Two mums and two toddlers clock up 347km across Turkey

VANESSA Ruck and Tori Williams have completed the first six riding days of their 1,000km charity challenge, raising £1,360 for Leukaemia UK.

Two mothers cycling across Turkey with their toddlers have covered 347.5km and climbed 5,630 metres in their first six riding days, tackling four days of storms, demanding climbs and the daily logistics of parenting on the move.

Motorcycle adventurer Vanessa Ruck, known as The Girl On A Bike, and her friend Tori Williams are attempting more than 1,000km on SCOTT Axis eRide mountain bikes, with their children Skyla and Leo travelling in Kids Ride Shotgun seats and Hamax Outback trailers.

Their adventure is about opening their children’s horizons while keeping their own dreams alive — showing other parents that becoming a mum does not have to mean leaving adventure behind.

“I’m on a mission to show Skyla the power of women, the size of the world and that dreams can become reality if you fight for them,” Ruck said.

The challenge started before the first pedal stroke

Getting to the start line was an expedition in itself. Navigating airports with a combined load of around 285kg — including the toddlers, luggage and equipment — meant managing boxed bikes, trailers, bags and small passengers with needs of their own.

Once in Turkey, preparation included batch cooking an estimated 4kg of meals: spaghetti bolognese, chilli con carne and chicken stew for the motorhome freezer.

It was the kind of work their future selves would thank them for. After a tiring day, having dinner ready would mean one less problem to solve.

The riding is only one part of keeping the adventure moving.

Soaked kit, sleeping toddlers and feeling completely alive

The opening days brought a puncture, a couple of dropped bikes and four days of storms. Relentless rain left their kit repeatedly saturated, turning drying clothes and preparing for the next morning into challenges of their own.

Add packed lunches, nappy changes and toddler demands, and the exhaustion is understandable.

“I think all I really want is a beach holiday,” Williams joked.

Yet one of the wettest moments has also become one of their happiest.

“We were riding through a storm, the kids were fast asleep in their Hamax trailers, and Tori and I were just screaming and laughing and giggling,” Ruck said. “We felt absolutely unbelievably alive.”

Between the hard miles have come roadside snacks, trailer naps, playground discoveries and the pleasure of watching their children explore somewhere new.

A successful day can mean reaching the top of a demanding climb. It can equally mean finding somewhere for the toddlers to ride their Strider balance bikes, meeting welcoming strangers or sharing a meal together.

Motherhood adds another layer of endurance

For Ruck, who is breastfeeding Skyla throughout the expedition, the physical demands extend beyond cycling. Her body is sustaining her daughter while also tackling hours of riding, climbing and towing equipment.

She has even developed what she calls “in-flight refuelling”: breastfeeding Skyla while cycling.

On one morning, Skyla wanted three feeds within the first half-hour of riding, including one lasting around 20 minutes. Supporting her daughter’s weight with one arm while steering with the other, and holding her body at an angle to accommodate the feed, added to the strain.

Combined with the energy demands of breastfeeding itself, it left Ruck deeply fatigued. Eventually, she called for a stop, refuelling herself with a Grenade protein bar, water and electrolytes before continuing.

The mothers want to show this side of the adventure too: the exhaustion alongside the excitement, and the importance of pausing, adapting and accepting support.

Rebuilding a life - and sharing it with her daughter

Returning to a bicycle carries particular significance for Ruck. A cycling accident in 2014 led to seven surgeries and chronic pain that remains part of her daily life. During her recovery, she discovered motorcycling, eventually riding in 40 countries and becoming the first British woman to finish the Africa Eco Race motorcycle category, following the original Dakar route to Senegal.

Becoming a mother brought another opportunity to rethink what adventure could look like.

“Motherhood doesn’t mean adventure has to stop. It just means adventure looks different,” she said.

Now, the experiences she once sought for herself are becoming opportunities to share curiosity, determination and joy with her daughter.

A big adventure, planned one day at a time

The expedition is daring, but the mothers are approaching it through calculated risks, flexible decisions and a practical safety net.

Their friend Gary provides motorhome backup, carrying tools and spares, offering a kitchen and somewhere to regroup if circumstances change. The riders still carry much of their own equipment, with the motorhome there to support them when needed.

Although they have a rough overall route, the detailed planning happens daily. Using Beeline navigation alongside weather radars, they assess their energy, the distances they believe are feasible and what will work for the children.

Accommodation is often booked the night before or that morning, allowing the day’s destination to reflect the conditions rather than a rigid itinerary.

Five dinosaurs race a disappearing storm

That flexibility mattered on Halloween, when the forecast brought an approaching storm forward from the afternoon to midday.

The team hurried through breakfast, prepared the children’s packed lunches and set off to reach shelter before the rain.

Both mothers, both toddlers and Gary wore dinosaur costumes, complete with heads, teeth and tails.

The children were delighted. Their mothers quickly began questioning the wisdom of cycling in furry onesies. But two toddlers enchanted by their own tails made the sweaty madness worth it — at least until roughly 70 per cent of the way through the day, when the mums finally peeled off their costumes.

They reached their hotel at around 1pm, relieved to have finished ahead of the expected downpour. There was just one twist: by then, the storm had vanished from the weather radars.

“We raced a storm. It didn’t show up,” Ruck said. “Turkey, you really are testing us!”

From dinosaur tails to white tablecloths

The toddlers still had energy for an afternoon park visit before the team stumbled into a white-tablecloth restaurant with two lively children and some very hungry cyclists.

Dinner was a tomahawk steak. A photograph of Ruck picking up the enormous bone provided a fitting finale to a day that began dressed as a dinosaur.

Through the wet clothes, milk stops, laughter and changing plans, the friends hope other parents will recognise possibilities for themselves — whether that means an expedition abroad, a first family bike ride or exploring somewhere unfamiliar close to home.

Their children are discovering the world. Their mothers are discovering what they can still do with them along for the ride.

The team is also raising money for Leukaemia UK in memory of Williams’s mother, Wendy, who died when Williams was ten. Now an ICU and haematology nurse and a mother herself, Williams is carrying her mum’s adventurous spirit into the memories she makes with Leo.

The adventure is being shared on Vanessa’s Instagram and Facebook pages, with the full YouTube series coming in the new year.

You can donate to their Turkey fundraiser by visiting www.justgiving.com/page/bikepackingturkey