get on it ever again? All of the above?
Amy and Kyle Hudson had other plans. Sitting in a café on the last leg of an ultra-ride from Venice back to their home in Derbyshire in 2024, the couple were already sizing up their next challenge.
"We really didn't want our trip to end, and we were just in a really good mood. We started chatting about where we could go next, didn't we?" says Amy, turning to her partner. The pair are sitting side-by-side in their kitchen, unintentionally matching in black quarterzip tops. "I was like, 'maybe we could go across Europe, or America? And I then said, 'maybe we could go around the world?' You always have these ideas, but you never think you're actually going to do them."
And that was that. Over a pain au chocolat and a watery coffee somewhere in Northern France, the die was cast. The backdrop of their screen on our call now looks neat and tidy under bright kitchen lights, but somewhere out of shot are piles of kit, bike bags, and energy gels, pushed into corners so the dog won't realise they're leaving. When I'd initially asked to interview the Hudsons the following week, they'd come back to say they'd probably be somewhere in Slovakia by then, and couldn't guarantee a signal. Oh, and they also had the round the world couples record of 205 days to break, which would mean limited time for dawdling (or speaking to journalists). In a week's time, Amy and Kyle would set off on their biggest adventure yet: 18,000 miles across four continents, in an attempt to become the fastest couple to circumnavigate the globe by bike.
"I've got a very big spreadsheet that I've been looking forward to not having to look at ever again after this trip!" says Amy, laughing. Meanwhile, Kyle is sheepish: "I can't take any credit for that," he admits.
A quick scan of Amy's Instagram page helps to give some context to their decision to attempt to set a new record of 150 days. Covering well over 200 kilometres makes for a light weekend sojourn, while bikepacking trips through sideways drizzle in the middle of winter are a regular feature. Amy, it seems, is never out of the saddle for more than a couple of hours at a time. Last year, the 30-year-old content creator made headlines when she rode the entire men's Tour de France route, including all the transfers – but their next feat is a different beast.
"The challenge has always gotten bigger each year. We don't know how we're gonna top this one!" she smiles. "Even my coach was like, 'it's quite hard to coach someone to cycle around the world!'"
Perhaps the most remarkable thing in all of this, however, is that the husband-and-wife duo only started cycling four years ago. Life looked very different back then for Amy, who, while working as a mental health nurse, began to struggle more and more with her own anxiety. Kyle, eager to do anything to help, came home from the shops one day with what he hoped would be an antidote.
"She's always loved being outdoors, and I thought that maybe if I got her a bike, she can go out with her Dad on the weekends, and that might make her happier" he says. "She came back smiling, and it really felt like we had the true Amy back again."
On her new toy, Amy joined her father on his usual Sunday ride: 40 miles through the Peak District. The hills provided a much-needed distraction from the battle inside her head.
"My dad loves cycling. He's not a lycra-wearer, he just wears normal shorts and takes panniers on every ride, even if he's doing like 20 miles," she laughs. "I completely fell in love with it, because it was the only time where my mind would be free. When you're pushing up hills at 20 per cent gradients, you can't really be worrying about anything, because all you can think about is your breathing. It brought me back into the moment and forced me to look around at nature. It made me come out of my head and into the real world a bit."
While not an immediate cure, it became the distraction Amy's family and Kyle had been hoping for. The more she rode her bike, the happier she felt, and so it only made sense that her rides became longer and longer. Before she knew it, she'd caught the endurance bug: "I think I've just been unknowingly training for our world trip since we started cycling. Only six months after I started, I rode 160 miles from my home to a caravan in Wales. I've always just done long rides, and my body has become used to it."
Seeing Amy riding high on endorphins and spending time outdoors, Kyle felt like he was missing out. A chat with Amy's dad and a pair of borrowed bib shorts later, and he found himself trawling his way up the double-digit gradient climbs around Derby. It wasn't quite the duck-to-water start he'd imagined, but it was the beginning of an intense love affair with a new hobby that drew the pair closer than ever.
"From the outside, it looked like so much fun, but when I actually got on the bike, I couldn't believe how anyone could get enjoyment from it! But I just thought, I'll keep giving it another go, because there's obviously something that makes you feel good eventually. Sure enough, the second ride I went on, I loved it. I'd probably go as far as saying I'm more addicted than Amy now!
"There was a long period where Amy was really unwell," he says, his smile fading momentarily. "We weren't spending any time together that actually meant anything, because she was in such a dark place. So it's really nice to be able to spend time riding together."
Supporting each other through bouts of poor mental health has only made the couple stronger. For Kyle too, cycling carries a deeper significance, and has opened the doors to a life he'd never imagined.
"I came from a very poor childhood, so the thought of even travelling was crazy," he continues. "I didn't even have a passport until I met Amy when I was 21, because I just didn't go abroad on holidays. The idea of me going around the world, which always seemed like a crazy, beautiful idea – it's something I never thought I'd actually be able to do. From where I've come from, to be able to do that is amazing."
It's hard to fathom how one would go about preparing for a ride around the world. Amy explains how the last few months have been a relentless whirlwind of planning – testing equipment, shipping spare kit to different locations on the map (two fresh pairs of bib shorts have been posted to the halfway mark, she reassures me), and somehow squeezing training sessions into the gaps in between. This is far more than just a passion project, and I can tell how immersed Amy is by the ease with which she reels off every country along their route from memory. Kyle, meanwhile, has been seeing bike bags in his sleep…
"I've literally been having dreams of finishing it, but now it's getting closer, I don't even want to think about how long it is," he says. "I was cleaning my teeth the other day, and I was just thinking about it, we're going to be away for five months. That's like the whole of summer. It's like when you're a kid and the holidays feel like forever."
While certain elements of their bike set-up sound typical of endurance escapades, there are others which give away the scale of their trip – including bells attached to their handlebars, which they'll use to ward off bears and stray dogs.
There are two other major parts to their preparations. The first, writing a list of 'rules' for when they inevitably start bickering somewhere along the 30,000 kilometre route. The second, a trip to the Santini headquarters in Bergamo, Italy, where the brand's entire apparel production process – from design to final packaging – is carried out. Santini designs and manufactures custom kits both for professional teams and amateur groups alike, and Amy and Kyle land somewhere in the middle. With temperatures set to vary by more than thirty degrees during their round-the-world adventure, Amy explains how they were able to try on a range of jerseys and bib shorts in different weights and styles. From leg warmers to buffs, and everything in between, the pair left Santini's Lombardian home with everything they would need for their odyssey: a complete, versatile kit featuring a bespoke pattern that speaks to the heart of their motivations.
"Santini made my kit for the Tour de France challenge, which I loved because it was so comfy – I had no issues with saddles or when doing long miles in the heat. So when they offered to do it, it was a definite yes! And going to the factory to see where everything is made, including the world champs jerseys, was definitely a 'pinch me' moment.
"When we went for our first endurance ride together, which was Paris-Brest-Paris in 2023, we had 100 kilometres to go and I was in excruciating pain. It's a 1,200 kilometre ride, and I had saddle sores because we weren't really prepared at all. We slept outside that night, and we saw a shooting star. It was just a really nice moment of like, 'yeah, we can do this.' It's our little symbol of hope, so we decided to have it printed on the custom jerseys."
Also printed on their matching kit is the logo of Shout, a charity that provides free text support for those struggling with mental health. In addition to breaking the world record, the couple aim to raise money for a cause which resonates deeply with them both:
"We can talk about mental health, and it's not something to be ashamed of, but I know there's a lot of people that don't feel they're able to talk about it," says Amy. "When I was struggling and Kyle was at work, I'd always text him, or my mum or my family. So I think it will really help a lot of people, because one message can be the difference.
"I wouldn't be here without Kyle. I think that's why we ride together, and why we work so well together, because we've been through that. It's not nice for Kyle when you're seeing someone you love struggling."
Listening to Amy talk, I'm struck by her willingness to speak about their struggles so openly. It's clear she has come to terms with the past, and with a renewed sense of self, she looks to the road ahead. There's miles to be ridden, records to be broken, and people to inspire. But when I ask the pair what they want to achieve during this trip, their answers take a different turn. Cycling around the globe is a point to prove to themselves as much as others.
Amy is the first to respond: "There's the element of adventure, we want to explore and see the world. But there's also the element of proving to myself that I can do hard things. I think I've always had this sense of not feeling good enough, but with a trip like this, it takes away that pressure, because it's so big. A few years ago, I didn't want to be here, and now I'm riding around the world. Being happy is good enough. So the biggest thing is actually just giving it a go."
Kyle takes a few seconds to think before giving me an answer: "I've just hit 30, so I want to see places and do things that I'm going to remember for the rest of my life, while I've still got the time to do it. But also, life isn't comfortable, and doing this is showing that you can push yourself out of your comfort zone, beyond what you thought you were capable of."
As Amy and Kyle set off on their journey, the world – literally – awaits.
