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Say Yes More

February 17, 2016

Originally posted on a now defunct version of this site in April 2014

While I was researching something inconsequential at work, this tweet popped up on a site I was looking at:

Looking for an adventure in April? There’s an @ElliptiGO & trailer in the south of France that needs to get to the UK #sayyesmore

— Dave Cornthwaite (@DaveCorn) March 27, 2014

Everything about it piqued my interest. Adventures are awesome, the South of France is beautiful, Elliptigos look really fun and #sayyesmore is a great hash tag. I dropped Dave a tweet asking where I could sign up, and expected to hear no more about it.

Then a message arrived in my twitter inbox.

“Hey Chris, drop me a line and I’ll send you details”

So I dropped him a line, and he sent details:

The Elliptigo was in storage in Nice after one of Dave’s previous expeditions, and he needed to get it back in London. As an adventurer himself he decided to open it up to other people who may be interested, providing a mutually beneficial solution to everyone involved.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find the time off work to do the whole ride, but suggested riding from Nice to Paris (~600mi). In Paris I’d meet another prospective adventurer who could ride it back the rest of the way, and I could jump on a Eurostar home.

For a while this seemed like a fitting arrangement, although as Dave was about to set off on his current expedition in Chile it ultimately proved too logistically difficult to connect the dots. Someone who was able to do the whole trip got it in the end.

I’m inspired though. It’s cool seeing that someone can Skateboard across Australia, Paddleboard the length of the Mississippi River, Elliptigo around Europe and make a living out of it. I love the idea of being in a position to outsource adventures, too.

Below is the beginnings of me planning the route I’d ride. The plan was to do around 75 miles a day (tough, especially with the rowdy elevation!) and Couchsurf / camp where suitable.

I’m quite tempted to do the ride anyway at some point. It passes through loads of lovely places – Aix en Province is beautiful, I’ve heard good things about Avignon, and the South of France as a whole. I’m not put off by the elevation either, even though the total climb for the ride is only just under an Everest’s worth (8158m).