Scoot the Loop – Completed!

by | Last modified on Nov 5, 2023 | Adventure, Scoot the Loop

It’s always hard to get going again after a pint in the pub, although it helped that our next section was nice and easy going through millionaire streets (always well paved!) and golf courses. There was so much wealth around us – flash cars, mansions and drives with huge gates. I couldn’t help but wonder how much of a difference we could make with our charity effort if every house we passed just gave a small fraction of their earnings.

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By now my bites from the night before were starting to flare up and were driving me crazy. One particular one on my leg had swollen and was hot and very red. I dread to think what caused that! In total I’ve got 52 bites, over 20 alone on my face. I look diseased.

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We bumped into a nice woman walking her many dogs in the park who was extremely excited about our scooters. I let her have a whizz around on mine for a bit, while her dogs all followed barking. She asked Gil if he would hold Sybil ‘the grumpy Sussex spaniel’. Apparently she is so grumpy she doesn’t like walking so has to be dragged around the park on a lead. I gave her a scratch behind her ears which seemed to cheer her up for a brief moment before she let out a massive sigh – such a tough life!

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAt this point we were on the home run, just 10 miles left of Scoot the Loop!! We had one final stop to make at Toby Carvery Hogsmill who had kindly offered us a complimentary meal. There’s not been a single day on the scoot that we haven’t been offered a free meal and it really goes to show how generous people are.

We stuffed ourselves with the biggest portion of food you have ever seen, then rolled onto our scooters.

Before….

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After…

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This was it, Surbiton here we come. We followed the London Loop trail over a couple of stiles and on to the most overgrown, stinging nettle track we have had for our entire trip. It just went on forever. My entire body was throbbing with the stinging but I kept going. This is the last section, I kept telling myself. We finally came out the other end and saw a massive sign saying Surbiton, pointing in the direction we had just come…what the?! We had bloody gone the wrong way! Well, it kind of seems fitting that the last section of the London Loop should leave us with all my fondest memories – stinging nettles, stiles and getting lost.

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Back on track and we sped our way to the station. I literally couldn’t believe we had done it, a massive loop all the way around London, wild camping and using nothing but our trusty scooters to get us there and back. It suddenly became a really weird thought to me that we wouldn’t have to scoot anymore and that tonight we wouldn’t have to sleep under a tarp in a park. I felt a bit sad about that (but just a tiny bit).

As soon as I sat down on the train my body gave up and I felt exhausted. Too tired to feel happy, excited or proud anymore – I just wanted to get home and to bed.

Train to Surbiton

Getting back to comforts after an adventure is the best thing. I appreciated every second of my shower (especially after all the dust a dirt from London and scooting – I don’t think I’ve ever been so dirty), putting cream on to ease the bite itches, sitting on a soft sofa and getting into my comfy bed for a solid 9 hours sleep. You learn to love the simple things in life.

Scoot the Loop has been an amazing adventure. We’ve explored our favorite capital in a unique way, met some friendly and inspiring people and strengthened our glutes, big time, along the way. Most importantly though, we’ve raised some money for people less fortunate (it’s not too late to help us reach our £5000 target if you would like to help). Thank you to every single person who donated and thank you to our sponsors, Gravity Scooters, HardNutz and Overboard for making the adventure possible…you’re all amazing.

Bring on the next one!

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Gil and I are taking on the 240km London Loop on adult kick scooters to raise money for Africa’s Children in Education. Please support us by making a donation.

Bex Band

Bex Band

Welcome to my blog! I'm an award-winning adventurer, bestselling author and founder of Love Her Wild. My work and adventures have featured in BBC, The Guardian and Condé Nast. I love nothing more than travelling and getting outdoors on solo and family adventures. Using my years of experience, I provide advice and inspiration on various topics, including wild camping, charity challenges, glamping and travel itineraries.

4 Comments

  1. Sue and Ron Hayes

    Delighted to know that you have completed your challenge. Words fail us! You are both absolute stars. What you have achieved is amazing! We cannot thank you enough for supporting ACE and the children of Arise School in this way. We hope it doesn’t take you too long to recover! Sue and Ron

    Reply
    • admin

      Thank you so much Ron & Sue! It’s been an absolute pleasure fundraising for ACE and we look forward to doing much more in the future. x

      Reply
  2. Pauline

    Huge well done, Bex and Gil. Rather you than me! Hope your face has recovered, Bex xx

    Reply
    • admin

      Thanks Pauline. I’m pleased to say the face has recovered….at least, I think it has! 🙂

      Reply

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