Coastal Group x James Beson-King
Pedal the Impossible
The first attempt to cycle solo and unsupported to the South Pole. Antarctica, November 2026.
Coastal Group is proud to be backing James Benson-King as he prepares for the ride of his life. Ahead of departure, our team designed and manufactured the custom stainless steel handle he'll use to push his bike and sled through deep Antarctic snow.
Support Pedal The Impossible
2
months, unsupported
130kg
gear, food & fuel hauled
-40° C
lowest temperatures
Solo
no support team, no resupply
What is Pedal The Impossible?
Two months. No support. One bike.
In November 2026, James sets off across Antarctica carrying everything he needs to survive, with no support team and no resupply along the way.
If he makes it to the Pole under his own power, he'll be the first person ever to do it by bike - the opening chapter of a longer project about what's possible once comfort and certainty are taken off the table.
The environment
- Temperatures that fall well below −30°C
- Katabatic winds and total whiteouts
- Shifting snow and crevasse fields
- Two months of complete isolation
The equipment
- 130kg+ of gear, food and fuel on the sled
- Power and battery management in extreme cold
- A daily routine of camp-craft and melting snow for water
- Every repair made alone, with what's on hand
The challenge
- Holding pace and form for 60+ days straight
- Sound decisions made through exhaustion
- Adapting to new conditions every single day
- Almost no margin for error
Who is James Benson-King?
Endurance Explorer
James wasn't an obvious candidate for endurance sport. A heart condition diagnosed early in life kept him out of sport as a child, and it wasn't until a successful operation and his mid-twenties that he began to trust his own body enough to push it.
Over the past decade, that trust has taken him a long way: more than 30,000km cycled across the Americas, some of the toughest ultra-endurance races on the calendar, and a Guinness World Record set in India. Alongside the expeditions, he works as a speaker, translating what he's learned in extreme environments into lessons on resilience and decision-making for everyday life.
Antarctica is the next test, and the biggest one yet, of what he's built.
A Partnership Built on Resilience
Coastal Group is proud to welcome endurance explorer James Benson-King as our brand ambassador
James is preparing for the first attempt to cycle solo and unsupported to the South Pole, a two-month journey across Antarctica with no support team and no resupply along the way.
We're proud to back him because his approach to extreme endurance mirrors the values we build into everything we make: resilience under pressure, durability that holds up when conditions give you no margin for error, and a refusal to settle for anything less than built-to-last.
Where we engineer for salt, moisture and relentless wear on the coast, James puts that same demand for reliability to the test in temperatures that fall below −40°C - and we couldn't think of a better partner to put our engineering through its toughest challenge yet.
Built in Cornwall
Built for the ice.
James came to our research & development team with a brief:
Design a handle that connects the pulk to the bike, keeping sled and rig together as a single unit.
When the terrain gets too soft, steep or broken to ride, the handle needs to double as a solid push point to get both moving again.
We designed and manufactured a unique custom support from premium stainless steel. It can handle the repeated strain of pushing a fully loaded bike and sled day after day - and because it's one component doing the work of two, it's one less thing to carry, fit or fail, which matters when every gram on the sled has to earn its place over two unsupported months.
- Material: Stainless steel
- Made: Cornwall, UK
- Purpose: Push-assist for bike & sled in deep snow
- Handover: Monday 6 July, in person
Why we're backing James
Coastal precision, polar conditions
Stainless steel earns its place on the coast because it has to survive salt, moisture and relentless wear without failing.
Those same demands, just colder and far less forgiving, define every piece of kit James carries to the Pole.
Backing his attempt felt like a natural extension of what we already do: build things that hold up when the environment gives them no room for error.
James embodies everything we stand for - resilience, precision and never settling for anything less than built-to-last.
From my first visit with Coastal Group, I had an immediate connection with their team... I think due to the pride they have in what they create, and their commitment to building products that truly last. I’m incredibly proud to be an ambassador for Coastal Group, to embody their resilience and determination, and to have their support on the challenges that lie ahead.
James knew exactly what he needed. Our job was to engineer something worthy of the challenge; I think we've achieved that and look forward to seeing it in action.
The charity behind the challenge
Raising money along the way
Alongside the world-record attempt, James is raising money for Cardiac Risk in the Young.
This is a fitting cause, given it was a heart condition that kept him out of sport as a child.
Supporters can sponsor a kilometre of the route for £20, helping fund the charity's work screening young people and preventing sudden cardiac deaths.
Every kilometre James covers on the ice can be sponsored individually - follow the link to back a stretch of the route.
Follow the journey
Coastal Group
James Benson-King