British Cycle Quest
The British Cycle Quest is a challenge, organised by Cycling UK (formerly known as the Cyclists' Touring Club or CTC), in which the cyclist must visit six sites in all the traditional counties in the United Kingdom, which comes to a total of 402 sites, 252 in England, 48 in Wales, and 102 in Scotland. As well as visit the site, the cyclist must answer a question to prove they have been there. The quest has no time limit. One main purpose of this quest is to visit different parts of the U.K. which might not otherwise have been visited.
On completion of this task, a commemorative certificate and trophy is awarded. Smaller certificates are also available for visiting 50 sites. A certificate and a bronze medal may be obtained after visiting 100, 200 and 300 sites British Cycle Quest.
History
The British Cycle Quest replaced the Touring Explorer's Award in about 2000. The need for a replacement came about because many of the sites to be visited no longer existed or else temporary clues had been found. Even now, there are issues with clues which may not necessarily be easily available. A list is given on the Cycling UK website. Questions Book
Even now, questions are revised and edited significantly on an annual basis. For example, 2006 saw 13 edits, while 2004 saw as many as 21 edits. This high editing rate helps to ensure that all the clues exist, and helps overcome access issues which may arise when land changes ownership.
Shorter Versions
It is possible to do just some of the British Cycle Quest, without doing the whole thing. This can be done by ordering just a part of the cycle quest, such as one county or one region (England is split into two regions here). There is also a discounted price for ordering 10 answer cards at the same time (see costs)
Costs
As of January 2015, the costs of ordering the cards is:
- 1 Answer card - Available at Answer Card
- 10 Answer cards (Up to 100 answers) £4.50
- 41 Answer cards (For all 402 answers) £13.50
A free wall chart is included with orders for 41 answer cards, or it may be purchased separately for £4.00
Success Rate and time taken
Only ten people have so far successfully completed this challenge . It is reckoned by the Cyclists' forum that six years is a good time to complete the task in for someone who is working a full time job.