12th February | Distance – 54km | Total distance – 201km

Again the forecast was for good weather. Gale-force winds are a regular occurrence around Schirmacher Oasis/Novo so we were lucky to have the forces of nature on our side. 

As I was planning to do a longer day today to reach the finish, I decided to break my day into 12km stints to mentally cover the distance. The first 24km was a continuation of the previous day – soft, heavy-going but slightly better because of the weather. As I gradually descended, the surface became a little firmer, and my progress faster, though hitting the bumps harder.

Nearer to Novo Runway, the landscape flattened out and I started hitting large patches of ice. These ice fields have an irregularly dimpled surface, often sculptured into waves and points. I was again very nervous but tried to relax my shoulders as much as possible so not to over-react if a wheel slipped. I didn’t measure exactly how much ice I had to traverse but estimate it was probably around 7-8km. It felt like an eternity!

I fought to keep full concentration, gently pedalling from snow patch to snow patch (which is easier to grip). Novo Runway is maintained by the Russian base Novolazarevskaya, also situated on Schirmacher Oasis. We were not permitted to cross the runway and so my nervous adventure across the ice was extended to going around the airstrip. 

From there we picked up an ice road that descended almost 500m to Schirmacher Oasis. I again had to hold my nerve on the first part of the descent as the track was almost pure ice apart from tiny strips of snow, which I clung to. I could only brake gently on the snowy patches to control the speed. After that, White Desert had made a beautifully groomed piste down a spectacular descent, leading all the way to Whichaway Camp and the finish. The final 250m was treacherous and I slipped one more time on the ice before walking the bike into camp.

The group of White Desert employees and three Indian Antarctic expeditioners who ventured across from Maitri, the Indian base also on the Oasis, were waiting, and greeted me with applause and hand shakes – and champagne! I was made feel really welcome and we celebrated together. 

This may have only been a short expedition, but still a really great adventure. I had to push my boundaries and dig extremely deep as the conditions and terrain presented all sorts of challenges. It may have been extremely physical, but more so, it was the power of the mind that carried me to the finish. 

Around Whichaway Camp were some incredible sights.

Whichaway Camp was about to close the next day and the team was packed up and ready to leave. 

The camp is a collection of dome shaped fibreglass pods; weatherproof on the outside and fitted out in luxury on the inside. Like with all three White Desert camps, there is a leave nothing behind policy. Everything can be dismantled and removed so the environment is left in its natural state. All human waste (toilet systems, grey water, etc is removed).

It is an impressive operation and my mind boggles at the sheer lengths they go to to uphold its sustainable practices. The concept and the logistics that make White Desert operational come from the vision of true explorers – dreaming big and making it happen.

I had most of the next day at Whichaway to explore a little and relax before travelling with the last group of employees back to Wolf’s Fang courtesy of a brilliant flight in a Basler, bike, equipment, left over supplies and people all fitting neatly into the ski plane. 

Back at Wolf’s Fang, the WD team worked tirelessly to pack everything up for the winter.

A big thank you to White Desert, particularly Luke and my very accomplished support team, Oleg and Sergei. I was in very experienced hands.

Of course, another big thank you to my sponsors whose logos are visible in the Blog emails.

BREAKING THE CYCLE

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11th February | Distance – 40km | Total distance – 147km

Finally a beautiful day – sunny, clear and cold. It was still -17C when I set off and no doubt with the wind chill, it would have been much lower. The first 20km was the roughest part of the journey as the route traversed a sastrugi field, crossing perpendicular to the line of the ice carvings. I have cycled along some heavily corrugated roads in my time, which is no fun, and I could usually find some kind of rhythm. But here I hit the obstacles at a totally irregular rate and the amplitudes of the furrows and bumps were random. Over the first section of the day, the vehicle covered 10km while I had done 10.8km. The extra distance is because I had to constantly avoid the roughest patches of the ice sculptures. 

Sastrugi is formed here by the katabatic winds that constantly blow from the same direction, in this case, the South Pole. These winds essentially “fall” off the continent, from high to low altitudes. From Day 4, this wind was generally blowing across my right shoulder – good to finally have some assistance!

I filmed Stage 1 of the day on the sastrugi for the cycling app FulGaz, though I’m not sure, with such great image stabilisation on GoPros these days, whether FulGaz members will get the full feel of the rugged terrain I was traversing.

As the sastrugi diminished, the flatter plain became softer and I constantly found myself pushing through deep, soft snow. I aimed here to keep my gear lower than I normally would so that when I hit a soft patch, I could keep momentum to more easily power out of it. Again, it was energy sapping and my legs were pretty heavy by the end of the day.

As with each day, I seemed to finish cycling at around 7pm, and this time, I also had reached my minimum distance of 40km. This gave me a good chance of reaching Whichaway Camp by the end of the next day. Novo Runway was just 46km away.

I am using a lot of specialist clothing and equipment. This is not a complete list, rather some of the most effective pieces of kit for an Antarctic cycle journey.

Revelate Designs (Alaskan) handlebar mitts (pogies) are very important to protect my hands, otherwise exposed all day. They were so effective, that in -20C (and lower when considering the wind chill), my hands were generally warm wearing just a pair of Outdoor Research Flurry wool liner mitts.

Mont’s Hydronaute outer shell suit; the jacket is custom made to fit the cycling position. Together with the salopettes, the design enables free movement and the strategically placed zips enable ventilation. Mont’s Icicle down jacket keeps the cold out

Julbo Airwave goggles – the lens can click out, off the frame to enable airflow and keep the goggles from fogging up.

45NRTH Wolfgar cycling boots – the heaviest duty cycling boots, rated for -30C

Intuition Liners replaced the wool boot liners (that quickly become damp and caused my feet to quickly become cold). These moulded foam liners keep the cold out, and for the first time, I did not suffer from cold feet.

Wilderness Wear’s Merino Fusion base layers are 50% merino wool and 50% polypropylene. The base layer garments serve to wick away moisture thanks to the polypropylene and conserve warmth due to the wool. The wool socks are good for warmth though the socks become damp inside the foam liner.

Suunto 9 Peak Pro – did not miss a beat and I have all of the vital performance information saved on the app from each day’s work.

Garmin inReach (mini) – the device I used for the interactive map (by Zero Six Zero). Connected to the Iridium satellite network, I could easily send small updates on my location and progress.

BREAKING THE CYCLE

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9th February | Distance – 32km |Total distance – 67km

The uphill, into the wind battle resumed on some pretty soft snow. I decided to divide my day into 10km segments, then take a break, refuel, warm up and go again. It turned out to be a good mental approach. 

The contrast was not great in the morning, though I could see enough, but it got worse from there. Cycling with no point of reference and in increasingly soft snow, it was very difficult to get started and then stay on the bike. It was quite disorientating, almost cycling blind. Very difficult mentally and I struggled to drive away negative thoughts. I really wasn’t enjoying this and started to question my motives.

We reached a high plain where the snow became very soft. Even the Arctic Truck became bogged! I ended up pushing for at least 7km. The only way to approach this is just keep moving forward, knowing that the conditions had to improve at some stage. 

Oleg arranged for one of the Basler pilots to drop my sleeping bag off. It was quite surreal to watch the plane circle us while we waited and then swoop low to drop the bag for us to collect! I walked another 2km just so I wouldn’t have to do it tomorrow and called it quits for the day after just 32km. 

The Day 2 campsite was spectacular with a chain of mountains ahead and a few more to the east. As the sun lowered in the sky, we were treated to a brilliant sun dog (looks like a rainbow, the reflection makes a giant halo around the Sun).

Day 3

10th February | Distance – 40km | Total distance – 107km

A clear morning with good visibility made all the difference. On essentially the same terrain that I had to walk the previous evening, I could now cycle steadily, slowly – at least keep the wheels turning at around 6km/hr. I headed south towards the mountains and then east, running parallel to them while gradually ascending. 

I think the key to cycling in these very soft conditions is to maintain a very low gear and pedal as evenly as possible with a faster cadence. Trying to drive a big gear with more power will waste a lot of energy because the wheels will slip more, forcing me to plough deeper through the loose, soft snow. It is all about pacing to be able to do this all day. I try to relax my shoulders as much as possible, but the upper body and core are always working much harder and in a sustained way compared to any other form of cycling I know.

Correct tyre flotation and pressure are fundamental. I am using 4.8″ (12cm) wide tyres – the maximum width commercially produced. The VEE Tire Co also makes a 5.05″ tyre but it has so far proven difficult to produce these with uniform qualities because the soft compound sometimes stretches and loses shape when the volume is so great. I love the soft white PSC compound because it functions very well at low pressures with very good grip and the white compound actually helps to shed snow. Black tyres create more heat from friction and snow tends to stick to the tread, adding weight and reducing traction. My mechanical tyre pressure gauge wasn’t working on this expedition, but in the softest conditions, I will drop the tyre pressure to about 4.5 – 5.5 psi.

After 11km I reached Mount Rikkie, the high point (1680m) and a turning point on the expedition. From there I freewheeled for a couple of hundred metres and then entered high rolling plains covered with sastrugi. To make matters more challenging, the contrast diminished and I struggled to differentiate the shapes and depth of the wind carved ice and snow. At one stage I fell heavily, fully testing the collarbone I broke 18 months ago. The metal plate held firm.

With the crosswind strengthening and the contrast low, the next obstacle was another ice field, this time on a slope. I was terrified of falling again and felt extremely tense. I fought to hold my nerve with the crosswind threatening to push me sideways down the slope. There were shallow furrows filled with snow that were better for grip but if I did anything except keep my wheels precisely perpendicular, I would slip. The vehicle was well ahead and I was without crampons if I fell.  Somehow I made it through without another crash, but now I was almost cycling blind over sastrugi. I persisted up the hill but in the end, exhausted and deeming it too dangerous, I pushed the last 1.5km to the end of the day.

On these surfaces and in these conditions, cycling is a full body workout. My upper body and core need to be stronger for a longer journey (eg – across Antarctica). That is easily fixed as it is something I had not been concentrating on over the last 18 months.

Some of my electronics did not cope with the conditions, despite disclosing minimum operating temperatures on -20C. The battery for my Mac computer, needed to transfer footage to a hard drive, refused to work, the rugged LaCie hard drive was struggling anyway and my cycle computer couldn’t last half a day. My Insta360 X3 worked perfectly, exposed to the elements all day long and my DJI Pocket 2 worked fine, although it was not exposed for that long each day. My GoPro battery life was very short in the cold, but attached to a power bank that was protected in my handlebar mitts, it lasted as long as I needed it.

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8th February | Day 1 | Distance – 35km

Much was done behind the scenes to reassure the authorities that we were prepared and we had a responsible approach to safety and protecting the environment. When Luke (Operations Manager) checked emails the next morning, the response was positive – the expedition was on.

The support team consisted of two very experienced Russians, Oleg (Runway manager) and Sergei (a senior engineer). As White Desert is busy closing its camps for the winter, it conveniently happened that the Arctic Truck support vehicle needed to be delivered to Whichaway to be parked there for the season. Supporting a bespoke expedition like mine isn’t White Desert’s core business, but some lateral thinking from Luke and the WD team lead to the expedition becoming a reality, fitting in with minimal disruption to resources and the closing down schedule.

In a direct line, it is only 132km from Wolf’s Fang Camp to Whichaway Camp, but the landscape is heavily crevassed. Oleg was involved in creating the 200km route to avoid the danger zones. It firstly ascends towards the southeast, up to 1680m before gradually descending to Novo Runway (Russian blue ice runway) at about 500m and then there’s a steep descent to Schirmacher Oasis.

Once we had packed, and repacked everything, I was excited to start cycling at around 9.45am, heading towards the Basler aircraft ski-way and then out across an extensive ice field. The ice was incredibly slippery, frozen into random ripples. The carbide studs on my tyres were ineffective on this surface. Even Sergei found himself slipping over. After landing very heavily a couple of times, I started pushing, but the soles of my cycle boots are more like cleated planks of wood and walking was a slow and treacherous affair. After walking about 3km I remembered I was carrying a set of lite crampons that I slipped over my boots. That made all the difference. I could walk without fear of slipping, pushing my bike for about another 5 km. As patches of snow phased in, I pedalled with the crampons still on (unable to clip in) and walked the ice patches. My heavy falls on the ice had really dashed my confidence on icy surfaces – I was pretty nervous every time I encountered more ice.

I then gradually ascended away from the icy plain and after 21km reached the next obstacle, the notorious crevasse field and the principal section of concern. For 1.2km, Oleg and I walked, roped to the vehicle, attached to our bodies with climbing harnesses. Oleg tested each snow-filled crack with a pole to make sure it wasn’t about to give way. The route is marked with bamboo poles but the ice is constantly moving and we stepped with a high degree of caution, me pushing the bike.

Safely navigating through the crevasse field, I was finally able to remove my crampons, but the second half of the day became a real struggle – uphill, into the wind and, most challenging of all, was the very poor visibility. There was virtually no contrast between snow and sky – no shadows to differentiate between the constantly changing surfaces. It was very difficult to maintain balance and I would  burn a lot of energy just trying to stay upright. I cycled virtually all of the afternoon, though I struggled to reach 6km/hr. I fell off a few more times (on to soft surfaces) and decided that 35km was enough for the day. 

Setting up camp, we discovered that they had not packed my sleeping bag and, in the end, Sergei loaned me his (not warm) while he slept in the car. It was a very cold night for me.

Check out the animated Day 1 route by clicking on the arrow at the bottom of the page…

BREAKING THE CYCLE

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6th and 7th February

Total distance: 21km

The 6th February was a huge day, leaving my hotel at 4am to get to Cape Town International airport in time for the 6am flight.

It was an incredible thrill to board an Airbus bound for Wolf’s Fang Runway, Antarctica! Travelling with me (in First Class mind you…a new experience for me!) were three others taking part in White Desert’s World’s Greatest Day – a day trip to Antarctica, and a few others – employees and a couple of photography expeditioners who were doing their own trip.

About an hour before landing, the captain started to turn the temperature down and we were asked to get into our warm clothes.

It was a surreal experience arriving on the blue ice runway and then stepping out into the vast expanses of – the white desert! The mountains from which Wolf’s Fang got its name, were about 40km to the west and nearby, the landscape was speckled with a series of nunataks (small mountain tops protruding through the 1km of ice that blankets the area).

In the afternoon I put my bike together, did a quick photoshoot with Andrew and Siggi (photographer/ videographer), who took some excellent footage and stills. I then pedalled to White Desert’s brand new camp called Echo (the unworldly design was inspired by the seminal age of space exploration), a 10km round trip. On the return ride, the low sun produced a spectacular orange glow across the landscape. As we are approaching winter, there is still 24 hour light. The sun does now set at around 10.30pm, but it is bright light again by about 1.30am.

As we were preparing to leave, news came through that there was a complication with the permit for my journey. The result was that we were delayed at least a day. It was very frustrating because the weather forecast was favourable, but I understood that safety and environmental protocols are necessarily strict to protect Antarctica to ensure it is kept as a pristine wilderness.

It was an anxious wait and I filled in my time by doing a second ride on the groomed road to Echo Camp, this time filming the round trip for cycling app, FulGaz and testing my camera set ups. For other recent expeditions I have been travelling with a dedicated filmmaker, but this time I will need to capture the journey with my action cameras.

The expedition will be a supported cycle journey from Wolf’s Fang Camp (approx. 1100m), following White Desert’s 200km route to Whichaway Camp on Schirmacher Oasis (approx. 100m). 

Apart from being able to follow the journey on the Zero Six Zero interactive map, where I will be leaving short updates (from a Garmin inReach device), I have no access to internet, so these blogs are being posted in succession immediately after the expedition … as soon as I can publish them. 

BREAKING THE CYCLE

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A new year and new expeditions on the horizon! I am very excited to welcome you all to the first blog for Breaking the Cycle Antarctica. 

Supported by sustainable travel company White Desert, the mission is to cycle across Queen Maud Land on the edge of the Antarctic Plateau, from Wolf’s Fang Camp (1130m elevation; 71o 32’ 00” S 8o 50’ 00” E) to Whichaway Camp (100m elevation; 70o 48’ 00” S 11o 23’ 00” E). Time and resources permitting, I plan to pedal back to Wolf’s Fang, a return journey of approximately 350km over eight days. 

This will not only be the best preparatory expedition for Breaking the Cycle South Pole, but also a credible project in its own right. There is no track here. We will navigate using a series of waypoints between White Desert’s two camps. Due to the existence of crevasse fields, I will cycle with the protection of an Arctic Truck support vehicle, tethered to it in the danger zones.

This is a totally bespoke expedition, no one has ever done this journey by bike before. It will complete my series of doing one preparatory expedition for my planned Antarctic crossing on each continent.  (Baja Divide, Mexico – Iceland – Finke River, central Australia – Ladakh, India – the Skeleton Coast, Namibia – the Andes, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and finally Queen Maud Land, Antarctica).

I have not done a significant polar expedition since 2017 so BTC Antarctica is an important opportunity to fine tune BTC South Pole logistics, test equipment and prepare mentally and physically. Even with my custom-made Christini all-wheel-drive fatbike, it is always a fine line as to whether I can cycle or have to push. 

I am preparing my mind to cope with whatever weather conditions Antarctica serves up. February is the end of summer and the season is turning. Temperatures are expected to range from about -5C around Schirmacher Oasis (100m above sea level) to possibly -20C at night where the route ascends to 1800m. Winds could be a real issue, particularly on the first leg.

You will also be able to follow the route thanks to mapping company Zero Six Zero, who will be producing an interactive tracking map. 

Education partner, Belouga is going to help with social media while communications are difficult during the journey, and together we are using this expedition in the build up to an education panel for schools on environmental innovation that I will take part in just after the expedition.

While in Antarctica I will also film a couple of rides for the cycling app FulGaz so that its 60,000+ members will have some unique virtual indoor workouts (without the extreme weather, soft snow and crevasse fields…)

Pulling this expedition together has been intense. While I had been working on it for about six months, devising the plan with White Desert and searching for sponsors, it was only 10 days ago that we were able to press “Go”. I hadn’t managed to find all of the funding, but White Desert, who had already invested in the preparations (logistics, support vehicle and drivers, submitted environmental and safety assessments, allocated food, etc) invited me to do it anyway! Kindred explorer spirits! They seem excited about this too.

That’s not all! I have been asked to be a presenter on a Ponant cruise around the Antarctic Peninsula in partnership with French NGO, Le Circle Polaire and its initiative, Women of the Poles. When I return to Cape Town after the cycle expedition, I will have just four days to get to Buenos Aires, Argentina to then travel to Ushuaia at the most southerly tip of South America. More about that later. As you might imaging, preparing for two very different Antarctica trips at once has been a complex affair!

Thanks must also go to The Royal Melbourne Tennis Club, my professional colleagues in particular, who are covering for me at very short notice.

Here are the Official Sponsors and Suppliers:

After 31 hours in transit, from Melbourne to Dubai to Cape Town, I am just catching up on some sleep and making the final preparations for the five hour flight on Monday 6th, from summer in South Africa to summer in the Great White Desert!

BREAKING THE CYCLE

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