First Ever Tour du Mont Blanc on a FatBike

Geoff Harper, who blogs under the name of the Unchained Cyclist, has been in touch to tell us what inspired him to take on this route, tell us about his plans (which are still under development) and what he plans on doing when it's all done and dusted.

Geoff, tell us a little about yourself and your background

I was born and raised in Surrey and moved to US in 1999 to escape the rat race work as a strength and condition coach and to enjoy/experiment with all outdoor activities with biking being my first love. [From Geoff's blog] In 1999 I decided to get off the hedonic treadmill in pursuit of the authentic version of myself. I quit my job in London as a contract Design Engineer, sold most of my belongings and crossed the Atlantic with only a backpack and a bike. Crash-landing in Venice Beach, California I began to reinvent myself as the Unchained Cyclist, a bike-centric experiment in consciousness. For the last 15 years I have been exploring the most geographically rich regions of the US from the Keys of South Florida to the Mountain Ranges of Alaska and most recently the magical state of Colorado where I can be found exploring and training in the Rocky Mountains – all year round.

How did you end up in Colorado and what do you do there?

I currently live in Golden which is 15 miles south of Boulder - similar kind of places but Golden is more low key. Both places are in the foothills of the Rockies. Since I've been in the US I developed a love of the mountains which inevitably lead me to Alaska, where I summited Denali in 2009. Not wanting to live in Alaska (the weather is pretty brutal) I settled on Colorado where we have 54 14,000 ft mountains and four seasons with plenty of sunshine year round... it also doubles as a great place to train the bike team based here that I'm involved with and train myself.

So where did your fascination / obsession (?) with fatbikes begin?

As soon as I got to Colorado in 2010 I saw fatbikes in shops which started my fascination, then at the end of the 2012 mountain bike season, I sold my Santa Cruz Blur 2 full suspension bike with the idea of buying a 29er hardtail in the new year. Then in November I test rode a fatbike on snow and now I am fully converted to fatbikes and ride mine at all times, everywhere all year round and on all terrain. It's the only bike I have now.

You've already been on a fatbike expedition in Iceland, what were your biggest learnings from that trip?

Hmmm... mostly mental stuff... my mountaineering experience prepared me for the physical demands/hardship also the gear set up was forged from that perspective too. The real difference being the solo aspect - lots of time alone with me as my only motivator. I went through a full spectrum of thoughts from 'why the hell am I here doing this nonsense on my own' and 'I want my mummy' to 'I am never going back to the real world' haha!

What made you choose the Tour du Mont Blanc for your next fatbike adventure?

I love the fact that three countries share the Mont Blanc Massif, and also that depending on who of those you ask you get a different answer as to where the borders are exactly. Being a mountaineer I am of course drawn to the area anyway.

Tell us about what you're planning to do.. 

I am hoping to ride the Tour du Mont Blanc early in the winter season this year, in around 10 days and with as little deviation off the route as possible. Common sense and safety will play into my exact route so I guess we will see how much deviation will occur. It's not a super rigid plan ...those tend not to work in my experience. I may ride it before the snow falls just to lay eyes on the route before its snow covered to get a feel for it.

What's the kit list like for your trip and have you adapted your it much since you were in Iceland?

Unlike Iceland where the bike weighed around 70lbs fully loaded, the kit list this time is more minimal and I hope to load up with food as I pass through towns on the route. This of course depends on whether or not the towns are open so I'm in process of gathering that type of info. Graham Pinkerton [chamonixbikeblog] wrote up a great post on his Tour du Mont Blanc MTB trip - he's a friend of a friend and has given me a lot of info! I basically hope to be carrying a simple shelter, minimal tools, maps, clothing and a stove. The set up will be 'light and fast' or Alpine style in mountaineering terms.

Do you prefer to go solo rather than buddy up on a ride like this?

Iceland was the first solo adventure for me and all the others have been in groups or with buddies. I really enjoyed the process. I think it puts you in touch with yourself in a unique way at least for the duration of the trip.

What do you think the hardest part of the TMB is going to be?

Much like riding the beaches in Iceland with ever changing tides and glacial run-off I was never able to plan my route I just studied the maps learned my options and took it on a day by day/minute by minute basis - unfortunately that the exact type of stuff that keeps me awake at night currently! It's a bit like life, you can fret about the future but in the end its going to be whatever the hell its going to be and you deal with that when it's on your plate. In the mean time the best thing to do is to cover yourself as best you can for a multitude of likelihoods and again this is part of the process I enjoy - I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day with that haha!

And what are you most looking forward to about it?

There are always a handful of moments that stick with you and wind up defining the adventure. I'm going to have some rough days and some beautiful moments, it's the juxtaposition of those moments being both somewhat awful and absolutely beautiful in the same moment that I love.

What are you planning to do to celebrate reaching the end of the route?

I'm hoping to spend some time in Chamonix where I believe there are libations available..! I have been establishing connections with some like minded people in the valley whom I hope to meet, also an old friend of mine is in recovery from a serious operation. He's a big mountain biker too and I'm hoping he can make it down from the UK to join in the celebration. Assuming that there is actually something to celebrate...

And after that - what's next?

Not sure. I want to do some climbing in the Chamonix Valley, that's about all I can say at this stage.

Sponsors

My main sponsor is 9:ZERO:7 Fatbikes from Alaska. 907 is the phone code for Alaska where fatbiking began, they are based in Anchorage. Ergon Ergonomics give me bike bits, saddles, grips and backpacks. Golden Bike Shop are my local bike wizards and helped me develop the build of the bike. I hand picked every component with their help.

Full spec of Geoff's fatbike:

• Frame/Fork 9:ZERO:7 Whiteout
• Crankset ~ Next SL Carbon @ 30T
• Cassette ~ Sram XO1 (10-42)
• Rear Derailleur ~ Sram XO1
• Grip Shifter ~ Sram XO1
• Chain ~ Sram XO1
• Bottom Bracket ~ Raceface BSA 30 threaded – 100mm
• Pedals ~ 45NRTH – Heirspecs
• Brake Calipers ~ Avid BB7 S
• Brake Levers ~ Avid FR 5
• Stem ~ Raceface Turbine – 90mm/6*
• Bar ~ Raceface Next carbon – 20mm rise/Wide
• Seatpost ~ Raceface Next Carbon
• Saddle ~ Ergon SM3 Pro
• Seat Collar ~ 9zero7
• Hubs ~ 9zero7
• Axles ~ 9zero7- 135mm/197mm Thru (12mm/15mm)
• Spokes ~ DT Swiss
• Rims ~ Rolling Darryls
• Tires ~ 45North Dillingers

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Geoff plans on starting his Tour du Mont Blanc fatbike adventure in late October / early November this year. You can follow him on facebook and twitter and if you've got any tips or information you'd like to share with him about planning his trip, then get in touch!