Cycling in the South of France
The weekend of the 17th to 19th of April I participated in an event named “The Cycling Event”
I have involved with this event from the very begininng and here is why I love it !
WHERE
?
It happens in the city of Aubagne, 30 min from Marseille - the French Riviera in the south of France !
Very accesible if you are anywhere in France and outside of the big area of Marseille which can be quite expensive when you need to rent a place.
WHAT IT IS ?
There is a bunch of bike ride planned, from MTB to Road and Gravel - you know your boy - I came for the Road and the Gravel part of this event.
THE ROAD:
© Billy CEUSTERS
I love it because it is not a typical race, so you can enjoy the road with you friends, go fast if you want or enjoy the view if you preffer that part also ! You get to ride a nice loop on the nicest roads of the area, nothing really hard but it will keep you on the bike for a few hours (4h for me to cover the 113kms and 1864m of elevation)
You can go here for the map !
THE GRAVEL
This is the fun part !
You get to ride on gravel roads that are usually closed to the public, in fact they are called DFCI - there are used by the region to access remote parts of the forest. The only way to do the loop is to participate in the event - and again it is not a race but you can feel free to do it full gas or not !
Looking back at it, it looks like a small TRAKA with some cool climbs and a bit technical in the descent !
Here is the link to the STRAVA Ride
© Billy CEUSTERS
AFTER THE RIDES
All the rides ends up in the event village and you can have a drink and or something to eat and this year they event put a giant screen up so you could watch the Amster Gold Race live right after your ride !
All of this for only 20€ per ride, you can a gpx file, a secure start with motorcycles to escort you out of town, a free drink, gravel roads you can’t ride normaly and just a good weekend on the bike under the sun in the south of France.
Mid April - 23°C what more do you need ?