Mostly Bikes ⨯ Me

Fire Danger: Low. Very low.

1/26/2026

It’s been damp in le Comtat lately. By lunch, the morning had fog lifted and the sun shown in a blue sky. From Le Barroux, through La Roque Alric, up to Suzette and into Bedoin two cars passed me. Bedoin was busy compared to elsewhere, but as much of the economy revolves around acting as a basecamp for cyclists riding Ventoux, most of its businesses are closed in winter. The next village up the road, perched high on a hill, is Crillon-le-Brave. There’s never much going on there, but it’s extra sleepy this time of year. I stopped for a few minutes to bask in the dipping sun, one lone worker repairing bricks on the square. There’s a steep road out of town that makes a beeline for Caromb, where everything stays open year round

Preview image for Fire Danger: Low. Very low.

Mistletoe, Lavender

1/20/2026

Rode up through the Gorges de la Nesque with a plan to grab lunch in the tiny commune of Monieux. Alas the cafe was shut, despite having been recommended by Federation Française de Cyclotourisme in 1996. As Monieux has no other eating establishments it was onto Sault for kebab and fries. The south side of the gorge, returning from Sault, is all evergreens, lavender and the occasional mistletoe clinging to seasonally appropriate bare branches.

la Font du Pommier

1/18/2026

The road down to la Font du Pommier barely qualifies as such. There isn’t any evidence bicycles frequent this chunky, slippery and steep slope. At the bottom of the hill: chatter in the trees, a bell rings, a flash of white, brown and orange sprints by to my right. A hound on a mission pays me no mind. Moments later a pair of jolly hunters appear around the bend, dressed in orange, like their dog. We smile, greet one another and continue on our respective ways. Everyone is having a good time today, though they look considerably warmer, and less muddy.

New Bike Day

1/16/2026

We really don’t want a car, but there’s the practical matter of transporting heavy things: groceries, furniture, lumber, OTHER BIKES. In an effort to ward off the jet lag sleepies, we rode the Bromptons into Carpentras and grabbed a train to Nîmes to fetch our new cargo bike: A Larry vs Harry eBullitt from Morgan Cycles. The Bromptons are perfect for this sort of multi-modal journey, riding to a train station, then into the center of a destination. The cargo bike, however, could not take the same path back to Caromb as cargo bikes are disallowed on local trains. A couple lashing straps later and my Brompton was securely attached to the Bullitt’s front bed for its 60mi trip home. After 20mi or so, we swapped out the Bromptons and Jenn hauled her bike around for a while before handing it back to me. A cargo bike carrying a Brompton weighs about 100lbs, and we found, on low power, it climbs hills at a similar speed to an unloaded Brompton. Most importantly, it kept us out of the house, awake and active, all day. Note: The GPS trace only reflects the time riding the Brompton

New bag 200k shake down.

1/3/2026

The bike in Caromb lacked portage for longer rando, so I sewed up a new bag for it and brought it on this ride as a test run. I had a lot of black fabric, and a lot of random bits, so here they are. Many design elements borrowed from Dave Cain's beautiful work at Waxwing Bags. The ride itself was swell, though an old repetitive stress injury in my wrist flared up something terrible. I'll be rocking a brace for a few days.