Time To Change Gear: Chris & Nicky Clark

A tandem journey into midlife, marriage, and what comes next.

When their children grow up and move on, Chris and Nicky Clark are left with a question that feels both simple and unsettling: our children have become independent of us, how do we become independent of our children?

Their answer is not found in a conversation, but on the road. Setting off from their front door in Somerset, they climb onto a flame-orange tandem bicycle named Edith and begin a 1,300-mile journey through England, France, and Spain. What follows is not just a cycling trip, but a gradual reworking of a long marriage.

As the miles pass, they navigate more than hills, headwinds, wrong turns and broken spokes. Between the inevitable mishaps and laughter, they encounter spectacular views, enjoy the kindness of strangers and find the "safe adventures" they are looking for. With generous helpings of coffee, cake, beer and red wine along the way, they discover what life together might look like when family life grows quieter.

Told with gentle humour and grounded honesty, and occasionally interrupted by Edith's own observations, this is a story about learning to travel together again-literally and emotionally-after decades of shared life.

For anyone wondering what lies beyond the busy years of parenting and work, Time to Change Gear offers a companionable reminder: you don't need to start over to begin again-you just need to keep pedalling.