Summer 2026 · Edition Nº 01
A slow, unhurried mile from Edinburgh to the sea.
About us
Two people, one idea, twenty days on the road.
Sarah
Founder & Lead Guide
Sarah is the face of Pedal to Progress — the value, the care, and the wholehearted commitment behind every mile. With a background in competitive cycling and years spent as a charitable director for UMass organisations, she brings together worlds that rarely meet: elite sport and genuine human kindness.
She has worked across numerous industries, engraving social skills and a rare dedication to craft and art into everything she touches. On the road, she is the one who notices when you are quiet, who remembers how you take your coffee, and who makes sure every rider feels seen.
Simon
Chef & Culinary Director
Simon was senior sous chef for Royal banquets at Edinburgh Garrison Castle — an environment where precision, timing, and presentation are not optional. He won Junior Sous Chef of the Year in 2014 and Senior Sous Chef of the Year in 2016, credentials that belie what he does best: cook extraordinary food in extraordinary places.
On tour, he sources every ingredient within an hour of camp, builds menus around what the land gives that morning, and plates three meals a day as if each one were the only one that mattered. The fire is his kitchen. The field is his dining room.
The retreat
Twenty days of riding, eating well, and being somewhere remarkable.
Pedal to Progress is a single, hand-built cycling retreat for ten riders. We leave Edinburgh on a Saturday morning in June and arrive on the Mediterranean three weeks later — 1,400 kilometres south, by way of the Borders, the Cotswolds, the Loire, and the lavender of Provence.
Days are measured: a steady 70 km, never a race. Afternoons are for swimming, sleeping, and the company of strangers who, by week two, are no longer strangers. Evenings belong to the chef.
The route
Six chapters, one continent.
The camp
You will sleep better than at home.
Each evening, your tent is already up — canvas, linen, a real bed, a wool rug, a brass lantern. A hot shower under the stars. We move the camp; you move yourself.
- 5-metre canvas bell tents, three to a tent
- Single beds, feather-down duvets and pillows
- Hot showers, composting WC, generator-quiet power
- On-site laundry every third day
What is included
Everything, once you arrive.
From the moment your wheels touch the cobbles in Edinburgh until we toast in Provence, you carry nothing but your kit.
Daily 70 km guided ride
Routed by professional cyclists. A support van shadows every kilometre.
Luxury bell-tent camp
Linen bedding, real mattresses, rugs, lanterns. Pitched and struck for you.
Private chef, three meals
Seasonal, regional, plated. Wines paired by a touring sommelier.
Mechanic & physio on tour
Daily bike service, post-ride massage, ice baths at request.
Evening entertainment
Live music, fireside readings, local guest hosts at each region.
All logistics
Ferry, transfers, luggage, laundry, insurance liaison — handled.
The table
A private chef, a different region each week.
Three plated meals a day, sourced within an hour of camp. Borders lamb. Cotswold trout. Loire goat. Provençal everything. A sommelier travels with us; live music finds us most nights.
"I have never eaten this well sitting in a field."
Sarah's Circle
Ride along from anywhere.
A monthly membership for the people who can't be in the saddle with us — yet still want to feel every mile. Live feeds from the road, dispatches from the camp, and a seat at the table for our evening Q&As.
- Live GPS feed and daily ride film, posted from camp each evening
- Behind-the-scenes notes from the chef, the mechanic, and the riders
- Monthly live Q&A with the team — ask anything, on or off the bike
- Members-only essays, route maps, and the full photo archive
The currency of the Circle
Inside Sarah's Circle, everything is priced in circles. One full circle is £13.99. A half circle is £7.50. Membership is one circle a month. Private time with Sarah is sold by the circle, too.
Members only. Spend circles on one-to-one calls with Sarah — coaching, route advice, or simply the story behind the day's ride. Roughly £80 an hour, billed in circles.
Reserve
Ten seats. Once a year.
Reservations are reviewed by hand. We will reply within two days with availability and a short call to make sure the retreat is right for you.