The Stolen Goat ‘Herd’ are at the heart of everything we do. Getting to make epic cycling and running kit that helps people to Find their Freedom and Adventure More is great. But the community that’s come along with it, makes it even better. And our SG brand ambassadors play a huge part in helping us to spread the good goaty word, and inspire all of us to get out there and do more of what we love. Last month we introduced you to Stu aka GBScotland. And now we’re excited for you to meet another of our brilliant ambassadors, Kev Merrey. Cyclist, professional videographer and photographer at Skyrise Productions and part of the team at Kojo Collective (who put on some seriously bucketlist-worthy cycling tours in unreal locations), Kev rediscovered his love of riding in his late 20s and soon found himself getting the bug for long distance cycling and adventure riding.
Enough from us, over to Kev so you can learn more about how he got into cycling and his cycling adventures both home and away.
Stolen Goat brand ambassador Intro #2: Meet Kev
Photos credits: L: Kev Merrey / Skyrise Productions; Centre and Right: Iane Finch
Name: Kev Merrey
Location: Horndon on the Hill, South East Essex
Terrain of choice: Road for fast summer rides, gravel for exploring the trails
Coffee stop order: A pain au chocolat and a flat white (or a chicken and chorizo panini if we’re going savoury!)
Follow my adventures at: @skyrise_productions_ / @kmerrey_
How did you get into cycling?
I used to cycle a lot as a child and teenager. When I was a kid, my friends and I all used to have BMXs and MTBs. So I spent a lot of time tearing around the village where I grew up, making jumps and courses etc. I rode bikes more than anything else when I was younger. I then got to my late teens and for some reason just stopped cycling. There was then a large gap of about 10 years where I got into trail running, and that took over from cycling.
Then I just picked it back up again in my late 20s. I bought a mountain bike and started riding my local trails. And before I knew it, I was riding further and further, and I started doing long distance cycling. My first was cycling the length of the Thames (180 miles) in 48 hours. This gave me a bug for adventure cycling!
Since then I have found a love for riding all over the UK and Europe, from long distance road rides, such as cycling from my house in Essex, to my sisters house in Gloucestershire in one day (165 miles in 13 hours). To gravel riding and bike packing in places like Yorkshire, Scotland, North Wales.
What type of riding do you do?
I mainly ride gravel and road. I gave my old mountain bike that I rode the Thames on 15 years ago to a friend in need of a cheap bike. But now I am starting to do more bike packing races I am planning to get an XC bike. My favourite type of riding is either riding a fast road bike in the summer months, when it is dry, warm and perfect conditions. Or I love exploring trails on a gravel bike.
What do you love about cycling – what keeps you motivated to keep exploring on two wheels?
I think the word ‘exploring’ is key for me here! I love riding in places I have never been before. Especially in remote and stunning places. Riding a bike is such a great way to really experience new places, all by ‘human power’ alone. The world feels so different from the bike than it does from any other mode of transport.
We’re on a cafe ride, what are you ordering!?
A flat white, a pain au chocolat and if they have it, a chicken and chorizo panini!
Photo: Gavin Kaps (Osprey Imagery)
Let’s talk adventures: tell us about your favourite bike ride to date
I still actually think my favourite ride to date was when I rode to my sister’s place in Gloucestershire from Essex in a day. Even though I have done some amazing rides in mega places since then, that ride was very special. It was right at the start of all of my adventure cycling years, and looking back now it seemed such a pure, simple ride. I literally used Komoot to find a route to my sister’s house. Most of it was on cycle paths, byways or quite back roads. I didn’t really study the route much, I just got on my bike that next day, with a bike bag with some spare clothes for when I got there, and just headed West.
There is just something very cool about doing a point to point ride, instead of looping back to the start point. The road and landscape just keeps coming at you and every mile is a new place. The route took me through London, then out towards Reading and Oxford, through some lush countryside. Eventually I headed through the heart of the Cotswolds, which was the tough part as it is very hilly and I was already 10 hours into the ride. I eventually arrived at my sister’s place at 1am the next day, where I was greeted by a roast dinner that she left in the microwave for me (they were in bed by then!) and a pint of beer.
I also had an amazing day cycling in Vietnam last year as part of a cycling tour company I run with some friends (Kojo Collective). We hosted a week of road cycling in Northern Vietnam, and on one day I decided to go out early ahead of the group to ride on my own for the first few hours of the day, then wait for the group in the next village. I spent 2 or 3 hours cycling through the most insanely stunning mountain roads. Hardly any cars, just me, my bike and some of the best cycling road in the world. It was very good!
What would your ultimate bucket list cycling adventure be?
There are many places I would love to cycle. One of which would be Peru, in the high Andes. I was part of a media crew on a cycling race in the Peruvian Andes back in 2019, where I followed and filmed from a car. The scenery is utterly stunning, the people are amazing and there is just something incredible about Peru. So I would love to go back there and ride a bike. Maybe a two week bike packing trip, following the Inca Trail.
What’s your proudest cycling achievement?
Teaching my son to ride a bike. I taught him when he was about 5, and since then we have been on lots of lovely bike rides together.
What adventures have you got planned in 2026?
I kicked things off with the Dales Divide 600km bike packing race. The weather was absolutely atrocious, I ticked off 12 hours on the first day and bivvied that night but as I was dealing with some sickness and Storm Dave was only due to get worse, I had to call it a day the next morning. I was gutted, but I’ll be back next year! Next up is London to Paris the first week of May. I am also cycling in the French Pyrenees in July. I cycled out there on 3 different trips last year. It is very challenging, as most of the routes go up through big mountain passes, but the scenery is next level, and the cafe stops are too!
If you could share one top tip with a new cyclist, what would it be?
I think a top tip, is don’t worry what bike you have: it is more about using the bike to explore and have fun. And when you start doing longer rides, remember to eat regularly. I used to not do this a lot and learned the hard way by bonking a lot. Heavy legs, low energy and finding it hard to finish a ride. I soon learned that food is fuel for your muscles and your mind!
A big thank you to Kev for sharing his insights. We love the reminder to just enjoy the pure and simple act of exploring on two wheels. Our key takeaway? It’s not about what bike you ride, it’s about where it takes you. Well, that – plus, we’re going to have to spend some time googling ‘bike trips to Vietnam’ later because how EPIC does Kev’s trip with Kojo Collective in Northern Vietnam sound!?
Stay tuned for more ambassador intros and tails from The Herd, and in the meantime check out our pick of the bucket list cycling events to add to your to-do list and our top tips on planning a cycling holiday if you want some more inspiration.
Got a story to share? Don’t forget you can send us your snaps and share your adventures – we love hearing from you!