Chris Hall is tucking into a slice of cake somewhere in the Scottish capital round about now. He’s seven days and 1400 kilometres into his self-supported ride around Britain to raise money for men’s mental health charity, Movember. His hands have swelled up from the combined impact of wet weather and bruised wrists, but he’s determined to push on.
His journey began last Friday, at the Movember headquarters in London, after a pre-ride shave that left him suitably moustached for the challenge ahead.
Hall is in his thirties, with floppy brown hair and tattooed arms. But he is also a cyclist, a videographer, a designer, a fundraiser, an ex-architect – and a man who has struggled, on and off throughout his life, with his mental health.
“Suicide is the biggest global killer of men,” he explained in a piece-to-camera before he set off.
“That’s why we’re doing this. Three out of four suicides in the UK are by men, and one in five men between 16 and 29 are reported to have had moderate to severe depressive symptoms in 2021.
“I am in the age group of a lot of these statistics, so it hits hard for me personally.”
Cycling wasn’t new to Hall when he took it up again as a new architect in London. He’d mountain biked as a child, hooked on the freedom of off-road. But as an adult, cycling became a coping mechanism, and a means to sift through the stresses of the day – and bear the depression that was creeping in as work demands became ever more unsustainable. Soon, it became clear to Hall that something had to change, as he grappled with growing suicidal thoughts. The next day, he quit his job, and sought help from Movember, the charity he now rides for.
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At the heart of Hall’s challenge is a determination to leave room for change, and for softness. He had spent four years planning the route round the island, but found quickly that his knowledge of the roads beyond his home was lacking. He had help, however, from the people who joined him along the way. A precariously selected A-road was replaced with a gravel track that joined the EuroVelo route north, and a few small ferry crossings were added on the recommendations of knowledgeable locals.
Right now, a map outlining the route is currently tracking his whereabouts, a black line wiggling its way around the edge of the island. Zoom in, and his face pinpoints a spot, flickering near Edinburgh today, tomorrow… who knows? Once he’s on the road, he’s head down, charging ahead, stopping only for short refuels. But hot on his tail are other riders, come to share part of his journey with him.
In Kings Lynn, Hall was joined by a local cycling club for the day’s journey up north. Legs spinning, Hall learnt that the club had become more than simply somewhere to exercise, it had become somewhere these men could carve out space for themselves, somewhere to share their worries, fears, joys, and all the passing thoughts in between.
“Generally men are really bad at looking people in the eyes – it’s apparently something guys can really struggle with,” Hall said.
“What’s really good about cycling is that you’re next to each other. And yes, you might look over each other now and then, but it does feel very easy for conversation to flow, and much less confrontational and much more freeing, I think.
“I found when you ride next to each other, conversation drifts in all kinds of ways and directions, and you end up getting to this point where you might start riding with an absolute stranger, and at the end of the day, they’re someone you’ve become firm friends with.”
(Image credit: Andy Carr)
Later, along the jagged coastline between Harwich to Great Yarmouth, he was joined by six riders, one of whom was new to the area.
“He said to me at the end that he hadn’t felt comfortable joining a cycle group, or just turning up at a club that he didn’t know, but that he felt comfortable to come on this, and now he’s met a load of people that he feels he can go ride with.”
Cycling was a way that Hall could work through the thoughts he struggled with, but it was only part of what helped him in his hardest moments. Talking, he maintains, is one of the surest ways to ease the mental heaviness. His journey across the UK isn’t therefore simply a challenge of endurance, it’s one seeking to create space to talk, and to share.
‘This isn’t about breaking any records. This isn’t about doing it as fast as I possibly can…this is about engaging in conversations that might be tricky for people to have while travelling around the country.’
If you want to join Hall on the remainder of his journey round Britain, you can track him via his website – but pedal fast, because once he’s on the road, there is little stopping him.
You can donate to Movember here.
