Patchway man ‘cycles Everest’ in Cotswolds

Over the Bank Holiday weekend while most of the Bristol public spent time with family, popped to the pub, went to a festival, or even took a nice stroll in the woods, one man did something a whole lot more energetic.

Gordon Markus, 38, from Patchway, headed with his partner to the Cotswolds, to do some “everesting” – a 12-and-a-half hour bicycle ride equivalent to the ascent of Mount Everest.

“Basically the idea is to ride up and down the same hill continuously until the same accumulated elevation gain is achieved as Mount Everest, which is 8,848-metres,” Gordon explained.

Gordon said he was inspired to do the challenge by a fellow cyclist from Bristol Severn Road Club, who had performed the feat in Monmouthshire last year.

He admitted: “I thought he was absolutely nuts, but I went along and supported his successful attempt, loved it and was hooked. I knew I had to do one from that day.” 

Everesting is catching on and has become a world wide phenomenon, with cyclists performing it across the globe.

Choosing the right road is crucial, and needs to  have the right balance between steepness, elevation gain, and descent. Gordon wanted to pick a hill that no one had everested before, and after much deliberation chose Frocester Hill in the Cotswolds. 

Gordon joined Severn Road Cycling Club five years ago and has taken part in a few races with, as he admits, mixed success.

He has done some other challenges before, including l’Étape du Tour, which is where amateur riders follow some of the stages of the Tour de France course in the Pyrenees. 

The day of his everlasting challenge was hot, very hot. It was an early start and Gordon took his first pedal rotation at 6am. He divided the event up into chunks of seven. About every two hours he would stop for a cup of tea, a snack, and a chat for ten minutes with his support team led by his partner Karen White.

He would then jump back on the bike and start peddling back up Frocester Hill. 

By his own admission it was tough – perhaps one of the toughest things he had ever done. Not just a challenge physically but also mentally. “As I was getting to the 3rd set of seven I was pretty fatigued and just kept looking forward to the breaks,” he said.

“That kept me going. It was funny but on some of the hill ascents I felt pretty comfortable and could turn the pedals with ease, yet on others it felt so much harder. There seemed no rhyme nor reason to it.”

Graham hit a real low point between 5,000m to 7,000m in the climbing, and struggled to continue. But he gritted his teeth and battled on, “and felt as long as I kept turning the pedals it would end eventually”.

And after what felt like an eternity, the computer clicked on his bike at 6.30pm on Saturday night, after half a day in the saddle.

A 38-year-old man from Patchway had reached the equivalent summit of 8848m of the world’s highest mountain; the first person in the world to have everested Frocester Hill.

Photos by Richie Lewton Photography

Sport development consultant Neil Maggs presents Midweek Sportsbar on BCfm and is director of Street2Elite, promoting grassroots and community sport.