BIKEPACKING the WHOLE Tour de France Femmes route!!!!
that is no joke this is 41 degrees everyone's melting how do people race at this this is backpacking just ain't the pro life greetings to a very special video i should actually say bonjour from paris because look where i am at the eiffel tower me and my friend nikki have decided to go and basically bike pack the inaugural tour of france femme of exwift say it's the first year that it's been run and it's eight stages it's around a thousand kilometers just in some beautiful parts of france so we are bike packing it and we're riding the transfers as well so i think our route is probably about 1500 kilometers and yeah it's just basically to celebrate and because it's gonna be epic the first stage of the tour basically just laps around paris at 12 laps actually so we're just doing one and then heading on so today we're doing stage one first transfer and stage two let's go this is where the women will end stage one we're just going to go around in a circle and then head the other way do the transfer and then stage two this little stop we are in a drink i'm very excited about this full-on baguette what stage there's been a couple of little oh hills there oh is this the actual segment it's very pretty but it's very hot it is 35 degrees it is hot and we needed water who do we ask for easy first day so we're getting food now because um there aren't any shops open where we're saying we're actually near um we're getting to the end of stage two now which is province stage two is basically um just really really pretty but very kind of flat and just really windy like this really big open it's kind of like a lincoln it's just like big open um fields and stuff some apricots it's a bloody good apricot oh it's just 41 degrees oh he won i wouldn't go melting i must have popped that aren't i oh that's a bit off let me begin 20k let's do it this place is so pretty that's just like the perfect one that's why they've chosen it for the end of stage but it's just stunning the end of stage two finished on this little cheeky hill the fish go for it go go go go go well done on there taking the first stage when she speaks out about real all day and then what did she do at the end the final climb you to be fair you said i'm not racing up this climb because you'll win but i need some climbs i hate the flight you're you smash the flat and i'm just dragging all day so yeah let's go okay well done we're getting a line oh that's it that's it good morning it is about 6 a.m and we're setting off because we want to try and avoid mega heat so today we've got it's mainly like a transfer day so we've got 120k um transfer from province to brims room um and then we've got about 85k into stage three so but look at this place look how beautiful it is these towns are just obviously they've been chosen because they are such beautiful towns but beautiful they probably have to marry out in the town nikki went out last night i stayed in not out out and then at about i remember probably about gone 11. i was like where is she i had eye mask earplugs in my phone wouldn't charge i couldn't ring it and i i got frustrated i was like oh and just here's this what's going on and i'm like you're in here and she's like i've been there about half an hour like what are you like just shape-shifting to the room i never heard anything no traffic it's like perfect temperature but it is still 6am i don't want to moan because the weather is nice but we just said oh it must have been about 40k of just flat i don't like the flat and then just mega windy it's pretty relentless it's so we are just coming through the champagne region of france and there are grapes growing everywhere look at them all wind doing my annoying i was just riding up all through these beautiful stunning vineyards and nikki just had to pull over and put a little bit of little shammy cream this is what you get when you're an endurance rider yeah you end up having to stand up the whole way about a thousand kilometers currently in rim ream reams rim this is where stage three starts so just on the transfer 120k and niko there's a beautiful cathedral here so we're gonna go and find that are you ready for the cathedral to stage three the first two stages are flat and stage three is the first philly so i'm happy we're just out of those long flat windy roads and some hills so we just literally sat in this beautiful vineyard area we've got about 50k to do so just chatting about how nikki got started up in riding and i thought she would be able to explain better so you can get to understand like a little bit more about her how did i get into ultra racing so i actually joined a racing team in my early twenties and did that for about a year and then realized that it really wasn't my cup of tea and discovered the world of ordax in 2015 and then did pvp and then it was around then i heard about the tcr and then i got really that's transcontinental if anyone doesn't know it's just four thousand dollars really hooked on that and fixated on the idea of you know crossing a whole continent just under your own steam self-supported the orchard it's so much more accommodating in terms of the the adventure aspect and just the exploration um but i've also it's also that competitive streak and i'm more competitive against myself than you know a pelican of other cyclists so and it suits me so much better this is where we're sat vineyard how beautiful is this oh just chill out ah scare you like you scared me last night you're skulking around in the dark i'll not wake her up oh it's nice stretch positions come on right we're in the airbnb so i know a lot of you will ask and want to know where we're actually sleeping so it's a mixture of we've got a couple of airbnbs and a couple of hotels so we are in blancotto which is part way through stage three so tomorrow we're gonna be doing the rest of stage three and then the transfer to stage four and look at this she just rightly through the covers and she's like oh i think i'm gonna get some veggies in five a day that's got all your fiber days and you'll need carrots tomatoes that was a good airbnb goodbye nikki good to go oh i'm sleepy look at me and my friend this is midway through stage 3 but for us we've got to see climbing pretty much straight away oh that was definitely waking our legs up this is one reasonably pretty right in the hill so that's really rude although today is our shortest day so yesterday and we just started today we're just running through so many videos obviously i know it's champagne region in france but i've never seen so many fields we've got another little steep climb this one's called cold mutiny is that how you say it um it's been quite a lot of attempts on strava which means it's pretty popular around here so was it like 13 for like a kilometer 900 meters at 12.8 percent which is pretty damn tough a nice few cobbles to uh and stay straight look at this swine again steve won it yeah bloody tanky nose luggage so we're in fna which is the end of stage three and honestly that end i cannot wait to actually watch um the women races because there's some proper little oh little gritty climbs and a couple of cobbles towards the finish i've got some tour de france sponsored bananas apricots my favorite thing orangina i'm actually really getting into it more now as you know if you watch me and my channel you'll know that i don't really like flat riding so the first two days are a bit like i mean they were pretty but it's just not my favorite type of riding so i feel like the hills are going to be what's your favorite on the road snack biscuits bananas yeah high carb stuff here's the cat cow i'm not sure what they grow in here but it smells it smells insane and the colors just look so pretty there's not really much wind it's really nice temperature jerry's have like a moment on the back you're like this is just just bliss that makes me so happy another hot day another drink on the church we are pretty much back for day three so we've done nsh3 and the transfer and this is where stage four is going to start and a little car might be big it's very pretty though as they all are in choice gravel this is where stage four starts the stage is 130 k and there's four sections of gravel coming up so see how we go you know how excited yesterday i was about seeing those sunflower fields there's just so much more today look how many there are oh it makes me so happy first climb of the day and it's it's pretty steep not hit the gravel yet though so i'm being grateful for a smooth climb while i've gone that was the first gravel climb of the day don i was a little bit worried but i actually really enjoyed that do you like that yeah you spent 13 euros i went to the shop like proper order sheep style regina and a baguette two euro what's your first one no about the first one today okay that is my favorite drink ever ever two of the four gravel climbs two down two to go why did you slap it like it's like jobs are good yeah i'm actually really liking the cross sections it's not even fully it's not fully for that but it's just there's a lot of rocky short ones oh man wow final gravel section it's just been like it just mixes up a little bit and i think in the race it's gonna do oh it's gonna be really exciting to watch so so i've just done the fourth and final section of gravel and i've been here for about half an hour i've just descended down really beautiful descent and i'm just waiting for nikki basically something to happen with a tire she's trying to pump it up she's having to put a tube in not heard that crack like ping yet this is reality guys if you want to be an ultra race or a bike packer how did that happen well i thought there was something there and then there wasn't so we're on like the 80k transfer um to start the next stage and it's like 80k 700 me that's gonna be really easy but it's all one direction we've got an absolute stonking edwin and i'm just sat hairdryer it's just like this is horrible yeah on the highest temperature made it watch me scream the size of that boys what did you buy just like a free course meal i'm just ready to get that audition the wild wild west would the first 100k in like just over four hours just over four smashing 25k an hour for four hours nearly non-stop and then we both had mechanical flats issues with tubes and then it's taken it's like half seven now we've finished the first hundred by half ten it's half seven and we've still got 20k to do we've done 212k not even that much climbing but there's 23k don't say that this is our longest day distance wise okay let me feel a bit better oh yeah that was nice that's where we're staying yeah we found the culprit day five we've got 179k it is a flat stage and there's no transfer so we are literally just riding the actual stage which is good uh but the wind yesterday and the heat oh you can tell my lips are like i feel like i've had filler in them or something they're just swollen like sunburned and wind burn so so this is where the stage will start for the women and it's their longest day it is just so hot oh so the ride is done 180k or so it was all right but not as good i don't think as some of the rides are coming up and some of the ones that we've done so i thought i would take the time tonight to show you our evening routine because when you buy it back in doing all this stuff it doesn't just revolve around just riding in a bike you've got to do all the other stuff to make sure that runs smoothly so before the ride even stops we've got to go and get our tea so preferably something that you can microwave or something you can eat cold and now to get all that oh um washing eye today is 130k i think it's 133k um stage then a 30k transfer but as you can see i'm on my lonesome nikki's just gonna go directly to the finish um whereas the stage kind of goes up and around then we've got to get the transfer back down so she's gonna have a little bit of a little bit of a steady day so she's having a little bit of a lion as well i'm just gonna head off on my lonesome now i'm heading to the hills because it is a hilly hilly stage so i'm excited for some hills i love france i'm riding this stage on my own and i kind of wanted to come on and just share a little bit about it because i think in the past or when i first started cycling like 2013 this is like for if anyone any of you are new to my channel when i started writing 2013 2014 i was always like really a bit scared to do stuff on my own because i was always worried that i would either get lost or i'd get a puncture or a mechanical i won't be able to fix it and so i always tended to ride with people and wouldn't really want to go out very far on my own i think that's quite common when people are newer um or new to cycling that they feel safer in a group one of the main things that helped was i bought like a head unit like a bike computer i bought a garmin edge 1000 and being able to plan my own routes and it just made me feel a lot more independent and i i gained a lot of independence from that and then i was going able to go further afield and i started doing old axes and longer distance stuff and then i learned some basic mechanics so that i would be able to to like fix any problems and i feel like that gradually gradually i just feel now like i would be happy to to ride any distance or wherever on my own like so even if nicki hadn't even come at all i didn't want to do it i probably would have i would have still done this the whole like route on my own because i want to do it and it's fun and it's an adventure and i think too many people miss out on doing things because they just feel like they have to have someone to do it with if you want to do something and no one else wants to do it go and do it anyway 120k in and on the final climb of the day and then it's a flat transfer to start of stage seven this is going to be the finish line 30k transfer to the end now so yeah just a nice steady 30k i have loved this hills sunshine a bit of shade got my tunes on oh hello this is insane this is breakfast for the biggest climbing day it's not the rainbow of it i need some food what time is it it's about 4 4 am go to the mountain this is the day that i was most excited about it's just a lot of big climbs three big main climbs yeah it looks very decadent yeah they're standing up now like so what state do we think it's going to be at the top first of the three climbs is petite it's about nine and a half k the very base of it is pretty steep pretty sure it's not close to the gravel time this is brutal top of the first climb in my eyes and i'm just sweat there's just sweat everywhere altitude 1163 and it's just sweaty as did you like it yeah it's tough on it it was steeper than i was expecting yeah tight i was just grinding so much it made it cake catastrophe i think i went over i thought it was sealant that was spraying out and where's it gone second clown of the day cold pots weasel lots of basil hot swazil not far off the top now like maybe a couple of k it is so hot a second climb done oh that was rough on it from the third climb of the day this is granbalon which is about 15k legs are definitely feeling it how are you like right there full of lead oh man this is the aftermath i am actually in pain it was nice steady gradient though it was just long about 33k to do and the transfer is almost i think it's so much brighter than the actual stage so our room is really small did it for two thought you were a train final day and feeling excited feeling almost said that it's over but yeah i just really really enjoy them so we make the most of today so we've got about 155k 3000 meters maybe and some steep we're getting our food in because we've got a big day climbing the last day in the mountains and basically we're coming up to i think there's like there's two real major climbs there's like quite a few of the hills and stuff but the two major ones you just see is chatting to that lovely frenchman who is explaining how steep they are there's balon d'alessay 8.86 k the final beast of the day is la super planche del belfi which is really
famous in the tour of fans it's been in this year's men's sort of fans it's going to be the final stage for the women's tour and it gets it's just steep and long and it gets like that that guy was saying he's like he just goes at the very end on gravel it was like it's all gravely and sandy at the top so i think it's like 20 or 25 really pretty it's just so hot that's what's making it really difficult just the heat look at the view this is my favorite climb so far and this is the tub woohoo i think that is the best climb that we've done it was just really like gentle nice switchbacks 10 out of 10. we're fine finishing it we are so so close i'm really excited we are having a much needed little rest before we go up the last big climb it's just really hot i don't know what to expect everyone i've spoke to said oh it's horrific it's such a hard climb your arms on floor oh it's heaven i think i'm oranginaed out i've had i think i must have had at least three cans a day what i've been here that's 24 cans of orangina at least how nice is that posed have it all condensed into three or four hours a day it's like intense riding whereas ours is just dragged out with heavy bags and this is backpacking just ain't the pro life legs feel good i just feel a bit sleepy hello we got a little this is ridiculous i don't even know how hot it is but i'm sweating someone uh that is no joke there was so much sunlight to push it aren't you this is the end of stage eight this is where the women are going to finish the rate and i think it is gonna be so brutal because of that sand what why why why would they put sand in it and gravel but the sand was just unexpected i don't think it would be absolutely bad because now we've got a 30k transfer to belfort which is where we're getting the train back tomorrow so we're all packed up i'm ready to go let's do a little summary of the last eight days riding so like what was your highlight in low light i guess low light first so low light would have been the transfer after stage four it was 75 kilometers of speaking hot headwind yeah that was that was 100 my low light it was just awful like my lips got sunburned it was swollen the next day it was just not fun and then what was your highlight highlight was this so the mountain stages and especially descending in the mountains so yeah just love going fast my highlight was i really like the gravel because it was a little bit different and yeah i just really liked the gravel and it smashed the gravel as well you were like i'm not gonna like this i did i actually didn't think i would because i was like 25 million i'm like am i going to be all right yeah i really really enjoyed it so then the other thing actually was the stuff that not necessarily was on camera so like when we were back at the airbnb hotels just like just like the fun and like just the jokes and stuff like it's really actually chilling out and not not sleeping in a bush shelter or in a hedge at night that was nice it was nice so uh so i think the main takeaway from this is one go and support uh the tour de france from alex with because it's an amazing route it's gonna be really exciting go and watch it support it and the other thing is i hope it's like encouraged you to go on like your own adventure it doesn't need to be the whole like something like that we've done didn't need to be this long just get out and just enjoy yourself you know you don't have to be professional you don't have to be fast to enjoy yourself so just get out there get out there yeah right well any questions leave them in the comments and see your next video bye what's what's going on my sports bra without having to take my top off ladies and gentlemen this is how you um escape from azkaban she's done it it's a hole-in-one oh no it's not no we're not there we're not strapped on it feels a bit tight we must pull them baguettes
2022-07-26 21:35
