St. Malo - Nice

Our adventure starts on Brittany’s St Malo shoreline and doesn’t stop until we reach the glamour and warm Mediterranean waters of Nice on the French Riviera. Our unique journey takes us through no fewer than 19 regional départements as we ride through some of the country’s most striking and dramatic landscapes, discovering the true heart of rural France.

Passing through a patchwork of both subtle and striking changes in terrain and landscape this is a route of two distinct halves. We begin by hugging the Brittany coastline, momentarily flirting with Normandy to see the iconic Mont St-Michel before heading south to the banks of France’s longest river, the Loire. After crossing the wheat fields and grazing land of Poitou-Charentes, we reach the rolling hills of the Dordogne.

On leaving the Dordogne we turn a corner. The terrain changes too as the hills become ever more prominent, slowly giving way to mountainous terrain and steep-sided valleys; there is also a change in climate and terroir.

The route hugs the banks of the Lot River, picking a gentle course into the mountains and occasionally being propelled up its valley sides, before reaching the source and the northern edge of the wild and wooded Cévennes. We the plunge down into the fruit and vineyard clad Ardèche département before following the famous gorge of the same name to the Rhône valley, and the world-renowned wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Crossing the Rhône announces our arrival in Provence where the towering shape of Mont Ventoux on the skyline and warm sun combine with lavender fields and blue-shuttered cafés to create the impression that we have entered an entirely new country. Eventually we arrive in Nice, the so-called Jewel of the Côte d'Azur where we end our adventure by riding the length of the Promenade Des Anglais before celebrating with a dip in the soothing waters of the Mediterranean.