Lewis Brindley created Adventurefuel because of his passion to be outdoors and explore nature and the unknown.

LEWIS BRINDLEY describes himself as an ordinary man with no amazing talents for sport or adventure. However, he’s a man committed to showing others that even if you don’t have the expertise and money to climb Everest, there are countless adventures you can find to enrich your life.

In this exclusive interview he talks to us about why he set up the website and organisation ‘Adventurefuel’ and his intention to get others like himself outdoors and exploring the world. Read on to find out about some of his most recent adventures and the challenges he has planned for the future. 

You can find out more about Lewis and Adventurefuel at www.adventurefuel.org. 

Before you came up with Adventurefuel how adventurous and sporty had you been in your life?

I wasn’t the most sporty person growing up I rode skateboard and BMX but nothing competitively or even particularly strenuous. I always rode bikes though to commute and generally as my primary mode of transport. I was introduced to downhill mountain biking a few years ago and fell in love with it. I then spent the next few years chasing summer between New Zealand, Canada and France. Although I ride a lot I wouldn’t consider myself very good. ‘All heart no talent’ has be used to describe my biking skills. Only within the last 2 years have started to do more endurance style riding and bikepacking has got my attention now.

Tell us about what inspired you to start Adventurefuel and who is the website aimed at?

I started www.adventurefuel.org in answer to the growing gap between the average outdoor enthusiast and the professional adventure athlete. Not many of us average Joes who have real jobs and rent to pay are able to climb Everest. I wanted to show what a normal person can achieve. I’m no genetically gifted, if anything I am tall and lanky. I don’t have a trust fund from my parents. I work just like everyone else and fit in the time to train in between. With www.adventurefuel.org I want to show people that getting outside and having adventures if accessible to all of us and is an opportunity we should all embrace. I want to inspire my audience to go out and enjoy the outdoors and live the adventure they dream of.

Despite claiming to have no real sporting prowess, Lewis Brindley has achieved a lot in the world of adventure. Above   is his brother who sadly committed suicide.

What have been some of the recent adventures you’ve been on and what do you have planned for the future?

I have just finished a 3,000km bikepacking trip across New Zealand. Self supported and mostly off road it was my longest trip and my first solo expedition. The year before I had an unsuccessful attempt to cycle coast to coast across Canada but had to drop out after dislocating my knee in the first week it was a tough year of injuries and physio.

I am back in the UK now and doing a few smaller trips, weekend bikepacking trips and some packrafting trips. I am planning some longer rides around Scotland and wales throughout the summer. The next big trip will be back in New Zealand though and will involve a stand up paddleboard and some of the biggest lakes in New Zealand. Keep your ears open for more details of that next year.

Lewis has recently been raising money for the Mental Health Foundation through his challenges.

Tell us about how you raise money and the charities you donate to? How can people get behind you and sponsor what you do?

My charity work has been a recent addition, after losing my brother to suicide last year I have been raising money for Mental Health Foundation. All of my future expeditions will be to raise awareness and funds for suicide prevention throughout the world. I have been staggered by the amount of support I have received so far. We raised over $4500 NZD  on my ride across New Zealand and I would love to hit that target again next year. The donations came mostly through links in my blog and Facebook page.

I also organised a bike race for charity before I left on my ride that was quite successful and I would love to do something like that again in the future. As well as financially I received a lot of support from my sponsors Kathmandu and Bikeaholic. Kathmandu reached out to me after hearing about the ride and offered to provide all of my clothing for the ride as well as tent and sleeping equipment. Having a big company look out for you like that was a great help. Bikeaholic, my local bike shop, helped me out along the way too. From service to spare parts these companies helped with the logistics of such a rugged challenge.

One of Lewis’ recent challenges was a bike ride across New Zealand.

How important is it to you to connect with like-minded people across the internet and what can our readers expect from your blogs?

My philosophy is that people as a whole will feel much better in themselves and toward each other from being out in nature. ‘we belong outside’ is going to be the new driving motto of Adventurefuel. Building a group of individuals who collectively want to be outside and promote the adventurous lifestyle is my main goal. Having a network of people you can rely on to join you under the stars or out rafting or out biking makes for a better life. The more we are outside the happier we will be. The more people I can reach and include the better.

Adventurefuel is working on a few different platforms to promote the ‘we belong outside’ message. I use Instagram (lewis.adventurefuel) and my Facebook group (adventurefuel) almost daily to inspire people quickly with pictures of me (or usually my bike or a friend because I’m the one taking the photo) out on an adventure or just out in nature. This is just to give a little glimpse of nature from your news feed. My blog www.adventurefuel.org is much more detailed. Fortnightly blogs of recent trip diaries as well as routes guides, training tips and lessons learnt on the trail. This is to show people what goes into living adventurously  and how accessible it is for the common person.

Lewis is passionate about connecting with likeminded people online and does this through Instagram, his blog and Facebook.

What advice would you offer to anyone who has suffered a similar loss to the you and how important can sport and getting active be in overcoming a bereavement?

With my most recent expedition, the ride across New Zealand, I specifically chose to ride it solo. I didn’t take an MP3 player of any sort,and for one reason, I wanted to be alone with my thoughts, without distraction. Having suffered from a very sudden and shocking bereavement I couldn’t fully comprehend the situation. I went to counselling with no success.

But being out on the bike helped me come to terms with my loss. On the ride up the hill I thought about what had happened and on the ride down I had to concentrate fully on the trail ahead. This seesaw of focus helped me personally to come to terms with what had happened. Being outside and specifically on my bike has always been my happy place and being out in nature too just amplifies the feeling of calm and peace. This was exactly what I needed to quiet the loud confusion in my mind. This is very specific to me personally and I think I would tell anyone who is in that situation that everyone is different,and grief affects us all differently, and in unusual ways. Being amongst friends is great for sharing your worries and concerns but I found having the time and space to mull things over whilst being surrounded by beauty really put things into perspective for me.