Fresh from this year’s Hike Bike Paddle, organised by the incredible Youth Adventure Trust, Brandwave’s Creative Director, Al Lecomte reflects on the highs, the lows and everything in between on what is widely known as THE sports industry challenge of the year…
“We’re never doing that again!” is usually the cry from most people after taking part in the Hike Bike Paddle. But once the aches, pains and bruises fade, most soon sign up for the following year again, with gusto.
The Youth Adventure Trust (YAT) use outdoor adventure to empower young people to fulfil their potential and lead positive lives in the future. This costs money, so we have provided our marketing services pro-bono and actively participated in their challenges for the last four years. Our very own, Ollie Robinson is even a trustee… So, you could say that we are committed to this worthy cause.
We helped to conceptualise Hike Bike Paddle along with YAT back in 2018 and since then, it has grown year on year to become a key calendar event for the UK sports & outdoor industries.
”To see such dedication from partners and brands helping to transform the life of vulnerable young people was heart-warming. Thank you Brandwave for inviting us to join in this year's Hike Bike Paddle. We're already looking forward to bringing our own Slow Adventure team to next year’s challenge - bring it on!
Sara Mair BellshawSlow Adventure - Managing Director
This year was a challenge in every sense of the word… an 18k Hike, 50k worth of technical MTB trails and a 2k group paddle board across Grimwith Reservoir in the beautiful North Yorkshire Country Park setting. Both Brandwave teams were off first for the hike at 5am, so 4am alarms were the order of the day. The hike was enjoyed by both teams in a very respectable time of sub 5 hours. We were even treated to a sunrise at the top of Simon’s Seat, the highest point of the hike.
Then came the bike… To say that this was on the challenging side of things doesn’t do it justice… To put it into context, the main climb of the route was a climb from the ‘Tour of Britain’ – a road race. Even our resident Tour de France master of the bike, Ollie, was quoted as saying that it was “Brutal”. This being said, we completed the section in under 4.5 hours, the quickest of all of the teams to compete, and well under the anticipated time of 5 hours, so a monumental effort by all.
”There's always a special atmosphere on the Hike Bike Paddle and this year was no exception, with the Yorkshire Dales providing a stunning backdrop for an epic day outdoors. All for a fantastic cause.
Ben MorganBrandwave - Volunteer
The Paddle was straightforward, but a strategy was needed to get the best time possible. We ‘let’ the OTC guys go first to gauge the best route, before we took to the water. Both Teams performed admirably, with times around the 20 minute mark.
Dan adopted motivational methods like counting strokes and beating me with his paddle to encourage the team to their best possible time. As always, it was such a well-organised and enjoyable event. A big thanks to the YAT team for running the challenge, along with all of the amazing volunteers.
”Hike Bike Paddle is always a highlight of the year. Truly THE sports industry event with so many brands and governing bodies putting teams in. Congratulations to all of our friends and clients who took part and thank you to everybody who sponsored us. It really is a great cause.
Daniel MacaulayBrandwave - Founder & CEO
A big shout out to Red Bull, OTC, Technogym, Tilt, Rohan, Red Paddle, OS, Codestone, O’Neill and Bullitt for all of the banter! Finally a massive congratulations to our good friends at the OTC for taking the overall first place. We look forward to seeing you all again next year.
