The BCQ

Planning a  route for a weeks cycling in 2011 I had kind of decided on Scotland and a journey through the Outer Hebrides but a few days ago all that changed. I received my copy of Cycle - the magazine of the CTC (Cyclists Touring Club) and read about The BCQ or British Cycle Quest. Intrigued, the more I learnt about it the more I liked the idea.

According to the CTC the BCQ is a unique cycling challenge and a great motivation to discover new places. There are 402 checkpoints - 6 in each county including various off shore islands - so they are pretty widespread and there is no time limit or order in which to visit them. You just need to answer a question at each one and send in answer cards. I can visit as many or as few checkpoints I want at a time, do it whenever I like, take as long as I wish and devise my own routes to get to them. I can visit local ones on day trips from home and will string a few together on longer trips. 

I'm starting this month with either a cycle into West Yorkshire or over to Liverpool and will also knock a few off around Newcastle towards the end of the month. I liked to bag a 100 or so in the next year and will use my weeks cycling holiday in 2011 to visit some in Scotland. I'll be blogging each trip (on the BCQ page) and will tally the total miles cycled while 'questing'. It's all a bit nerdish but what a great way to see the country and visit some places I would never even knew existed.

Wish me luck!