Home Roads

Philippa York used to be Robert Millar, and he was one of Britain’s greatest cyclists. At the Tour de France he won the mountains classification, and did the same at the Giro d’Italia. He took stages at all three Grand Tours amongst many other big wins, but the whole time, he wanted to be someone else. Robert has now gone, after transitioning into Philippa - or Pippa, as she's also known. She’s now in her late 50s and, as I found when we headed towards the Dorset seaside from her pretty cottage, still loves riding a bike and climbing hills on it.

See more on Instagram and find the route we took on Strava.

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Rapha changed the look of cycling, and it’s Simon Mottram who created Rapha. Before, people rode bikes in garish outfits covered in sponsors, and Simon was one of them, even though he didn’t particularly like it. Not being a racer made him no less passionate about riding, so he set about coming up with a brand he would want to wear, believing others would too. With three children, one of whom was disabled, failure wasn’t an option. It’s been a long road, but Simon loves cycling as much as ever, and took me on a ride out of North London, onto his favourite loop in Hertfordshire, to tell me the whole Rapha story.

Find the route on Strava and see more on Instagram.

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Simon Warren has written the book on climbing by bike. In fact, he’s now written several, but it was his first one “100 Greatest Cycling Climbs” that broke the mould. Sitting at home, watching telly, Simon suddenly realised he wanted more out of life - and off he went, climbing hill after mountain, documenting each one, with his family in tow. For this episode, he took me on a naturally hilly ride around his fairly new Home Roads out of Sheffield.

See more on Instagram and find the route on Strava.

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“Polar Explorer” sounds like a job title from the 19th century, but that’s what Ben Saunders is. Fortunately, he’s also a cyclist. In fact, he prefers to be thought of as an endurance athlete, and when you hear he’s walked more than 4300 miles at the Poles, it’s hard to argue. Ben lives and trains in the Richmond area of London, and we rode out into the Surrey Hills together, which is still fairly busy and totally at odds with the solitude he experiences on an expedition.

Find the route on Strava and see more on Instagram.

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The Only Way is Essex is a tv show with a certain charm, at least to some, but to Alex Dowsett, the title is a motto to live by. Most other professional cyclists leave where they grew up to live and train in more predictable climates, but not Alex. Growing up with haemophilia (his blood doesn’t clot on its own) means his family is very close-knit, and despite living and racing all over the place, the county to the east of London remains home. Just before Alex switched professional teams, from Movistar to Katusha, we rode out of Chelmsford towards the Blue Egg cafe that he’s helped to make famous amongst cyclists.

Find the route on Strava and see more on Instagram.

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Dame Sarah Storey is one of Great Britain's greatest athletes, and amongst the World's most successful Paralympians, winning numerous titles in the pool, before switching to the bike and achieving the same results. While she was born with one of her hands deformed, she is competitive against whoever she races, disabled or not. As well as juggling being parents of two young children, Sarah and her husband Barney also run their women's team, Storey Racing. We headed out from her home in Cheshire to ride a short, sharp, strenuous loop in England's beautiful Peak District.

Find the route on Strava and see more on Instagram.

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David Millar did it all in professional cycling, the good and the bad; winning races, wearing jerseys, failing drugs tests, and being arrested. Now retired, he lives with his young family in Girona in Catalonia, where many want independence from Spain. Never one to sit still, David has written about his experiences in two books, launched a clothing brand called Chapter 3 and made the film Time Trial about his life racing. British fans of the sport can also hear his opinions on tv coverage of big races. For our ride, we headed out of Girona toward the climb of Els Angels and the monastery at the top.

Find the route on Strava and see more on Instagram.

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Nicolas Roche was born to ride. His family is steeped in racing, with his dad Stephen a two-time Grand Tour winner. Nico’s Mum is French, and so he spent a lot of time there, but here, he took me on a ride out of Dublin on the roads he loves the most. As we set off from Dundrum in the south of the Irish capital, and head for the Wicklow Hills, Nico talks about everything from choosing his nationality, competing for the biggest teams, struggles with weight and why you don't have to look like a hardman to race like one.

Find the route on Strava and see more on Instagram.

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Join me, Matt Barbet, as I ride with some of the most interesting people in cycling, and others who like to get out on the bike, on the roads they know best. It's not about the most majestic mountains, or the routes of famous races, but the rides we all enjoy - the ones that begin at home. And, it's when we're in the saddle, that the stories start to come out.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/homeroads.

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