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The Impossible Route – Tour De Gravel (We RACED 1 vs 1 Across France)



Mission: Stage 10 of the 1926 Tour de France has been called the hardest stage ever! What was it like? Can JB and VC survive the Circle of death?

In this episode of the Impossible Route, Jeremiah Bishop and The Vegan Cyclist take on the “Tour de Gravel.” The concept is to recreate the experience of the hardest-ever stage in the Tour de France’s golden era. Begging the question: is it possible to recreate the experience, finish in the time cut. Not get lost?

“This is a journey not just through terrain but one thru time”

The hardest days of the Tour de France were most likely in the 1910-1920’s.
Stage 10 of the 1926 Tour was a turning point for the event. With a 40% cutoff rate and nicknamed “The Circle of Death,” the high Pyrenees was feared by early tour de France riders. We want to know why?

OUR GOAL is to experience first-hand why this was called the toughest stage. Can we complete the stage within the same time cut that the Tour de France riders faced? Can we accomplish it with the classic rules? Can we even find parts of the old route no longer in use? Is it even Possible to survive our gravel simulation route across the Pyrenees?

We started on the west coast of France in Bayonne at 3 am. Riding the new Canyon Endurace allowed us to fit 35 c Irc Boken tires for what was to be a mixed route of pavement and abandoned dirt roads to replicate the 30% gravel and dirt that the riders took in 1926.

The crux of the route was the Tourmalet-Pic Du Midi climb. This monster climb some 15 hours into day one ascending 4,400 ft /1341M of ascent on pavement with the finale on a brutally steep rocky road.

Day 2 was even more climbing as our route took us into Spain’s high mountains thru ancient dirt tracks and stone villages of the mountain kingdom of Andorra. The finale into Perpignan included historic villages aqueducts and a final sprint for glory.
——–
STRAVA FILES :
DAY 1 ::: https://www.strava.com/activities/7422867911/overview
DAY 2 ::: https://www.strava.com/activities/7432209360/overview
DAY 3 ::: https://www.strava.com/activities/7437599905/overview

::: IMPOSSIBLE ROUTE SERIES :::
HAWAII : https://youtu.be/oFtJkjXO6ZE
DEATH VALLEY : https://youtu.be/jgl-3INWMgA
VIRGINA : https://youtu.be/rRLkbNMwxsQ
MONTANA : https://youtu.be/JS8EOC_7Dm4
COLORADO : https://youtu.be/0_MEf3DSGIY
TEXAS : https://youtu.be/9CmT370ySrY
FRANCE : https://youtu.be/TsUOUqhDOX4

BIKE ::: Canyon Endurace
(https://www.canyon.com/en-us/road-bikes/endurance-bikes/endurace/cf/)

TIRES ::: IRC Boken
IRC Boken

BAGS :::: ALMSTHRE
https://almsthre.com/veganbag

HYDRATION ::: FLOW FORMUALS
https://flowformulas.com/

TIRE SEALENT ::: ORANGE SEAL
https://orangeseal.com/

CLOTHING ::: ELIEL CYCLING
https://www.elielcycling.com/ – VEGANBRO10

EYEWEAR ::: BLIZ
https://www.bliz.com/us/

MAGIC SAUCE ::: DELTA G KETONES
https://www.deltagketones.com/

LUBE ::: BIKE HARDCORE
https://www.bikehardcore.com/

FITNESS TRACKING ::: WHOOP
https://www.join.Whoop.com/vc

Wheels::: Dt Swiss1600 SPLINE
https://www.dtswiss.com

Handle BarTape ::: Ergon BT All Road
https://www.ergonbike.com

Saddle::: Ergon SR All Road Core Pro Carbon Men
https://www.ergonbike.com

#adventure #cycling #documentary #outdoors #bicycle #mtb #CyclingDocumentary

0:00 Intro
3:02 Ride Start
8:54 Day 1 Morning
15:00 Rest Stop
19:42 Gravel
28:05 BIG CLIMB
30:35 HARD
36:30 CAFE
41:15 MONSTER CLIMB
56:47 DAY 2
1:08:34 RACE 1
1:14:23 RACE 2
1:18:15 RACE 3
1:23:10 DAY 3
1:25:47 LAST EFFORT
1:32:00 END

41 Comments

  1. The Vegan Cyclist

    Thank you, SO VERY MUCH for your support of this project. Jeremiah and our team sunk every bit of themselves into this France project, and all I can hope is that this film captures a glimpse of their hard work. These films are meant to inspire anyone to get out and have their own adventure, so regardless of what you have available to you, adventure is waiting, now go find it!

    If you thought this film was worth a cup of Cafe Americano, donations go a LONG way. : https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/vegancyclist

  2. Jamaly

    Failure is the last word I'd use to describe your ascent of the Tourmalet and Col du midi. That is beyond crazy. You should be immensely proud. Just don't overdo it! The body knows its limits and you need to accept that. This entire documentary is legendary!
    The map of your route goes thorugh the mediterranean sea though 😉 But no worries 😀

  3. Jamaly

    1:27:08 My favorite moment! Great speech, awesome view. The cinematography in general is breathtaking, so many stunning shots! Truly a work of professionals!
    Thank you for taking us with you on this epic journey. Love from 🇨🇭

  6. My Frequencies

    I'm an Englishman living in France for almost 3 years. I'm nowhere near the really big mountains, (which look epic! Maybe one day….) But i just want to say you guys have inspired me to go harder than ever on my rural commute & i just smashed my best time this morning. Hats off to the whole team who work on these vids!

  8. B B

    I really enjoy your content and you seem to be a really chill dude and it´s really not that big of a deal that you can´t speak french or spanish. I´d consider that normal. Im form Germany, living 2 hours from the french border and can`t communicate over there.
    however… it´s so annoiyngly american that you didn´t get the map right… I can not stress this enough. not even once are you in spain when showing the map. matter of fact you´re even rdining through the mediteranian sea at some point 😀

    sorry, but i neede to point this out 😀 apart from that: keep pushing my man! 🙂

  9. Benjamin Fairchild

    Man….I have come to love your channel, you have motivated me to get on my bike and get in shape again. Thank you! You are incredibly motivating! I think this is due to your honesty, that honesty allows you to reflect on yourself, your actions and your being, I love the journey you are on and im in.

  11. Hanensens

    Man I've been totally hypnotized by this video. I do a lot of running but not that much of biking and this makes me wanna do the same route some freaking bad.
    Beautiful beautiful beatiful. Both the scenery and the storytelling. Thank you so much.

  14. Mr408joey

    Great vid and effort! It was inspiring to see you come back and finish. Would you be able to tell us what kind of socks both of you are wearing? I love the colors/styles and I'm trying to expand my black and white colors for my kits. Cheers!

  15. Orville Aldrich

    Atta boy! Truly inspirational – especially as I suffer through my lowly 15 min interval and I tell myself “suck it up – this ain’t anything like these boys are suffering through “. Love the series!

  16. Grumpy Woodchucker

    How does this series not have millions of views. This is so much more entertaining than any movie out there. Thanks for the blood, sweat and tears that go into these. EPIC.

  22. G K

    Well the historic riders had the belgian cup. A bag full of drugs

  23. G K

    Thx for this video! Loved it. Reminded me where i was once with my heart and why used to ride marathons and why i choose to go through this pain. Im a shadow of myself now but i have a goal again

  28. Catnip Lynn

    Sorry, but find another co rider to cycle with because, 30 feet, he should have at least helped you get tovtge top! JB robbed you of going to the top! It was ok for him, he reached the top. As for anyone saying but Tyler had had it, they were all picked up by the car! If Tyler had done that last little bit to the top, the car would have picked them up a bit further up. At least he wouldn't have been disappointed!
    Also I do not think it fair! Tyler being vegan will bonk out quicker! I think you should have had a bag with food as back up though and a jacket, you all knew its up high, and would get cold. At least have 2 handlebar pods to stuff sweets, gels, food, and a squeezable water filter bottle. Not seen so much under preparation.

  29. FULL GAS JAXON

    😁From 1.14 mins the smile on my face for the remainder was as wide as the Pyrenees absolutely phenomenal from both of you 🙏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🚴🏻‍♂️🚴🏻‍♂️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 both of you need to come to Scotland & ride the NC500 or the NE250 just watch the GCN NC500 video on YouTube it is incredible 😎👏🏻👏🏻🙏🏻🚴🏻‍♂️🚴🏻‍♂️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

  30. CycoWarriorx

    I’m 😂😂😂😂 he told that Llama “chill”… I felt that cause that mofo looked like it had bad intentions… 😅😅😅… very inspirational video and experience… appreciate the transparency in the struggle Tyler… 🙌🏽

  31. Tomás Valencia

    This is more than awesome. Thank you guys for inspiring people all over the world to challenge the limits. Big fan from COLOMBIA.

  32. Tomás Valencia

    Can you guys share the GPX file for this, I am thinking about doing this with my friends next year!
    It would be awesome if you guys can share it with us.

  33. Rob Webb

    Amazing videos!! Thank you!! Inspiring and great motivation as I head out to do my own route through France and Spain 1300 miles over 12 days. Keep up the amazing work and I look forwards to watching more great content when I am back 😊

  34. rolopolo66

    This is the best episode of Impossible Route. Tyler rides like and beast and there are plenty of entertaining moments, plus some plenty of highs and lows. Great stuff

  36. Adriaan M

    Wow, I absolutely am loving these videos. Getting me so pumped. Which tires, what width and pressure where you running on this ride?

  40. uhurupeak2001

    it is interesting to get the point of view of foreigners about our country. most of the french prefere alps to p^yrenees and americans and british enjoy to go in pyrennees before alps

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