48-Hour Adventure - Cornish Epic Ride

Surf, beaches, crazy steep climbs, incredible people, and insane gravel roads. A Celtic nation nestled in the far reaches of England's Western coastline. Cornwall is ripe for a bikepacking adventure, which is why at 7 a.m. in the morning, I'm going to Iraq. Oh, yes. We're on the train now, and we've planned two days of epic riding. Now, we're taking the train out and back for basically a two-day excavator-driven cracking adventure. Now, Vast have sent us their magnesium gravel bikes, and the colorful kit we're wearing, well, that's from Isidore, and it's made from recycled materials. Adventure is out there. We're hoping to show you that it doesn't have to cost the planet to have a really good time. Come on, mate. We're back into it. We've picked an adventure close to home. We're using public transport to explore a place further afield than we thought possible on our bikes that's achievable in a weekend. The bike is so powerful to do this. You can take it with you, wheel it off the train, and start riding in a totally new place. If we've taken this journey by car, you're looking at least around three times the carbon footprint. By plane, over six times. For us to take on a bikepacking trip like this in the timeframe, the train is a no-brainer. We've arrived. Three-and-a-half-hour train journey, and we're at the south of England, aren't we? Yes. Right at the tip in Cornwall, one of my favorite places in the entire world, and this is going to be fun. I'm looking forward to this. Specifically, Truro. We're in Truro. Right. The start of our challenge, the start of our day, the start of our adventure. It's good to be back with you, mate. It's going to be a pleasure. It's going to be a good one. Let's do it. The route I've chosen is in Cornwall, nestled right down in the southwest of England, around 130 kilometers long. We'll take in the Lizard Peninsula and the very furthest reaches of the UK, Land's End. It's a bucket list ride, following most of the beautiful West Kernow Way, hugging the coast and taking in many of the wild and stunning places that makes Cornwall so special. If you want to follow along in our tire tracks, the route is up on Komoot, so just click the link in the description below to follow along. We're off. Ha-ha. Gandalf and Frodo's adventures. In Cornwall. To Mordor. I've realized, though, I'm carrying a lot more stuff than Hank. Yes, because you're bigger. You've got more kit. Last night, I was like, I've been so good at packing this time. I've barely got anything in my bag. Rock up. Hank's got about half the amount of stuff as me. Yes, I'm half the size. I think it's my shoes alone. Sun's shining. We're in a cracking place to ride a bike. I'm back with my best mate. What could you ask for? Watch out for the rocks, Conor. Ah. No way is Conor getting that on that. Just never getting offered on road. I wasn't quite expecting anything as technical as this. Hank's gone first. I'm not sure that's a good thing or a bad thing. Is it all right, mate? I think that was a yes. Here he goes. Little timid. Little timid on the way down. Foot out like Bambi. Put your foot back in. Mate, you look ridiculous. Ah. Can you see this? Ah. Wow. I'm doing a great job of trying to prove that I've got technical ability, aren't I? Every time I do a GCN video, this happens. I don't know how you got away with 10 years being a pro. I didn't have to go off road when I was a pro. I'm on bloody roads. I made it. Quick lunch break, isn't it? Yes. I'm getting hungry. Come on. I'll treat you to a muffin. Oh. Cash only. Yes. Cash only. Why have I picked this route? Well, I think Cornwall in general is such a unique place in the UK. Down in the far reaches of the southwest, it's almost a country in itself. It's stunning in its own right. You get the Gulf Stream just nipping the tip of it, which gives it a bit of a unique climate too. It creates some really wild, quite rugged riding. There's a lot to explore here. I know for its beaches, not quite the places to ride a bike. I think for me, it's just getting out, having those two days to explore, see what we can discover, and a proper good old-fashioned adventure. We're about to get to the ferry crossing. Our first chapter is nearly done. That little boat there is a ferry. Which one? A bit smaller than I was expecting, but we'll be all right. That's not a ferry, mate. That's a dinghy. A bit choppy. Oh, my gosh. I'm starting to notice myself getting seasick more and more in my old age. I get sick on the swings now, and Jesse's put on all the swings with Jesse in the park. We are on our ferry crossing. Connor actually told me that it was going to be a big ferry, one you could get cars on. Anyway, it turned up at the beach. Let's just say it's a bit of a squash and a squeeze. We've managed to get three bikes on, two dogs, three walkers, and our captain. We're heading over to the other side of the Helford River. That's where we're going to carry on our journey, carry on our adventure. Hopefully- If we don't sink. If we don't sink or fall off, anything can happen. I did have a big lunch, so I'm slightly worried. Oh, there's a seal, Hank. Yes, I surfed with one of them last week. Jump in for a swim with him? I think they're creatures that are very similar to you, really. Yes, very similar. Of course, he's riding up. We've just cut across the Lizard Peninsula. It's got nothing to do with serpents. I think the name originates from Cornish, Lizard. It's where the peninsula got its namesake from. We've cut across, and it is quite treacherous coastline. It's actually nicknamed the graveyard of ships around here. We're about to cross a particularly dangerous beach, Lubar. It separates Cornwall's largest freshwater lake from the sea. I think, as good a time as any, let's talk about the kit we're wearing. Why is it a little bit different? Oh, what a beautiful spot. We've made it to Lubar, one of the most dangerous places to swim in the UK. I was going to talk about its danger, but I meant the water and not the approach onto it. No, I found it quite dangerous. Well, I took the easy option and kept it nice and careful. Anyway, enough talk about how I got onto the beach. Let's hear more about this kit. As colourful as it is, it's also got a story to it. This store was founded by ex-WorldTour pros Martin and Peter Vellitz. Their real aim now is to try and reduce their impact on the environment that their clothing has, and they're creating it, this colourful clothing we're wearing now. What we are, in fact, modelling, if I dare say it, is their alternative collection, made mostly from recycled plastics. It's also actually got fibres built in that prevent microplastics being released back out into the water, so it's beautiful water you see around me. Now, talking about the environment, you wouldn't have guessed it, but a stat I learned was that 10% of the entire global carbon footprint is from the fashion industry. That's more than shipping and international flights combined, which is a huge stat, isn't it? That is crazy, and you just wouldn't think it, would you? You would not think it. Interestingly, fast fashion, that is a real part of that problem, obviously. This store is looking to combat this by the fact that if you do buy their clothes and you crash them and put a hole in them by riding into beaches really fast and being reckless, like Hank, then they'll try and repair it free of charge, so you don't have to buy a new kit. If they can't repair it, they'll offer you a new kit but at 50% of the price. Enough jibber-jabber. I think it's about time we ride along this beach. Do you reckon you can make it the whole way across this beach? I reckon I can give it a go. All right, let's go. I'm not going to try and jump off any ledges. Let's see. I don't bounce as well as you. All right, you got some speed up. We made it. Oh, dear. Keep going, Conor. I don't want to get my wife's socks muddy. We survived. Tell you what, the 650Bs roll well with the chunky tires on. I think I'm a convert. All right. Oh, wet feet. Send it. Oh, that's muddy. Light's starting to fade. Day's coming to a close. It's been brilliant. I've really enjoyed it. It's been a good little adventure to get things going. About 10 kilometers until we get to St. Ives, which is going to be our finish destination for day one. I've got a nice little shepherd's hut in store for Hank. We've made it 75K of Conor's epic adventure and we've arrived at our destination, two hobbit huts. Hank's vetoed the one hobbit hut. He says it's not enough space. It's not. Look at the size of you. He's offered to pay extra and get another hut. It's his decision, not mine. Today was an epic ride, I think. We did a bit of beach. We did a single track. We did a bit of road. It's been up, down, up, down, pretty relentless. Now, we are going to enjoy quite a nice night, isn't it? In front of the fire with a beautiful view. I'm going to be honest. It's harder than I was expecting. I forgot how steep the hills are here, but I'm looking forward to getting warm and, to be honest, I'm looking forward to having my own bed. Tomorrow's going to be a bit harder. More trails, more off-road stuff. We're going to Land's End. Famous Land's End. I'm sure you've heard of it. The tip of the UK. Never been there in my life, so it should be good. Good morning. Now, while Conor wakes up from his slumber and I've got myself a coffee, I thought I'd grab his bike and walk you through it. Now, this is Vaas' all-road bike. This is the A1 Rival 650B. Now, it's called 650B because we're riding the 650B wheels. Now, this is what they say the most durable package. This is what you can kind of take on any road or any single track you like. Now, you can even go more off-road or more rugged if you want than the setup we've gone for. You could potentially add 50-millimeter tires to this bad boy and you could offer a dropper post because it's got space for internal root cabling as well as that. Now, Vaas made this frameset out of magnesium. Now, interestingly, the weight of this frameset is only rivaled by a material like carbon fiber, which really said something about the power of magnesium. Now, Conor's paired it with a Topeak saddlebag. He's also got a roll on the front, a Topeak one. He's got some of his tools there, which I kind of need. He's got SRAM Rival groupset on there, running one by when I'm running two by up front. Now, the adventure Conor and I are taking on has an environmentally friendly theme to it. Magnesium is said to be one of the most eco-friendly metals in the world. Vaas bikes are 100% recyclable and sustainably made. Now, Vaas say their bikes can be fully recycled and dissolve naturally leaving no trace and they have the lowest carbon footprint of any structural metal. Plus, if you buy one and it gets delivered to you, the packaging will be 100% fiber-based and plastic-free. Now, you know exactly what we're riding. It's about time I get Conor up and we get riding. Right, where is that little love bird? Conor? Off-rotation's about to start on day two. I've perked up, I've had a banana and a Snickers. We are off that way. Going over the downs, so it's going to get pretty remote, I think. It is. You look gorgeous in purple. Right, let's go. That's not what I needed with a headache this morning. Come on, buddy. Oh, a bit of a climb. What are you doing? My legs are burning. Why are you walking? Because I can't bloody ride. Why? Because I'm a weak giant. Ow. Conor, ride. You all right? We did that. What was that? That was a bog. That was the slow slog in the bog. It used to be a trail, now it's a bog. A slow slog bog. We came off how many times? A lot. More than five. Nearly double figures. Okay, so let's talk about our average speed. What are we sitting at? It must be around 15, 16. We're sitting at about 6.7 kilometers an hour average. Sorry? So far today. It's one o'clock. I've done 13K. Are we going to make the train? We were joking about it, but now I'm genuinely not sure. We've got a good bit of riding to go, and these trails are tough around here. Right, let's go and kill some of this more single track. Come on then. You follow me. Is that a good plan? No. Right, last bit. Onto the road. We're done now. The last sprint to Land's End. My bones need a rest. We made it. Oh, what an epic adventure. John O'Groats to Land's End. 850 miles. Stop saying that. Everyone's looking and thinking and believing us. We haven't done that. We've been mooching around Cornwall, bikepacking. Okay, we haven't done John O'Groats to Land's End, but we have got to Land's End. Does it feel weird being back? Yes. It's actually bringing back horrific memories, so let's move on swiftly and quickly, please. We're going to grab a Cornish pasty and then head it to Penzance, where hopefully we're going to make the train and we can be back for the start of the week, Monday morning. Yes, because we said we'd be doing an adventure on a weekend, so if we miss this train, we could be getting in trouble tomorrow. Let's hit it. Land's End ticked off, bro. That's a hard high-five. Here we are. I'm scared. We're back at Penzance station, meaning our journey is complete. Our adventure is done. It's done. The ride is over. I'm a little bit sad. I am a little bit sad, too. We've packed a lot in in two days. It shows you what you can do. We have. I hope you guys have enjoyed it as much as we have. Let us know in the comment section below what you thought. Let us know in the comment section below if you'd like to see us go on another adventure somewhere around you, maybe. Yes, where can you go in two days, close to home, head out from your door on your bike, and then roll in the door at the end of it all? That's the best bit about it. It is, as well. Big thank you again to Isadore and Vaas for making this possible. We'll see you guys in the next video. How long is our train journey? We've got about a five-hour train journey home. We're going to get in about 11 o'clock. Hold on. What? Then we've got to ride up the hill out of Bath because we're riding home. Five hours? The riding's finished, but it's not quite finished. Conor, you... Good job I've got another pasty in my bag. That's what I was saying to give me time to eat my pasty. I'm sorting out the plans next week. Come on, Hank. We'll miss it. Then we'll be very late.