Watch: Kepa Acero and friends in “Headwindhaters”

Here’s a, well, 

cruisy 

one.

Earlier this year, Kepa Acero, Lee-Ann Curren, Mike Lay, and Colin McLeod took a few weeks to pedal their way through the Western Isles, chasing surf but not exactly

scoring

 or pushing performance limits, but more, just.. taking it all in. We’ll let Kepa explain: 

Travel slow. Put down your phone. Take in your surroundings. Smell the wind. Taste the rain. Feel the sun that escapes the clouds. That was the plan.

The Crew:

Mysel, an experienced Basque traveler with a fondness for far flung places—Gabon, Alaska, Antartica. 

Lee-Ann Curran, an oyster-loving, guitar-playing musician and surfer hailing from SW France. Style in spades, a very last-minute and welcome addition to the crew. Mike Lay, a quick-footed and -witted longboarder, hailing from Sennen who in the sake of packing light had to leave the regular ride, a long board at home. Colin Macleod, who we met Colin as we sipped beers in a gas station forecourt; he took us in, bought us croissants, lent Mike a longboard and caught us a fish. 

We rode around 400kms and up some bloody big hills, probably not Tour du France-big, but when towing your lives, boards and supplies behind you in a trailer they were bloody big, and bloody painful. We took in our surroundings and tasted the peat. We felt more aware. We rode around spiders crossing the road, we watched as butterflies fluttered beside us; everyone we passed said hello, even the sheep.

In Stornaway someone told me ‘There are no happy cyclists on Lewis.’  Well, even as we cycled into 50mph headwinds, which turned into brisk offshores propelling us to the waves, we all had big smiles behind the grimaces.

Here’s some postcards from their trip, courtesy of the film’s director, Chris McClean.