#TheEdgeLineProject

Bike adventure from Nordkapp to Copenhagen

 

The project

How the project was born.

First of all, I have to mention that I am not a CYCLIST, in the sporting sense. I am just a commuter, that means a guy who enjoys moving everywhere by bike. I love to ride my bike to go at work, visit friends and so one... It’s just the best way to go from point A to point B, whatever the distance. Alright, maybe I am an extreme commuter.

That being said, you may want to know what kind of bike I use. Since 7 or 8 years, I have only one bike and it’s a Fixed-gear, a co-branding bike made by Charge x Carhartt. At the beginning, it was just a way to move in Paris, a way to avoid public transport. Over the years, it became a bit more than that, it became a part of me.

To such an extent that the following idea began to grow in my mind: “I CAN GO EVERYWHERE BY BIKE" This is how I started to increase distance between point A to point B.

SUMMER 2018

Some of my friends were dispersed in Bretagne, France for their vacation. I decided to visit each of them. As you might guess, I choose to use my bike as transportation mode. I am use to hike, that’s why, I already had all the stuff I need to camp (tent, sleeping bag, stoves…) but I didn't have any bike accessories to carry them. I bought a saddle bag, a front rack, pack my extra stuff in my backpack, and here I was ready to start.

I have planned a track with 5 big stages :

  1. Paris to Lancieux (435km)
  2. Lancieux to Piriac-sur-mer (177 km)
  3. Piriac-sur-mer to Nantes (101 km)
  4. Nantes to Briis-sous-forges (475 km)
  5. Briis-sous-forges to Paris (42 km)

This route length was about 1200km. As I wanted to spend the maximum amount of time with my friends, the goal was to cycle as much as I can everyday without burning myself too much. This first trip was a full-scale test. At the end, I was able to say:

  • I like to travel with bike
  • 100 km per day should be my maximum daily distance, mainly when we are talking about long distance trip
  • whatever the bike you use, you can travel with it
 

6 MONTHS LATER

I started thinking seriously about something much more longer/bigger. My first thought was to do the tour of Europe by following the coastline. After few researches, I quickly realised that to rely NordKapp, Norway to Copenhagen, Denmark, I had to travel about 14 000 km. Accordingly, I lowered my ambitions and said "let’s do this, we'll see after for the rest”.

That's how The Edge Line Project was born.