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I know this is not proper form, but I figure it would be too interesting to folks here to pass up. Helen Skelton is planning an attempt to cycle to the South Pole on a slightly odd looking all-terrain bike.

It rides on what are basically golf cart tires, has a suspension fork, 21-speed derailleur gearing, and rear disk brakes.

I'm personally a hair skeptical of the tubeless tires and the rear derailer that seems to clear the "ground" by only a few inches. But the folks doing this have a lot of experience.

Is what they're planning even possible? What will be their biggest problems?

Goodbye Stack Exchange
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Daniel R Hicks
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  • In the video they imply that they're going to be doing a lot of snowkiting (and maybe walking) and less with the bike. – Cascabel Jan 04 '12 at 16:01
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    I was woken up early this AM by a telemarketer, and then went on the net and saw this. I assumed this was just an excuse to post a cool link and voted to close, but later looked at this again and realized that it's a good question but that the question is all in the title. I added the last paragraph in an attempt to make that plain and keep others from making the same error I did, but please do roll my edits back if I've again missed the point? – Goodbye Stack Exchange Jan 04 '12 at 18:32
  • "What will be their biggest problems?" - Crevasses for starters. –  Jan 04 '12 at 18:38
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    This still seems more likely to generate ideas or opinions, rather than answers. It does not seem at all like a practical, answerable question based on actual problems that you face. – freiheit Jan 04 '12 at 18:43
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    I think the BBC article does a good job of explaining how you cycle to the South Pole. – Ambo100 Jan 04 '12 at 18:50
  • As a side note, I weighed my old-school MTB and it weighs in at 38lbs. It's beastly to ride at anything other than a moderate pace even with the thinner tires I swapped on (was originally 2.25", is now 1.875"). I can't imagine 40lbs and those monster wide tires! – Brian Knoblauch Jan 04 '12 at 19:41
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    Riding a bike to the South Pole absolutely can not be done without a significant support team. Getting just myself with gear, over crevasses in the Cascades is challenging. And I haven't had a bike to carry along. –  Jan 04 '12 at 20:22
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    Update: In 2012, Skelton raised more money for Sport Relief by becoming the first person to reach the South Pole using a bicycle. The bike was custom built for her trip, with 8-inch tyres. She also used skis and a kite to help her pull a sled containing 82 kg of supplies.[17] She covered 329 miles by kite ski, 103 by bike, and 68 by cross-country ski. She is also the first person to claim a world record for the fastest 100 km by kite ski, in seven hours 28 minutes, which was set during the trip (subject to verification). – Daniel R Hicks Jun 24 '12 at 13:54

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