Meet the Cycle Surfari Team - The Ticket to Ride Journal

If you are joining the Bordeaux to Bilbao Cycle Surfari this Summer, you will have a dedicated team supporting your journey the whole way. There will be four staff, plus a very special guest. So here’s the crew…

Max Hepworth-Povey. It’s always weird writing a bio about yourself, but I think I know myself pretty well so here goes.

Firstly I’m a believer in encouraging work and leisure to seamlessly blend throughout your life. I try not to let much phase me, nothing is really a problem, or a big deal and to me nothing is unattainable. Basically I just do whatever I want to do but give all of my attention to the task at hand at that moment. I’ve forged friendships around the World, due to a need of having to return as often as possible to every place I’ve ever been to. These real friendships, make for some seriously epic Ticket to Ride trips… As well as running trips, I’m a part of the Ticket to Ride Group Marketing Team as well as a fully qualified Yoga Teacher, constantly trying to spread positive vibrations throughout the company, which has earned me the Job Title; Master of Stoke. I originally cycled from Newquay to Northern Spain, surfing along the way, to raise money for the charity Waves for Change. I hadn’t actually ridden a road bike before and there were definitely some stories, but you can read more about that here.

After what can only be described as the best two weeks of my life I felt an overwhelming urge to share this incredible experience with others and setup the Bordeuax to Bilbao Cycle Surfari. I will be working with my original partner in crime Will Jessup as cycle and surf guides, ensuring that Riders have a smooth and pleasant journey…

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Will Jessup is the ultimate doer. A fun time guy who fuses incredible physical feats and adventures with a impressive inclination to party at any given opportunity. Will was inspiring cycling through France and Spain and would encourage 40mile stints like they were nothing. Although now working as a hairdresser, Will has spent many years surf coaching around the World and will be an encouraging cycle and surf guide on this trip. Here’s a bit more about Will:

Sum yourself up in three words: Living The Dream
How long have you surfed and what do you love about it? I’ve been surfing for as long as I can remember. There are loads of beaches in the town and surfing is genuinely the most fun thing I’ve ever done. The fact that it keeps me relatively wholesome and fit is a bonus. So if you’re after a new vice with zero bad side affects, start surfing.
Back in your full-time surf coaching days what is the hardest thing you had to deal with? Well as surf coaches we are fully trained lifeguards, so we can handle pretty gnarly situations. Luckily I haven’t had anything too sketchy happen, but I have seen a crocodile in the lineup in Sri Lanka, which was mad.
What are a couple of the most common mistakes the average surfer makes? Having high expectations and when those aren’t met, anger and frustration put you on a downer. You’ll start thinking too much then lose focus and won’t go with the flow of the wave. Just chill out.
Describe the Will Jessup experience, what can our Rider’s expect from you on this trip? You can expect plenty of patience and a fun approach to cycling up massive mountains and surfing sick beach breaks. No matter what fitness level you’re at I’ll push you both in and out of the water. You will get a laugh and most definitely a beverage afterwards.

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Jenny Jones is Britain’s most successful snowboarder and she has the medal to prove it after bagging an Olympic Medal on the snow in 2014, elevating her to National Hero status. Since then she has been working with us on Girl’s Only Snowboard Camps out in Meribel, but it’s not just a snowboard she likes to ride, she rips on a surfboard and is also an avid cyclist and pretty damn handy on a bike. Jenny will be joining us and bringing some good vibes on the cycle surfari so here’s a little catch up with our most successful board sliding Olympian:

Thoughts on surfing in the Olympics: It feels a bit similar to the snowboarding story, will it ruin it? Maybe. You do have to start dealing with governing bodies and the IOC and the heavy politics of everything which is never a bonus, but there are loads of youngsters out there competing that would love to go to an Olympics, to get that opportunity and share the sport on the global scale.
Favourite Surf Spot: The Maldives and Sri Lanka are really amazing, but I love surfing in Devon.
Best job before you became a pro snowboarder: Just being a proper seasonairre. Experiencing it in quite relaxed manner. Having the freedom to just bob about the hill and hike and experience riding a mountain not just the park. Or in my case working in a doughnut shop in Whistler. I came home that season and my mum is like ‘ooh you’ve been eating well’. I was like ‘thanks mum’
Worst job ever: I was trying to make a bit more money as quickly as I could and got a job as a cardboard inspector. It was a night shift, and literally, no joke, the cardboard came out of the machine and I had to check that the slits were not too narrow or not too wide, I lasted about a week.
Why did you want to get involved in the cycle surfari? I’m super stoked to get on board with this trip. It’s a great concept that suits me down to the ground as it incorporates two of my favourite summer activities… cycling and surfing! Double whammy. Love the idea of combining them and creating one epic adventure across France and into Spain. It’s going to be a truly memorable experience!

Follow Jenny on Instagram and read a full interview with Jenny over on Wavelength Mag

Jeffa Snell is a true product of the Ticket to Ride family. She joined our South Africa Trip in 2014, then came to Sri Lanka and Indonesia with us the following years, whilst working in our Perranporth Surf School in the Summer season. She now supplements her University studies working part time in the Head Office as a Sales Advisor and will be working as a Camp Manager on the cycle surfari. Her main role will be to ensure that the campsite is totally setup upon rider’s arrival and packed down efficiently in the morning. She will be driving the support vehicle, getting the all important campfire going, creating good vibes, even doing the daily laundry! She’s completely bonkers, but a real gem. You’re in for a treat. Here’s a little insight into the life of Jeff.

Morning routine: Shot some apple cider vinegar because apparently its good for you, then saturate yourself with water and question your life.
Guilty pleasure: Trashy 90s Chick flicks and Mushy Peas.
Last time you belly laughed: The last time I drank coffee.
Last time you cried: The last time the fridge was empty.
Best thing about Cornwall: The waves, the pace of life and everything that goes with it.
You LOVE: Being outdoors and around nature.
You HATE: Plastic, look at what its doing to our world.
Travel hack: Take Coconut Oil, so many uses.
Life hack: Listen to your Guru “Never cut a tree down in winter time” ~ Max H-P
Favourite wave in the world: Inside Rights in Lombok Indonesia is the one BUT I do love Perranporth under Droskyn when its a 2-3ft sub prime mushyness, mid tide to high tide, no one out and you can go swelly bashing.
Best thing about working for Ticket to Ride: Its like a massive family. Plus all the opportunities I’ve been given through work I could never have done. Big love crew.