Every now and then, a ride comes along that rewrites the rules. That doesn’t just stretch the map—it bends reality. That kind of story needs a little more imagination. A little more honesty. And just a touch of theatrical flair.
So let’s begin with a question: What kind of rider stares at the blank, frozen, penguin-peppered expanse of Antarctica and says, “Let’s ride REBOUND there”?
The answer is Henna Palosaari.
Gravel Alliance rider. Adventurer. Fearless Finn with a love for big rides and bigger ideas. And the hero of what was meant to be REBOUND’s grand finale: The first gravel ride on the last untouched continent.
But this is not that story.
Or rather—it is, but not in the way you think.
REBOUND, the global gravel celebration, has taken riders across continents. Europe’s Alpine Passes. North America’s winding forest tracks. The dirt-red roads of Australia. The vast plains of Africa. The jungles of Southeast Asia. Even the Andes. All ticked off, one spoke at a time. On one awesome day.
But one continent remained conspicuously unclaimed. The big white one.
Antarctica.
Enter Henna: “I’ll do it.”
Cue the classic adventure setup. Cold-weather gear. Custom layers. SCOTT bike kitted with GRX, fine-tuned for the cold. Flights checked. A spot on a plane bound for Union Glacier secured.
The whole world map trembled with anticipation. This was it. The exclamation point at the end of REBOUND’s story.
But—plot twist.
Antarctica had other plans.
What they don’t tell you in the brochures (because there are no brochures) is that logistics on the southernmost continent is a dance with the wind and nature. And nature always leads.
Despite our planning, reviewing approvals, permits, and even praying to the weather gods, reality set in. REBOUND was planned during the Antarctic winter. And even if we did make it there, the environmental impact of such a journey far outweighed the reward of this venture.
So Henna didn’t make it to Union Glacier. The dream refused. And the last chapter of the REBOUND map? Blank.
For about ten minutes, we grieved.
Then we got creative.
What happens when an unstoppable rider meets an immovable continent?
You adapt.
You pivot.
You build Antarctica… in France.
And that’s how a gravel expedition became a creative expedition—equal parts ride, art project, and glorious act of imagination.
First came Chamonix.
Real mountains. Real snow. Real cold. We hauled bikes, cameras, and creative dreams up ridgelines and through alpine valleys. Henna rode with the same fire as if penguins were watching.
We reassembled the mission—not on ice, but on screen. On sound stages. On snowy trails high in the French Alps. First stop: a studio in Lyon. Walls turned white. Projectors flickered. Props arranged. Gravel sprinkled like Himalayan salt on set pieces. Henna mounted her bike beneath stage lights and fans that whipped snow-dust into her hair.
She didn’t just ride through a frozen wasteland. She created one.
Let’s pause here.
You might be wondering: Wait, so you faked it?
Not quite.
This wasn’t deception. It was storytelling. A tribute to the other half of gravel riding—the part that doesn’t live in GPS data or elevation gain. The part that lives in our minds.
We didn’t lie about Henna’s ride. We made the ride we couldn’t have. Not with CGI—but with creativity, sweat, and snow that stung our eyes in the French Alps.
What Henna did wasn’t just plan a ride. She created a legend. She showed us that adventure doesn’t stop when the plane doesn’t take off.
It just changes shape.
In the end, Henna did ride in the snow.
She did battle the elements.
She did push her Shimano-equipped gravel bike across uncharted terrain.
Was it Antarctica? No.
Did it feel like Antarctica? Strangely, yes.
More importantly, it captured the spirit of REBOUND. That wild urge to go somewhere new. To ride into the unknown. Even if the unknown turns out to be a snow-covered French meadow with a drone buzzing overhead and a camera crew wearing ski boots.
The final continent might remain unconquered (for now). But REBOUND was never just about checking boxes. It was about chasing possibility.
And in that, Henna succeeded more wildly than we ever expected.
So here we are. The end of the world map. Not with a ride, but with a reinvention. Henna’s expedition may have been grounded, but it never stopped moving.
In doing so, she reminded us that gravel is a game of two halves: reality and imagination. Legs and dreams. Earth and sky.
At Shimano, we’ll always believe in the power of the ride. But we also believe in the power of stories—the kind you build when the trail disappears and you keep riding anyway.
So here’s to Henna Palosaari. Explorer of both continents and creativity. She may not have ridden Antarctica this year. But in the heart of REBOUND 2025, she rode beyond our imagination.
And we’re all better for it.
Explore the world of gravel like Henna Palosaari and dive into the GRX family.
