Mostly Bikes ⨯ Me

Trace Velocio 2026. Le Thoronet to Sault

2026-04-04

We had three route possibilities. Jenn wanted to do the hardest one, so we did. We rolled out of Le Thoronet in the shadow of its tacky blinking sign and into the darkness of Provence. The sun rose as we descended into the misty vineyards of Figanieres. Nope. Not mist. Burn piles on a calm morning filled the valley with suffocating smoking. I could still smell it on me halfway through the day as we climbed through the Les Gorges du Verdon. Our planned route was closed by a landslide, but the north traverse of the gorge was open, and busy. I was a bit concerned before lunch: we were barely on schedule. But as Jenn later pointed out, half of the climbing was in the first third of the day, and we recouped the deficit rapidly, getting to dinner well before the restaurants started serving. Oh well, we grabbed some crêpes, scarfed cold pizza, and made the 10-mile familiar climb out of Luberon and toward home. The Trace Velocio, unlike the Fleche Velocio, has no idle restrictions, so we had plenty of time for sleep after descending the south side of the Gorges de la Nesque at sunset and rolling into Caromb as the light faded. Our trace, like that of all the other trace and fleche teams, ended in Sault, at the traditional Paque-en-Provence gathering of randonneurs. Tomorrow, we'll pack up and head to Colorado. Looking forward to this year's RMCC fleche!

Preview image for Trace Velocio 2026. Le Thoronet to Sault

Race the wind north

2026-04-01

The mistral is nothing if not predictable. It arrives from the north, on time, every time. The forecast had a brief lull in the wind this morning, and I had a plan: Ride north, catch the tailwind when it whips up in a couple hours. I didn't hit the wall of wind until Nyons where I stopped briefly to acquire a sack of the city’s famous olives. Soon after, I turned south, climbing through the alpine-esque valley below the sleepy village of Montauleiu and onto the gravel forest road that connects Col du Lantons to Col du Voté. By the time I cleared the trees the air was warm and the wind was at my back

Montpellier

2026-03-27

Mistral wind is blowing something g wicked this week. Grabbed the Bromptons and caught the train to Montpellier for some city time. It’s a hilly place, but Montpellier is doing the cargo bike thing.

Normandy 300k. Entre Seine & Eure

2026-03-21

Rolled out with a handful of riders at 5am in time to catch the sun rising over the Seine. There were 50 or so riders registered, but most hung around the start drinking coffee and socializing, presumably departing sometime… later? No big surprise that this one rode a lot like PBP, or Coulee for that matter: foggy valleys between steep climbs to plateaus of softly rolling hills. Except that corker of a 17% grade coming out of Elbeuf, nothing too intense and a lot less riding in the dark. The Carrefour City in Évreux had rice balls, a nice break from crusty bread and buttery pastries.

Preview image for Normandy 300k. Entre Seine & Eure

Château Saint-Lambert

2026-03-17

Up on a hill, off a little used road over the ridge that borders the northern edge of Luberon sits a castle. This castle sticks out for a singular reason: The shutters are open. The shutters are never open. Better check this one out. Probably just a locked gate at the top of the steep unmaintained road. Nope. The isolated 17th century castle was purchased by the local government and converted to a sanatorium in the 1930s and repurposed to a psychiatric institution in the 1990s. The hospital eventually closed, and was sold to the wealthy owner of a chain of boarding schools who left it abandoned, which hasn't gone well.