There’s a quote that says, “Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up.” And I’m about to feel the importance of that. My name is Adam and this is day one of cycling from the Arctic Circle back to the UK. [Music] [Music] We’re ready to start the cycle. Look at the [ __ ] weather, man. There’s no way, man. What the hell? I can’t tell you at what point my obsession with the Arctic started. It’s not got anything to do with Christmas, but more the idea that people actually live here. Somewhere so far north of civilization. Dark all winter, light all summer. I find this part of the world fascinating. But as I’m here, it does only make sense to visit Santa’s village. I guess 10-year-old me would be jumping for joy. Hell, maybe my obsession for the Arctic did start with Christmas. This restaurant is called uh Three Elves Restaurant. You know, it literally feels it literally feels illegal being here in September. It looks really nice though. Like they’ve done it up nice. Like I can imagine in the winter this is like so like magical. I’m not entirely sure what to think of reindeers. They’re slightly odd. The whole place was slightly odd to be honest, but reindeers isn’t why I’ve come here. This is your reminder to book that trip that you’ve always talked about. My name is Adam and this is day one of cycling from the Arctic Circle back to the UK. Okay, catch you in a bit. I’m going to [ __ ] go. Taking a bit. See you in a bit. We are less than a minute in and I’ve got soaking wet feet. This is This is wet, man. I honestly I just had a mental breakdown as well because I’ve lost my rain coat. I know I’m wearing this, but this is my thick coat. I’ve got a thin layered raincoat, which I lost. How have I lost a raincoat? I’ve not even started yet. Before I started, there were two lads on a tandem bike that had just reached the Arctic Circle from Helsinki. So, they came up and I’m going down and they were like, “Good luck, man.” I was like, “Yeah, cheers.” They were like, “You know, I got a mud guard.” I was like, “Nah.” They were like, “Okay. [Music] This is so cool. And I’m just cycling cycling down Finland, minding my own business. This is it. Me and my bike for the next 5 weeks. You get to a point in life where people almost expect you to give up on your dreams to fit in with society’s idea of what’s normal. Never do that. Never, ever, ever do that. If you have the privilege to chase for something, to follow an idea, to push for a dream, to work towards something, what a privilege that is. What an experience life is. Day one, huh? Day one. Day one is finished, man. Let’s go. That was good. [Music] It’s day two. Um, today we’re going to try and do quite a big day, make up quite a bit of ground, get 120 km in, maybe. Someone recently said to me, “Are you sure this is the right time?” And when I reflected on that, I thought, “No. I’m not ready for this. But this trip isn’t just a physical test on cycling. It’s a test of my organization, a test of my determination, a test of my patience. I’m not ready for this. But isn’t that exactly why it makes sense? Because when are you ever ready for what life throws at you? So, I got pit for this Finland sort of leg of the journey because I didn’t want to camp cuz it’s so open and so sort of rural. there’s not really much going on. And I also wanted that support to ease me into the cycle so that I didn’t have to worry about creating content. So, I got a van. And the van costs quite a bit of money. And the van seems to be causing us the biggest headache. Everything is broken. The door does not lock. The fridge keeps turning off and on and beeping. Blinds do not shut. Just so many issues and I don’t understand. And we’re see we seem to be spending most of our time driving around trying to find water and electricity. It’s just boring. Really windy today. Feel like I’m not moving very quickly, but I think that’s just the wind coming against me. I dropped one of my uh protein bars as well like the last like third as I was getting it out of my bag. Dropped it. Gutted. Absolutely gutted. Felt like a baby when you they dropped their toy. It’s a funny feeling being on your own all day. Out of your normal routine, away from your normal surroundings. Things change very quickly. One moment I’m missing home comforts and the next I feel completely alive right now I feel good. In fact I definitely feel alive. Yes. Yes, gang. We’re in and we’ve got a jacket. It’s a bit big. It’s actually It’s actually a size small, but it’s all right. It was uh €34. I’m I’m spending a lot of money blowing the budget, guys. So you guys better like and subscribe. But these cycle roads are absolutely stunning. It feels like I’m cycling obviously quite some way, but on the map I don’t even I don’t even move. That is why you focus on breaking down things that feel so unachievable and so far away. You break it down into daily tasks. Small wins are everything. What can I tick off for today? What can I feel proud of for today? And bit by bit, drop by drop, day by day, those small wins all accumulate into huge change. Sometimes all you can do is show up and give what you have. A long one. That was day two. Day two done. Let’s go. 100 km in the bank. [Music] [Music] It’s day three. Feeling good. Yesterday was my first 100 km cycle. Um, the rain is just starting to come down as we have some breakfast, but I think it’s going to be another good one. Another successful day. Day three. Rate my fit right now. I feel like it’s such a dweeb. Uh, day three is a wet one. I can hear the rain coming down. Um, [Music] yeah. Let’s open the door. Yeah. See what’s outside. Oh my god, it’s raining. God damn. I swear I don’t even need the sunnies today. Let’s be honest. Day three. It’s supposed to rain all day, but I don’t feel too too bothered about that now because I’ve got a raincoat. Yeah, this trip is different. Uh, obviously bike packing is quite a popular thing. I’m sort of a little different to to the average bike packer just purely because of the content I’m trying to create. um it’s not easy charging up things and staying on top of filming yourself whilst you’re trying to make up quite a lot of distance. And so for me being able to to get content created when I finish at the end of the day ready for the next day is really really good. So I’m quite happy that I’ve already got today’s post lined up so I don’t have to worry about that. Pit is now doing the YouTube first episode which is cool. Where am I going? All right, we’re on our way. Got to start my stra my new wrinkle. Day three. It’s telling me to do a U-turn. A spring. Yeah, I’m on the [ __ ] motorway. Thank god I got this rain. It’s raining pretty hard. This is so wet, man. Not cool. Not cool. Not cool. I’m feeling a bit of fatigue today. Oh no, I dropped my apple. Trying to fly a drone whilst I’m cycling is not easy. Don’t crash. Don’t crash. Every road feels the same. Sort of just want to get back to the van on the way home now. Yeah, I’ll be there in five weeks. We have a good laugh. This is absolutely horrible. It’s been like this now for hours. I’m on the same [ __ ] straight road. I can’t see anything. No cars, no one. There’s liquid now in my charges. I’m going to lose contact with Pit and I’m not going to know where he is. He’s not going to know where I am. I’m finding this really, really tough today. Battling the wind and the rain all day. [Music] Taking cover underneath this like random log log hut. Um, it’s so wet. My feet are just puddle of water at this point. Um, and yeah, I’m just waiting for Pit to to come and save me. Yeah, that was a this is a tough one. This is a tough day. It’s just never ending rain. Really? I’ve seen him. Yeah, he can’t turn around anywhere. [Laughter] Boy, am I glad to see you. You need to take a [ __ ] power bank next, dude. I did. As the rain abruptly ended my day three, I realized this is going to be a lot harder than I thought.
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