17 Countries, 13,500 Miles: One Woman's Wild Ride for SolarAid

Once upon a time, three cyclists set out off on a 13,500 mile journey around the planet, across oceans, wastelands, and wilds, to raise awareness for the U.K.'s first solar energy charity, SolarAid.

Being less intrepidly inclined, we couldn't make the trip ourselves; but we did catch up with one of the cyclists in London, Susie Wheeldon, to find out what half the world looks like on two wheels.

Our time and resources were tight, but Susie, having the sort of knee-jerk initiative necessary to pedal around the planet, suggested that we re-create her worldwide bike tour closer to home, among the more accessible streets of London. 

Granted, we didn't get to see as much of the world during our single day in the saddle, but our scaled-down spin gave us a good sense of what it's like to set off with Susie on a big, important trip.