A few years ago, two of our wonderful guides, Hannah Reynolds and John Walsh, helped create a cycle tour through France , with one goal in mind: to give roadies the best possible experience! Today this is now our epic mile cycling holiday from St Malo to Nice in France, a route incredibly popular with many Skedaddlers. Here, Hannah gives us a little taste of the 1, mile-experience, a fantastic chance to hear from the author and pioneering guide herself…. The longest journey starts with a single step, and an entire country can be covered just one pedal stroke at a time.
Every time I arrive in Nice having guided a group all the way from St Malo, there is a sense of euphoria and satisfaction that we have covered such a long distance. Taking time to re-wind the route in my mind and trace a finger along the map, it is amazing to think back to the changes in landscape, the food we have eaten and wine we have drunk. Travelling by bike is a perfect way to fully understand a country and what I love about St Malo to Nice is that your bike provides the perfect speed of transport.
It allows you to cover significant distance each day, but at a pace that allows you to fully absorb the changes in the sights, smells and sounds around you. This is most apparent on the day we climb up to the summit of the Col du Mas.
The morning starts as we leave Mende, the highest overnight stop of the trip and begin following the course of the Lot River to its source. Here the air is cool as we climb very gently to just over m. Around us there are pine forests and alpine style cattle grazing, even a ski station, which gets occasional winter use.
After coffee we descend, then climb again from Villefort, this time a much smaller col. As you descend the cool mountain air does battle with the warm air of the Ardeche until suddenly as you near the bottom the wafts of warm air becomes waves and it feels that someone has turned the heating on. That is the moment you know you have arrived in the south. Not all changes in terrain and temperature are as dramatic. Sometimes the changes are subtle and it is only in looking back at the end of the day that you realise how gradually the landscape has shifted.
