[background music] Si: Now you don't need me to remind
you that this has been a year like no other. If you like me to stuck dreaming of amazing places
to visit and roads to ride, then coming up is a little bit of escapism and hopefully, inspiration.
I've been going back having a think about what I reckon are the best roads I've ever ridden.
Coming up is my top-seven list. Now I'd very interested to know if you've ridden any too,
or indeed if any are going to end up on your wish list of places to go.
I'm actually going to start with a road right here in the UK. Last year,
I ventured up to the north of Scotland with Mark Beaumont to ride the iconic North Coast 500.
Now, pretty much whole of that route is absolutely amazing, except perhaps the last 40 kilometers
which I could have done without, but that's another story entirely. However, if I had to pick
one section that I would recommend, it will be the Applecross peninsula and around to Loch
Torridon. It starts with a climb of Bealach na Bà which is actually the longest climb in the UK.
Now don't snigger, it's 9.3 kilometers long as 6.7% is actually a proper climb. You then descend
down into the tiny village of Applecross, which has an amazing pub before then going up the coast
on a very tough but utterly fantastic road, and then bearing round and down the shores
of Loch Torridon, which is just breathtaking. I can't recommend this road enough, genuinely.
From the UK over to Taiwan now back in 2017, I went to visit the country and check
out some brands, and also to do an awesome legendary race, the Taiwan KOM challenge.
It's a 100 kilometers long, but it's almost entirely uphill starting on the beach, and
then finishing at the summit of the Wuling Pass at over 3,400 meters, and the road to get there
is just about the best road I've ever ridden. It starts in the Taroko Gorge which is narrow
and really deep. You then climb up through the rain forest until eventually you emerge
above the tree line. The only slight downside of the entire day there was, I didn't get to ride
back down, because in order to prevent oxygen starved and exhaustive bike races from plunging
down a treacherous descent, the race organizers say that no one is allowed to pedal back down.
Unfortunately, I had to sit in the back of a minivan instead and got really carsick.
I've had a few awesome trips to California over the years, and whilst I realized I've
only just scratched the surface of what the state has to offer road riders, there is
one place I would definitely want to head back to, and that is Gibraltar Road, Santa Barbara.
Now, the road climbs straight out of the city, which means that you can start in a fancy coffee
shop like Handlebar Coffee Roasters, which is owned by two very successful ex-pro cyclists, Kim
Anderson and Aaron Olson. Just make sure you don't load up on pastries just yet, because Gibraltar
Road is 9.9 Ks long and average gradient of 8%. It is a proper, twisting, torturous alpine-style
climb, just with amazing views of the Pacific Ocean the whole way up. Now at the top, you can
either continue on into the almost wilderness of the Santa Ynez mountains or hook a right down this
incredible ridge road the likes of which you don't find in all that many places, or you could just
go right back down to where you started and eat those pastries that you've missed out on already.
I think one of the reasons that I love Gibraltar Road so much is that it reminds me of another of
my all-time favorites, the Col De Madone. You just got to swap the USA for France
and the Pacific for the Mediterranean, and there you go. The Col De Madone is 9.77 kilometers long
and average gradient of 7%, and it's just about the most
interesting and engaging climb I've ever ridden. The scenery changes massively from bottom to top,
the whole way up is twisty, it then gets super narrow near the top. Quite frankly,
it's something of a treacherous descent should you want to retrace your steps. Now, the other
difference between Gibraltar Road and Madone is that Egan Bernal has a record up Gibraltar Road,
whereas Richie Porte has it at the Col De Madone . Now, we did a lot of filming here back in 2014,
including one of our first ever presenter races, and also Dan trying to break Richie
Porte's record whilst riding his shopping bike. He was in much better form back then.
Now speaking of riding in [unintelligible 00:04:42], here's one that I would not have
thought would have made my list until I visited and discovered a cycling paradise.
Gran Canaria, which is a Spanish island in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Africa.
Destination of a 1,000 grannies looking for warm weather every winter and also bike riders. Now we
filmed an epic ride there, and actually the one section that I would recommend more than others,
it's called the Valley of Tears, and it's not just because it's an amazing stretch of road,
it's not just because the scenery is breathtaking, but it's also because it's not often that you get
genuinely scared riding down a hill, and it is really quite scary. It's narrow, it's very twisty,
it's very exposed, and it's also very steep. Make sure your brakes are working well when you
hit the top and avoid running cheap carbon wheels and rim brakes down there because they actually
might melt. Now fortunately, there is an amazing climb to the top here, that's amazing in a classic
way and not at all scary, and the views all around are just to die for. It's brilliant.
Next, I'm going to take you to road that helpfully I don't know the name of,
nor could I find out, but I think that's part of its charm. It lies deep in the
Atlas Mountains of North Africa, south of Marrakesh in Morocco, and it is a pristine
ribbon of tarmac that winds through remote valley. It's arid all around, except a river
keeps the bottom of the valley lush and fertile. You descend down through farmsteads and tiny
villages, fields and trees and terraces. It's just amazing. Now, although you are on a road,
there is almost no traffic. Cars do not form part of regular day-to-day life, and so frankly,
I felt like a bit of an alien in my lycra and riding top-of-the-range carbon roadblock.
I was here in 2018 with Josh Ibbett who's an ultra endurance rider, and although we were on gravel
bikes that day, because our route then dictated it back over the Atlas Mountains, you could
definitely ride this from Marrakesh on a superfast road bike, and that will be quite the adventure.
Now, speaking of superfast road bikes, there is no more perfect place to ride them in the world
than Mallorca, and jewel in the crown on the island is undoubtedly Sa Calobra.
Serpentine ribbon of tarmac that plunges 1,000 vertical meters all down a cliff basically,
all the way to a rocky cove at the bottom with a couple of restaurants and just enough space to
turn around and ride all the way back up again. That climb is a brilliant testing ground either
to pit yourself head-to-head against the times of some of the world's best pro cyclists,
or indeed, just to try and get to the top of this absolute monster. Now, it's fair to
say that anyone who sees it has their breath taken away. Certainly that was the case with
the guest at the GCN Mallorca event last year. It's frankly quite an incomprehensible stretch
of tarmac, particularly the head scratcher 270° corner. Frankly, I could go on and on.
For example, I've not put anything from Colombia, which is just about the best
country I've ever ridden a bike in, but although it's a bucket-list climb like the Alto de Letras,
I don't think the road itself is the best that Colombia has to offer.
Hence, it has not made my list, but it's still on my bucket list. I will return one day. Now, I'd
be super interested to hear your thoughts on this list. In fact, there's a poll on the app where you
could cast your votes to choose your favorite one from my top-seven, but also get involved in the
comment section down below and let me know what your perfect road to ride is. I need some more
inspiration. Frankly, I need to get planning. [00:08:29] [END OF AUDIO]