As the month of September creeps by, I'm suddenly hit by the realisation that I'm already a year into my PhD! I'm now a second year student, a position which feels both exciting and terribly intimidating. The last year has been spent preparing for my research project. I've done reading on a wide range of topics, from visual communication to futuring to food system sustainability. I've chatted with researchers from across the country, presented at conferences, and settled into daily life within the Geography PhD office.
My research broadly explores visions for the future of farming and food production. What images are used to visualise the future? How do these images limit (or open) our imaginations of what the future may hold? And who has the power to create these images of the future?
In mid-February, I had a wild idea for my PhD. I knew I wanted my research to involve people in farming communities, but – recognising the diversity of farming types across the UK – I knew I couldn't focus on just one region for my data collection. How could I speak to farmers across the whole country?
That's where the cycling comes in.
To reach rural communities across the country, I'm planning on cycling across England for three months next year. Along the way, I'll stop to interview women in farming communities, to learn about their visions for the future of farming.
I started telling a handful of people, hesitant at first, convinced the idea was completely ridiculous. I spent the next few months just waiting for someone to tell me "no."
But nobody has.
And so, here we are.
As spring melted into summer, I continued developing my idea with the help of my supervisors and other researchers, at the University of Exeter and beyond. Even if I don't manage to pull off this trip next year, I'm amazed at the incredible people I've had a chance to speak to in the process of planning my fieldwork (including world record-holding ultra-distance athletes, academics at universities across the UK, and leaders in farming organisations). I'm so grateful to everyone who has given me their time and shared their expertise to help me plan this adventure. I'd especially like to thank my supervisors for supporting me in undertaking such a creative (and wacky) method for my PhD, and my friends and family for their unwavering encouragement.
Before this year, I'd only been bikepacking for one night, on the Dutch island of Texel. In the month of May, Brett and I did three separate bikepacking trips! I grew up in the Netherlands, so the last few months have been a whirlwind of learning how to cycle on hills and winding country lanes. Last month, I went for my first solo bikepacking trip on the beautiful south coast of Devon. I'm proud of what I've achieved so far, but I know there is still a lot more I need to learn before I can be confident setting off on a three-month trip for my PhD fieldwork.
I've never attempted an adventure of this magnitude, so if you have any advice or suggestions for someone completing a journey like this, please get in touch. If you want to join for some of my cycle, that would also be fun! I'll be posting updates here on the blog as I prepare for my ride, and later as I complete my fieldwork. Make sure you're subscribed to stay updated with my progress.
I know that this cycle tour is not going to be easy. It will, most likely, be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But isn’t that what they say about doing a PhD, too? Nobody starts a PhD thinking it’s going to be easy…so why not throw a 1,300 mile cycle ride into the mix!?
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