(calm music)
- [Mark Voiceover] I knew this was going to be a really,
seriously tough ride.
But I still underestimated it.
This is utterly, indescribably tough.
One of the most ridiculous things
I've ever done on two wheels.
- It is without doubt, the stupidest thing I've ever done.
60 km/hr on 100 year old bike.
Some going.
(relaxing music)
- [Mark Voiceover] The original Tour de France was in 1903
and it was a very, very different race back then.
It comprised of just six stages,
rather than the 21 we have today,
but they were truly epic.
The first stage alone was from Paris to Lyon, 467 km.
That's double the distance of the longest stage
in the 2019 tour.
So at first glance, the original tour
may be far less to do with modern stage racing,
and more to do with my world, ultra endurance.
But the question is,
just how hard was it back at the start?
How does it compare to cycling around the world?
And how does it compare to being a modern day pro?
Well, there's only one way to find out.
(accordion plays)
- Well this is where it all started,
the Cafe au Reveil Matin, 116 years ago.
And I'm going to find out just how hard the tour was
back when it started.
- Ah Mark!
I've always wanted to do- - I was going to do a solo ride,
that was the idea, who's this guy?
- How are you doing? - Hi.
- I've always wanted to do an ultra endurance ride.
- Okay.
And are you any good at big miles riding?
- No.
- Okay, well we better get going then.
Let's go! - Let's go!
(violin music)
I'm a fair bit smaller than you,
I'm also a lot blonder, I'll be Maurice Garin,
the winner, of course.
Suits me perfectly.
- Maurice Garin might have won,
his nickname was the little white chimney sweep.
'Cause that's your day job.
Or it was before you got into bike racing.
- Well nothing can be as hard as chimney sweeping.
- And apparently you're 60 kilos, is that right?
(Mark laughs) - Give or take.
- Okay there was two guys who got to the end of
stage one in a breakaway,
and the other guy was an amateur,
a complete underdog, Emile Pagie,
and he was never expected to do anything,
but he stuck with Garin,
and to be true to the story
we need to get there in one piece together.
Are we going to manage that?
- I dunno, I dunno.
Well, I am going to try and win but,
in this story, I don't know if it's going to play true.
(calm music)
- Back in 1903 they started at 16 minutes past 3,
the start was delayed because the riders were complaining
about cart tracks and the terrible road for the first 500m,
so, 16 minutes past 3.
- And we're off. - Are you scared?
- I'm terrified, it's not an idea now, it's reality.
Are you ready? - This is one of
the most ridiculous rides I've ever done.
- Look at this bike!
Let's do it. (Mark laughs)
Let's get it over and done with!
(upbeat music)
- So this is the speed that they allegedly did
for the first hour.
And this is on perfect tarmac, can you imagine this on dirt?
We've left the traffic of Paris behind us
and it's beautiful out here.
Luckily we've got a little tail wind with us but,
these bikes take a bit of getting used to.
(accordion plays)
- So this is kind of what happens
when you ride 100 year old bikes.
The bearings are also quite old, so,
it seems at though the bottom bracket is kind of seized,
which makes it slightly difficult to pedal.
Especially keeping up with Mr Mark Beaumont.
(sombre music)
This is my bike, that yesterday,
was picked up from a museum.
It's a 56 size frame,
and I know that because it's written on the frame.
Here, we've got a pump that I haven't yet tried,
we've got a leather saddle
that's kind of draped over two iron rods
that is rather uncomfortable.
Some hand-made handlebars
that are made in that racing position,
so, it's quite an aggressive position for 467 km ride.
And a big rake on it there at the front.
- Well this is my trusty steed,
I feel like I need to touch my cap when I say that.
It's in British racing green, which I agree on,
even though, of course, there was no Brits in the 1903 tour.
It's incredibly heavy.
I feel like it's more a World War II postman's bike
than a racing bike.
The rake on the front makes it very comfortable,
but the back brake gives me no confidence at all.
I've no idea of the gearing,
a quick count is probably about 45, 46,
18, I'm guessing.
And, yeah I was clattering down a hill there
on a quick test ride and the pump fell off,
this hits my leg as I pedal along.
The saddle, yeah.
It's incredible, it's beautiful.
With wooden handlebars.
I mean, it's a thing of beauty.
(smooth guitar music)
- It's really quite hard, this.
We're sitting at 30 km/hr,
but this saddle is so uncomfortable.
- So we're
over 10% of the way to Lyon.
- 10%? - 10%.
- [Hank] How many kilometers is that?
- I guess another 3, 4 hours
and we'll go into the night shift.
How's it matching up to expectation?
- This is the scariest thing
- For right now, - That I've ever done.
- Forget what lies ahead, right now you're okay?
- But I'm enjoying it, yeah. - The bottom bracket's okay?
- The bottom bracket's getting better,
my wrists are starting to
get used to this horrific position.
- I think when I came into this,
I was so interested in like,
what those lads were doing back in 1903,
I kind of didn't give much thought to
what it would be actually like to ride ourselves,
it was more thinking "well,
"cool to sort of walk in their footsteps, and kind of,
"understand their story better", but,
even modern standards with a beautifully tarmacked road,
this is a major, major ride.
I mean this is, - Oh, it's tough.
- And I mean,
okay we're not hanging around but,
race pace, if you were actually trying to win this,
you can understand why they took three days off between
each stage on the tour, because this is so tough.
- Right, we've ridden for 3 hours and 45 minutes,
how far have we gone?
- That's 100 clicks.
And considering it was such a bad start,
A, all the traffic, B, your
slightly bust bottom bracket, we're cruising now.
- We're getting into a good rhythm aren't we?
- Yeah, it's going to be dark in about an hour,
and,
don't even think about how far we've got to go.
I think we're about 1/5 of the way there.
So,
no sleep tonight.
- Definitely no sleep.
(slow dramatic music)
- [Mark] It's worth glancing back, mate,
look at that sunset.
- Oh!
That is stunning!
That is absolutely stunning.
- So the sun's going to be over the horizon in the next
10-15 minutes.
And we'll settle in to the night shift.
Helps with it being early July.
It's never going to get pitch, pitch black,
but the night shift is always tough because,
you know, your body clock's trying to send you to sleep
and you got to keep riding the bike.
- I'm nervous.
- Amazing thing, what it would have been like 116 years ago.
(soft piano music)
Well it's coming on to 11 o'clock at night,
and I have to admit, we're not on 1903 pace. (laughs)
- Definitely not.
- Which, all the more respect for what those boys did.
But, it's cooled down a lot,
the turtleneck's going to come into it's own, Hank.
- Yes it is, sleeves are coming down.
- Looking sharp.
I'm excited about the night shift, but,
yeah, we've got some quiet hours, contemplation,
- I'm nervous. - Aim for dawn.
Let's do it. - Let's do it.
Ah, this saddle hasn't got any comfier, oh!
- I can't even find the words to describe
what this would be like without massive modern lights,
and we're on tarmac. - Yeah.
We're on a fairly rolling road through this wood,
but it's just keeping this bike moving,
weighs about 20 kilos, so,
keeping on the pedals.
(slow dramatic music)
- I don't like that squeak from the pedals,
I'm trying not to crank it too much.
Early on in the, the stage,
there was a couple of flying checkpoints,
and again, like, when you read story you think
"oh yeah, that totally makes sense."
But now that you're out here in the middle of the night,
the idea of that on dirt roads.
So, they have a number
hanging off their bike
and they had to shout their number (laughs)
at like the stewards at the side of the road.
- 35! (Mark laughs)
(dramatic drum music)
- Well it's not 4 am, we're soldiering through,
I'm hoping that Hank's bike's going to hold it together.
- Me too!
- Ride smoothly, my friend, ride smoothly.
And, yeah, couple of hours 'til we see dawn, can't wait.
Tell you what, that first boulangerie that we see open,
I'm going to do a grab and run. (Hank laughs)
(epic music)
- [Mark Voiceover] At around 5 am,
Garin and Pagie were about 80 km, 50 miles from Lyon.
And ahead, lay the biggest test of the entire stage,
the Saone-et-Loire hills, with the (speaks French)
and the leg-sapping, 10 km ascent of the (speaks French).
After 425 km riding,
we start the proper climbs.
We've got two of them, the first one translates as
something to do with a hospital.
Which, yeah, bodes well.
(dramatic music)
If it's not abundantly clear,
I am broken.
I'm going as slow as I can because
the way the vision is
and a little bit of nausea hitting me, so,
just need to get to the top
really gently and find some shade
and get some recovery.
- This is without doubt, the hardest thing I've ever done.
(piano music)
- Well we've taken 5, 10 minutes to cool off,
my head felt like it was about to explode.
- I think I was exploding.
- And we've checked the route and,
we're at the highest point here.
700 m and I felt every meter of that.
Big concern now is the descent
because neither of us have got
- [Together] Brakes. (Mark laughs)
- That work. (laughs)
- Not really.
I mean, mine give a little bit of drag,
but nothing to write home about.
So, we're going to take a view on the descent,
if we have to walk sections we will.
(sighs) You know, we're so close now,
we're not going to hurt ourselves.
- No, we're going to get there.
- [Mark Voiceover] I can't compare it to the entire planet,
getting around in 80 days, but,
here's safe thing to say.
That is, by far, my toughest single ride, ever.
- But we made it there!
Couldn't be more happy to see a city.
- [Mark Voiceover] As they approached Lyon,
a trumpeter signaled their finish.
But, there was a bit of controversy 200 m from the line,
with a couple of farmers carts blocking the route,
and Garin jumped off, threw his bike over it,
and raced for the finish with a 55 second lead.
- Here's the cafe.
- Wow, we did it mate.
- Pretty ridiculous.
- My brakes don't work that well.
- I'm not sure I want to give you a hug, but you deserve it.
- Oh mate, what a journey, what a journey.
- So that's,
a good bit longer than I thought it would take us.
25 hours since leaving Paris?
305 miles.
We did go slightly further than the 1903 route, but,
I cannot even compare.
Those men, in my opinion, are gladiators.
Utter gladiators. - Absolute warriors.
- It's hard to imagine how hard that would have been.
Full stop.
- Yeah, if you enjoyed watching us suffer like dogs
then make sure you give this video a big thumbs up,
and for more epic rides, why don't you click
on Mark Beaumont?