Each Summer, Londoners Nick Pleydell-Bouverie and Rad Hart-George swap their suits for cyclists’ Lycra and head off on the next stage of their RNLI Tour of Britain

The ambitious idea was dreamed up in the pub. Childhood friends Nick and Rad committed to cycling around every coastal RNLI lifeboat station in Britain and raising £25,000 for the charity. Nick (29), who grew up in Hampshire near the sea, says: ‘We’ve known for a long time about what the RNLI does and we have huge admiration for the crews. Putting their whole lives, wherever they might be, on hold whenever they’re needed is enormously admirable. There’s no real reward, no financial gain.'

They split the journey into legs to fit around their hectic London lives. Three Summers, 85 stations and innumerable energy-packed Eccles cakes later, they’re still as enthusiastic as ever.

Nick recalls his highlights so far: ‘Exmoor was incredible, and parts of the Cornish coast are amazing, like the Lizard Peninsula with its crystal clear waters. More of a surprise was the Kent and Sussex coast – I thought we’d want to get our heads down and cycle through but it was really, really stunning.’

Rad (also 29) adds: ‘The trip gives us a great excuse to meet people, too, and have real conversations straight away. Lifeboat volunteers are the nicest guys, so you go somewhere, you meet these people who offer you a cup of tea, and then go out in the evening and hear about what life’s like in that part of the country.’

It’s not all pretty views and curries with the crews, though. Our pedalling pair have faced uphill climbs of 25% gradient, taken on the wettest regions during the wettest Summer on record, inadvertently bumped into local criminals, and got their collection buckets out on crowded beaches. They’ve been lost in forests and chased by bees. And they’ve learned a lot about life, themselves and each other.

Rad says: ‘There was a moment, in St Agnes, when we arrived at the lifeboat station just as a bunch of the local community were meeting for an evening swim. We looked at each other and thought:

“They go out for an evening swim; we meet up in a dingy pub in the city. They’ve got the right idea. This is what life should be about.”’ Read Nick and Rad’s highly entertaining blog, and donate to the cause, at thernlitourofbritain.blogspot.co.uk. Nick’s employer Knight Frank has kindly sponsored the RNLI Tour of Britain. If you’d like to see your company’s logo on Nick and Rad’s shirts for the next leg of the trip, you can get in touch via the blog.