When a trip to Italy in 2019 ignited his love of cycling, Tom Williamson began dreaming about bikepacking the world. By 2020, he was fit, trained and finally ready to begin. But before his first real adventure had even found its rhythm, he found himself at the side of the road, stopped in his tracks. “It wasn’t even a crash,” says Williamson. “I’d pulled over because my heart rate kept climbing higher and higher. Then I just passed out and toppled over. I woke up on the tarmac, confused, with a cut face.”
Williamson was riding with a friend from Land’s End to John o’ Groats (LEJOG), after Covid travel restrictions had scuppered their plans to go touring in France. Day one had gone smoothly, exactly as he’d hoped, but by the following afternoon, his heart rate was behaving strangely, spiking without warning. He assumed it was down to too much sugar and coffee, on top of the longer-than-usual hours in the saddle. On day three, it happened again – his heart rate surged, and this time he collapsed.
