Is there anything more exhilarating than chasing a dream on a bike? 

A group of friends enjoy a relaxed springtime gravel trip in an enchanted corner of Normandy.

TRANSMISSION | JEAN-STEPHAN & ANDRÉA MIFSUD Jean-Stephan and Andréa Mifsud are familiar faces: you might have seen Jean-Stephan in some of our shoots, and Andréa is part of the Café du Cycliste Gravel Team 2024. Recently, they lined up for the Traka, the gravel race outside Girona, northern Spain – both racing the 200km event in their Café kit. But more normally you’ll find them riding in the hills outside Nice. A real local family, they both grew up in the Nice area and both learned their love of cycling on these roads. Jean-Stephan inherited his passion from his grandfather and he passed it on to his son as soon as Andréa was old enough. “I didn’t choose cycling, cycling came for me!” Jean-Stephan says. They now live together near Nice, and train together too, pushing each other to go harder – though Jean-Stephan admits that Andréa always gets the better of him. And so he should: for the past four years Andréa, 25, has been a professional cyclist with the local Nice Métropole Côte d’Azur team – before making his gravel debut for Café du Cycliste this year. Cycling wasn’t his first love, however: as a kid he’d been a talented footballer, and he was being tracked by OGC Nice – the local first-division club – when a cruciate ligament injury put an end to his hopes to make a life playing the beautiful game. It was impossible to operate, as he was still an adolescent; only swimming and cycling remained open to him. Andréa made his choice, got a racing licence and entered his first race – a local cyclocross event on a bike he’d borrowed at the last minute. He won. Then the road season started and he won some more – and he hasn’t looked back since. “It became addictive,” Andréa says. Jean-Stephan adds that Andréa’s successes are down to his own motivation alone: “I’ve never been a coach, always a dad,” he says. For Andréa, racing is about transcending the self. Every race is an invitation to dig deeper, find new wells of energy inside himself, go beyond his limits. As for Jean-Stephan, there’s also an inner exploration going on: “Only when you pin a number on can you truly know yourself,” he says. And every win he chalks up as a veteran is also a victory over the passing of time – the ultimate time trial. Increasingly, they have added gravel to their riding routines, finding new routes through the Niçois backcountry, where the seasons and the weather create an ever-changing landscape and the roads and trails are among the best in the world. Niçois gravel stood them in good stead for the Traka 200, just outside Girona in northern Spain, where they prepared together, collected their race numbers together, took the start line together… a passion made even stronger by being shared. Check out Andréa and the Gravel Team here.

A CAFFEINATED ADVENTURE! Tom and Anouche are an offbeat adventuresome duo who joined the Café du Cycliste tribe around a year ago. A creative pair, their passions extend to running, hiking, film- and image-making, and even to being baristas – an activity that has led to the creation of Anom Café Club. They dreamed up the idea of creating a premium coffee brand last winter while enjoying the breathtaking views and balmy climate of South Africa’s Cape Province. There, they spent six months finding the best roads, lining up for races and getting to know the local cycling community. After each ride they made a beeline for the closest café, to share a moment with friends and discover the local specialities – Anouche enjoying mochas and lattes while Tom explored the region’s best espressos – and began to develop a passion for exceptional coffees, particularly those awarded more than 80/100 by the Specialty Coffee Association. When they got home to France, their first sips of coffee were a revelation – but not a good one. What they found was burned coffee made with low-quality, chemically treated beans produced by underpaid workers… how could coffee culture, which has such deep links to cycling, be in such a poor state in the home of the Tour de France? They decided to take a stand. “When we decide on a project we move fast, it’s in our DNA as entrepreneurs,” explains Tom. Less than two months after that first germ of an idea, the first packet of Anom Coffee Club coffee beans arrived. Sips of adventure. For Anouche and Tom, coffee represents many things: tasting pleasure; sharing with others, and, of course, caffeine! But coffee is also a way of exploring the world: since the best coffee is grown in mountainous regions, every sip is a story of geography, climate and adventure. Mexico was their first destination when buying beans, thanks to Tom’s love of the country and the complexity of its coffees: some of the best anaerobically fermented beans come from there, and so it was an easy choice. And both Anouche and Tom found something they both loved in Mexico, the kingdom of coffee: Cafe de Olla. This heady brew mixes coffee, raw dark sugar and cinnamon for a tastebud-tickling sensation. Next stop? Maybe Rwanda – but there are so many places to explore. Some might find the task intimidating; for them, however, it’s a challenge they’re eager to tackle. During their meetings with producers, they were amazed by the warm welcome they received from these passionate artisans. Tasting a freshly picked coffee cherry was an unforgettable experience. Now, with hundreds of tastings and even more kilometres behind them, their passion for this precious grain has only grown, thanks to the range of the world’s finest coffees they’ve tasted. But it has also opened up a world of adventure. While exploring high-altitude coffee plantations in Guatemala, where taking part in the harvest was almost akin to mountaineering, they decided to climb Acatenango, the country’s highest volcano. It was a sizeable challenge: after a 3 a.m. start they were heading through the jungle in the dark, to the sound of distant booming. Then, on the climb, the sun rose: it was “breathtaking”, according to the pair. “It was like we were the only people in the whole world.” After 1,600 metres of ascent in only 8 kilometres, it was a dizzying climb, but their courage was rewarded: from the summit they could see across the coffee plantations to the growling, grumbling Fuego in full eruption. In just two weeks, Mexico changed their ideas about coffee forever. It transformed coffee into a story of friendly faces, men and women dedicating a lifetime’s hard labour to a quest for exceptional beans. As the local saying goes: “La vida es sólo una taza de café tras otro y no preocuparse por otra cosa” “Life is just one cup of coffee after another, and nothing else really matters” Tom and Anouche returned home with their pockets full of beans and mouths full of tastes! They’ve thrown themselves into putting extraordinary coffee into our cups, and they’re not stopping there. If you live in their environs, they’ll deliver to you by bike by the pannier full. Or how about a taste test… that could be arranged! Having tested a Bialetti of their first Mexican beans, we can say, you’ll be in for a tasty journey.

RIDE & CREATE "BOTANICOOL" | KALICE BRUN The Côte d’Azur is known as much for its cities, culture and chic resorts as its natural beauty. But outside the hustle and bustle, often just behind the tower blocks, gardens and resorts, there still exist wild places on our shores. And in these wild places you just might find Karine Brun. Also known as ‘Kalice’, she’s a herbalist, naturopath and therapist, exploring and exploiting the secrets of the indigenous plants of the Riviera. Brun was born in the Nice back country and growing up spent her summers in the haven of biodiversity now protected by the Mercantour National Park. However, she also formed a deep attachment to the sea, coming regularly to swim at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. She also spent time near the coast at her grandmother’s, where, in the back garden, she collected plants and made mixtures in the outside basin. “It was forbidden to disturb me,” she says. “I was convinced I was making magic potions.” She made these healing potions with the same intensity as she did her adventuring. These days, she lives in Nice and makes herbal remedies – real magic potions! – seeing herself as a kind of mediator between the human and plant worlds. She also creates podcasts, writes books and runs nature-writing workshops and wild food experiences to spread the word about the power of plants. Every day, she comes to Café du Cycliste for her morning coffee, sometimes spending the day there at work looking out over the port. She goes by bike everywhere, so – as we’ve just launched our Botanicool capsule collection – we asked her to take us on one of her ‘cyclo-foraging’ tours. These ‘olfactory voyages’ use the plants they discover to shed light upon and interrogate her clients’ experiences, intentions, their links with nature, life path. This work mirrors exactly what plants do: grow into the light. “There are two impulses in my everyday interactions with plants,” she says. “An intuitive part – an encounter, a touch, a smell – that leads me to follow threads of information, and an olfactory part: why not use that particular plant as an essential oil, to work at things from the inside as well?” And the tours combine the scientific with the sensory – sight, smell, touch, taste – providing an education both in the unique flora of the region and responsible foraging practices, as well as precious meditation time surrounded nature. Because – it’s important to note – foraging is not allowed everywhere, and certain species are protected. Kalice always forages and teaches – in a responsible and sustainable way. On a beautiful early spring day, we took a morning coffee at the Café before riding out behind Kalice, foraging bag on her back. First stop were the gardens in front of the prehistoric site of the Lazaret cave, on the outskirts of Nice. Here, where wild nature was gaining the upper hand on the planted species, it wasn’t hard to imagine the prehistoric people using the same plants to cure and heal in their turn. It was the perfect place for her to expand upon the concept of the ‘garden world’, promoted by the botanist and gardener Gilles Clément, which reflects how humans have shaped the landscape and biodiversity through their centuries-long interactions with nature. “We can collaborate with plants but we can’t dominate them,” Kalice says. “Even if we cultivate them, there’ll always be some wildness.” After Lazaret, we headed to La Darse beach in Villefranche, and then further, to Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat on the coastal path. As we did, we took in everything that surrounded us, wandering in the pine forests of Cap Ferrat. “Plants can take us on a journey,” Kalice said. When you’re cyclo-foraging, every day is different, but here are the plants we saw: 1. Sea fennel: regulates water, fights cellulite and swelling. Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, diuretic 2. Fig tree: symbol of Mediterranean gardens, relaxing, digestive, antispasmodic, laxative 3. Eucalyptus globulus: native to Australia, Expectorant, antiseptic, decongestant. Cleans swamps, allows life in unsanitary territories 4. French or butterfly lavender: relaxing, healing, analgesic 5. Rosemary: a sacred plant, stimulant, antioxidant, general tonic, detoxes the liver 6. Olive: symbol of peace and longevity, lowers blood pressure, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory Check out Botanicool here.

Paris–Nice, AKA la Course au Soleil Paris–Nice, AKA la Course au Soleil (the ‘Race to the Sun’), has long been one of our favourite races. Besides being traditionally the first European stage race of the season – the first chance to see the grand tour racers fight it out that year – it has always had an air of romance. Winter can linger on in northern France, and the départ from the ‘City of Lights’, which always falls on the first Sunday in March, often takes place under grim grey skies or cold wind and rain. The race then processes towards the south, winding through the bare vineyards of Burgundy, flirting with the foothills of the Alps and diving deep into the Provençal countryside. Somewhere along the way, the sun begins to shine, and, by the time it reaches the Côte d’Azur, the peloton has emerged from the long shadow of winter into the Mediterranean spring. Paris–Nice promises better days to come for all of us, and that long warm summer rides will return – that perhaps they’re not even very far away. We also love Paris–Nice because it loves our home roads. For many years the finale took the form of a time trial stage up Col d’Èze, which starts metres from our HQ and is our go-to lunch ride. These days, however, a traditional road stage closes proceedings, riding the rollercoaster of hills closest to the Mediterranean before plunging into town and skirting around the port en route to a finish on the Promenade des Anglais. Customers spectating on the TV screens in our café often run outside at the last minute to watch the peloton thundering past! Paris–Nice is also a connoisseur of the arrière pays Niçois, the backcountry behind the beaches, and before its date on the Promenade it usually fits in at least one proper mountain stage. In previous years it has tackled favourite climbs like the Col de Vence, and summit finishes on the Col de la Couillole and 1,607-metre-tall Col de Turini. This year it will head over Col St Martin/La Colmiane (1,500m), before finishing with a 7.2km climb to the ski resort of Auron. The current champion, Tadej Pogačar, will not be coming this year to defend his title, but the action will be no less intense because of it; all eyes will be on his compatriot and long-time adversary, Primož Roglič. Paris–Nice has also seen some stars be born, including, not so long ago, a young Peter Sagan, whose Paris–Nice stage win at the age of 19 was only the start of his impact on cycling. Which future star will make their début at Paris–Nice this year? Over eight days and 1,220 kilometres, we’ll very soon find out. If you’re planning to be in town, come to the café for good coffee and big screens showing the action on race days. Hire a bike and explore the roads ridden by the pros – just ask our staff for recommendations on where to go.

Ride & Create | Juliette Bruley It is a truism that artists have a horror of the blank canvas, and writers of the fresh white page. How could one possibly spoil its infinite possibilities by making a mark? Sometimes it is in finding limitations that creativity is set free. And what for a painter could be more limiting, more awkward, than a bicycle frame? Juliette Bruley is a born-and-bred Parisian, and also – if there can be such a thing – a born-and-bred cyclist. Growing up, she remembers her grandfather riding from Paris to Nice. While she hasn’t ridden quite that far, the bicycle has been her companion from her earliest years and today is her indispensable tool for her daily life in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris. It’s both a passion and the medium for her art. As well as a love of cycling, Juliette also inherited a desire to understand how the world worked, to get under the skin of things. At the age of 17 these two things combined when she built her first fixed-gear bike. She began working in a bike shop as a mechanic, then got her qualifications and became a workshop manager. But it was at a place called Stolen Garage that her passions became further intertwined. Here she learned the art of painting frames – Stolen Garage runs, to our knowledge, the only training course specifically for those people wishing to paint bicycles – and now she handles all the paint jobs that come through the Stolen workshop. And what a workshop it is. One half of Stolen’s premises is a café and showroom, serving locally sourced, seasonal produce and coffee roasted in Paris, with a side of conviviality and cycle style; the other half, separated by a giant soundproof window, is where Stolen makes its custom frames from premium Columbus tubing, and fine-tunes, customises and repairs bicycles of all flavours. An ‘open kitchen’ concept but with bicycles on the menu, where you can come and drink a coffee and watch your very own frame take shape. Juliette’s jobs might be resprays, or they might be the first time paint touches pristine metal. Sometimes customers come with a definite sense of what they want; sometimes they give her creative sensibility free rein. Either way, the responsibility is huge: to create something that satisfies her own artistic sense, corresponds to the customer’s wishes and respects the form of the bicycle. This latter is no easy task. Traditional tubing is 1” in diameter, and even the oversized tubing more commonly used today is barely bigger. The angles and curves present challenges… and opportunities. Stencils and masks can be drawn up digitally, but in the end, creating a compelling paint job on a bicycle requires projection, visualisation and a dynamic aesthetic sense. Colour is Juliette’s favourite aspect of the job. What colour would you like to smear across the landscape at 40 kilometres an hour? Despite the limits of the traffic, the bicycle offers Juliette the freedom of the city streets. And since she recently became a parent, she has found out that the bicycle is for all seasons of our lives. Just as her parents did with her, she can’t wait to share her passion with young son. Who knows, perhaps a ride from Paris to Nice is still on the cards. There’ll be a coffee and a pastry waiting on the Café du Cycliste bar when she arrives. Photos credit: Mathieu Pellerin

Travel deep: hiking the Mercantour There are many different ways of travelling. In the spring and summer, it’s good to travel far, and travel fast; but in the autumn, with months of adventures in the legs, it’s time to travel deep. In the high backcountry behind Nice lies the Mercantour National Park; many of our favourite roads pass through it, like the Col de Turini and Col de la Bonette, both of which will feature in the final stages of the 2024 Tour de France. But because of the terrain and the park’s regulations – which forbid any development or construction, any off-road cycling, any hunting, mushroom picking and even dogs! – there are vast areas that are inaccessible even to mountain bikes. These are trails and passes you can explore only by foot. We set off for a late-season hike in the last of the year’s sunshine, to deepen our knowledge of the spaces between the roads. The aim was to do a tour of Mont Bégo, a 2,872-metre-tall mountain in the heart of the park whose flanks are covered with bronze-age rock carvings. Why they are there, nobody knows, but these hidden valleys have been regarded as special – sacred even – for thousands of years. Away from the trailhead, we were quickly swallowed by silence and light. No cars or motorbikes buzzing up and down the roads, only fresh, still air and low-angled sun. In peak season there is a good network of high-mountain refuges that welcome travellers, but in this shoulder season, after the summer and before the snow, only a single one was open, in the ‘Valley of Wonders’ itself. But this was enough to help us complete our loop, and we stayed there two nights, separated by one night in a bivacco. This basic, unattended cabin just over the border in Italy provided bunks, blankets and a roof; everything else we had to carry in with us – and, of course, carry out again. Life for these few days was gloriously simple: walk, eat, drink, sleep, and walk again, into forbidding cirques seemingly without an exit and up scree slopes to forgotten passes; or down, through larch forests ablaze with colour next to rushing, babbling streams. A path, however small or indistinct, is a friendly thing. It is a sign someone has been here before – and gives hope that, somewhere near its end, is a warm welcome, a cold beer and a place to lay down your pack. We walked 70 kilometres over those three-and-a-half days – around the same distance as three hours riding a bike. We moved slower, thought slower, experienced slower and saw so much more. You could walk these trails for years without ever quite seeing or feeling the same thing twice. Perhaps, I think, even a single valley might be enough to explore, through rain, sun and snow, watching the shadows change and the trees grow and the years pass. In the short time since we descended back to civilisation, the season has turned and big storms have again ravaged the valleys behind Nice. It’s a reminder of how hard life can be in these mountains and that they are not always as benevolent, which makes the memory of time there in the sun all the sweeter. READ MORE Ultra Spirit & Anomadventures | A Human Adventure. A unique trail running event, Ultra Spirit takes place in the Haute-Savoie Alps and consists of teams of three runners accruing points rather than the average race against time. TRANSMISSION #2 | Serge and Carla Lamy. The second in our series of profiles on the family connection of cycling, capturing on film mother and son, Carla and Serge Lamy. Etienne Hubert | From Kayak to Gravel: Traversing the Alps. The summer months are synonymous with heavy training loads for the kayak racers of the French national team. 2023 was no exception to the rule. An Outsider’s Guide | Trail Running Mont Cima. Convenience isn’t just on the street corner, it’s in the palm of our hand, strapped to our wrists, counting every step, click, beep and tap.

SOPHIE GATEAU | Adventure in the Ardennes The heatwave of summer 2023, which blasted through the southern half of France, was in the end a blessing. Our initial bikepacking project in the Pro-vençal mountains suddenly presented itself as a crossing of a furnace rather than an adventure discovering the trails of the backcountry. So, we switched channels. Goodbye cicadas and hello frites, our summer will be spent in Belgium. Over the years, I have compiled a hit-list of routes to ride one day or another, and thanks to the excellent site bikepacking.com, I had gratefully spotted a 366km offroad trail nestled in the mountainous forests of south-eastern Belgium. The route is lovingly called Ardennes Arbalète and the creator, Kevin Machtelinckx, declares it to get straight to the heart of the matter – adventure... We opt for a two-step approach. By taking the train to Charleville-Mézières, a station close to the Franco-Belgian border, we give ourselves time to gauge what awaits us by approaching the Ardennes massif via the long cycle path along the banks of the river Meuse. It drags us towards the hills, as if it has caught us in its tractor beam. The tone is set, tourists are rare, the landscapes are magnificent, and the temperatures are mild. The Franco-Belgian border no longer exists, materially speaking, so we cross it virtually at the bend of a stony path. Only the car registration plates indicate that we have moved into another coun-try. History is always present, however. The Ardennes were the scene of fierce fighting during the two world wars, and the memorials and defensive construc-tions which line the route constantly remind us of the madness and fury of mankind. But mankind also creates as well as destroys, and following a trail made by someone else is a most pleasant experience. We let ourselves be carried off on a mystery tour that this person has beautifully constructed. We wonder why they chose to take us this way, rather than that. We abandon ourselves and we enjoy the moment. Ardennes Arbalète is a mix of beautiful rolling forest tracks, small roads without cars and single-file trails that are a little difficult but always allow two wheels to traverse successfully. The name Ardennes is said to be of Celtic in origin, meaning ‘dark and deep’. This term applies entirely to the dense forests that we cross as well as the black slate cliffs that pierce the landscape here and there. We imagine a land of ancient legends and magical creatures living in these massifs which seem impenetrable by mere mortals. Forests alternate with steep valleys, peat bogs with verdant pastures, moors with rocky escarpments, and multiple rivers with ancient stone villages. The region is also full of campsites which often introduce us to the local gas-tronomy, always accompanied by a very local beer. If you’ve been to Belgium you will be more than aware of the huge number of breweries per square metre. Most impressive and highly refreshing. Our bikes are fitted with tyres to get through even the trickiest of trails, and our panniers are kept light to maintain manoeuvrability on steep paths. Our pace is intentionally slow, no more than 70-80 kilometres per day to be able to enjoy and appreciate the countryside we are discovering. We complete the trail in eight days without rushing, returning home with a crazy desire to come back as soon as possible. READ MORE A Tour of the Volcanoes of Auvergne. Sophie Gateau explores the Auvergne region, where there are probably more cows than humans per m2, armed with our camera, a tent and a knife. Sculpting the Seine River Trail - Sophie Gateau. A river is an invitation to travel, a reptilian receptacle of a million stories, a living, majestic guideline to new places. Trail Running Guide Mallorca. A demanding yet highly rewarding territory not just for cyclists, but also runners, you can really uncover this enchanting island in the middle of the Mediterranean with just a pair of running shoes. The Major Seven - 3 riders, 7 mountains, 24 hours. Yes, it’s the adventure of the summer, the Forever Outsiders spirit, an unforgettable experience with a little bit of a laugh (and maybe some tears).

An Outsider’s Guide | Trail Running Mont Cima. Forever Outsiders. The world is smaller than it used to be. For those privileged enough to travel around it for work & pleasure, commercial aviation, smart-phones and location services allow you to zoom into anywhere almost instantly. Convenience isn’t just on the street corner, it’s in the palm of our hand, strapped to our wrists, counting every step, click, beep and tap. And now if you venture out into the wild, did it really happen if you don’t post it to your feed? Don’t worry someone else will take the pictures. God loves a hiker, not a liker. To really explore this rock they call Planet Earth, you need to use your own organic matter. Log-off, lace-up and stride out to see what nature can offer you. If it’s out into the wide-open air, to places you’ve never been before, or simply a local, well-known route to feel your heart beat, there’s nothing much more rewarding than Trail Running. Simplicity. Outside you expand your lungs, your mind, and your horizons. Push just that little bit further, beyond the average path, and reconnect with real world movement and sensory fulfilment. As experienced riders and runners, and busy working folk; many of us turn to our running shoes as a versatile and time-efficient way to get out and breathe a little deeper. Exploring a new city by bike should be done at a leisurely pace and sometimes the clock and baggage allowance doesn’t enable one to sling all their riding accoutrements along for the trip (although bike rental is available at both our Nice and Mallorca locations). Anyway, put bluntly, more and more riders appear to be running. And we are they. We ride, we run, we swim, we have fun. We are Forever Outsiders, forever out riding, sliding, grinding and exploring. We cannot be categorised beyond our passion for adventure. Trail Running is perhaps the combination of our love for the off-road, the beauty of the wild and the suffering that makes a day out that little bit more interesting. Our latest trail route, taken on by colleagues Maïlys, Thibault and Lucie struck out from the small village of Aspremont (25-minute drive or 70 min bike ride from Nice), running a voluptuous loop ‘peaking’ at Mont Cima. Our trio are linked by a taste for the mountains and the desire to explore ever further. Thibault, former high-level cyclist, Lucie the gravel adventurer and Maïlys the dedicated runner. No matter their individual level, the goal was to enjoy this hinterland we are so blessed to have on the doorstep. Living in Nice with the sea and mountains by your side, allows you to move seamlessly into natural surroundings. The name of Aspremont translates as ‘rough mountain’ and the landscape and terrain around the village certainly proves to be rugged for runners, walkers, riders and everything in between. Aspremont lies on the eastern slopes of the lower section of the Var, the valley that links the Alpes Maritimes and Nice. This ancient village was formerly protected by a castle, which you can still see the remains of. Straight out of the village towards Mont Cima is a serious warm up for the thighs and lungs. Like most trail routes around here, it is easy to quickly accumulate elevation, rising fast due to a strong gradient. The topography is a mixture of rock and a little greenery. Then once at the top, a change of landscape, and a descent into the forest, perfectly timed for some recovery under the canopy. The diversity of the landscape in this area is incredible. The vegetation thins out as the trail climbs once more to the summit. Looking around, you will see the sea in the distance and in front the ever-changing view of the Alpes and the Niçoise backcountry. Millions of tourists, cyclo and pedestrian, flock to the Côte d’Azur every year. The adventures on offer are infinite, and we know how lucky we are to have so much on our doorstep. A wonderful climate, the mountains, the ocean, and incredible views and smells around every bend. It’s a paradise we give thanks and praise to every day. This is why we are Forever Outsiders – to identify who, why and what we run jump, pedal, and explore for. READ MORE CAP D'AIL TÊTE DE CHIEN Here you are, in Cap d'Ail for a trail that will take you straight to one of the most beautiful views of the Principality of Monaco. SAINT JEAN CAP FERRAT This is one of the easier trail courses that you can find on the Côte d'Azur, its 120 metres of vertical drop provide a playground for novice runners and the experienced athlete alike. MOUNT BORON You glide alongside the port, then past the beach where the coastal path begins. It’s magical on the side of the rock, overlooking the sea. NICE TRAIL RUNNING GUIDE What leads up the garden path… trail running is to the road runner what gravel riding is to the road cyclist.

Sculpting the Seine River Trail A river is an invitation to travel, a reptilian receptacle of a million stories, a living, majestic guideline to new places. This is the starting point of an adventure. The Seine River Trail is 859 kilometres long. We are a trio of travellers – two Parisians and a Dijonnais; Sophie, Pierre-Charles and Camille. The desire to create an adventure accessible to gravel and bikepacking enthusiasts along the Seine brought us together. We wanted to somehow become part of the landscape too. This is a long-term project, and so nothing has been left to chance when creating it. There is a bike lane that runs along the Seine, intended for cyclists, but our objective is to establish an alternative route, using rustic paths and roads, suitable for a gravel route from Dijon up through Paris to Le Havre at the river’s mouth. One that allows divergences from the banks of the river to better return there later, to find a point of view in height or to escape the motorised traffic. The route less taken. The trail starts in Dijon, the historic capital of Burgundy, with the sources of the Seine a few kilometres away. The symbolic start of this adventure is a sculpture of the goddess Sequana, nymph of the sources of the river, she will be our muse. The eastern part of the route, between Paris and Dijon, was directly inspired by a bikepacking event organised and piloted by Pierre-Charles. July, this section becomes an incentive to ride the Seine River Trail, and so we ride it together for a few days, in good spirits. After a few adjustments to the existing route, we only have half of the full distance from Paris to Le Havre left to plot. We take advantage of the long winter evenings to trace the missing 400 km. We are on well-documented ground to imagine the crossing through Paris, but the rest of the route remains abstract. Despite an in-depth study of the maps, the recommendations left by other users on Komoot and the listing of the points of interest of the different regions crossed, we must check in real-time whether what we have imagined corresponds to our expectations. The first major reconnaissance will take place in mid-December, in the opposite direction, from the port of Le Havre moving southeast to Mantes-la-Jolie. The days are short in winter, the temperatures are negative. The spectacle of frost in the Normandy fields and the mist rising from the river delights us every day, however, despite the biting cold. We are riding against the tide, with Paris as our goal, along unknown paths and tracks. Most of the terrain that we had imagined from looking at the screen pixels turns out to be what we hoped for. Some parts need to be completely reinvented though. Our method consists of taking out our phones, analysing the map on the Komoot app, separating so that everyone explores a different path and meeting a few kilometres further to combine our impressions and our feelings. If the alternative route is too technical, we choose to eliminate it, if it is too easy or uninteresting, we continue to look for another route. For some parts of the recce, more than four passes will be necessary for us to be satisfied. The Seine is a permanent state of tension between wild nature, landscapes that have inspired so many modern painters and brutal manufacturing and industry, especially oil. On the section that we survey from Le Havre, it is the refineries and the oil tankers that punctuate the landscape. The Seine is very wide near its mouth and the bridges that span it are few and far between. We choose to pass the track through the ferries that transport pedestrians, cyclists and cars from one bank to the other. Crossing the river by boat offers a new dimension and another rhythm to the journey, connecting us even more to the flow of the Seine. A river hollows out the landscape, shapes it. The Seine has sculpted our bike course wonderfully. We alternate between towpaths and forest tracks located on the plateaus at the top of the banks. The Norman villages with their typical architecture and thatched roofs appear on these clifftops, also offering us welcome breaks in the village cafés. At the end of spring and after multiple round trips from Paris to check the latest route options, the course is finally ready. A weekend with some friends riding the route ‘blind’ allows us to validate the recent modifications and to collect the first impressions of other bikepacking enthusiasts. The vegetation has changed dramatically since those naked and frozen winter days. We rediscover our very own hand-drawn route with unbridled pleasure, the line we have sculpted, like the statue of Sequana, with our bodies and minds. Everyone is delighted with the kilometres that we have helped them discover. We can finally launch this route publicly. Mission accomplished. Seine River Trail is an 859 km track that follows the Seine from near or far. It is public and free. VIEW MORE Isabel Del Real : A bike, a drawing kit and a graphic novel later. Isabel Del Real – long-distance cyclist and ‘documentary cartoonist’ – came to Nice to share her story and brush strokes with us. VIEW MORE RIDE & CREATE: Jade Robertson. It's clear that Jade’s cycling life feeds directly into her art. Movement and textures fly out of the canvas like the road or trails in front of you. VIEW MORE TRANSMISSION – GUILLAUME NERY. Cycling is a gift. From when you are first taught to push the pedals down the street, to crossing the finish line with your arms raised in thanks. VIEW MORE Ride & Create | Laurianne Melierre. On her bright orange Brompton, Laurianne Melierre skilfully navigates the beautiful neighbourhoods of Paris with equal parts curiosity and power. VIEW MORE

RIDE AND CREATE | Isabel Del Real ‘Seeing new landscapes is a real source of inspiration.’ Isabel Del Real is a long-distance cyclist, illustrator and author. Born in San Francisco and growing up on the coast of Brittany, she spent most of her childhood outdoors and reading books. A curious creature with natural wanderlust, she decided to take some time out post-university to travel. This quickly blossomed into a year-long bike-packing adventure from France to Iran, where she rediscovered her love for exploration and storytelling. A friend of Café du Cycliste, she visited Nice recently to talk about her passion for long distance cycling and how it powers her artistry. Already hooked into hiking and with an obsession for the mountains and ancient maps, Isabel Del Real dreamt of a big trek east through all the highest points in Europe and into Asia. She started with a high Pyrenean hike, and loved it, but realised that it was going to take three years to get all the way on foot. She discovered that the way to carry herself and her gear was by bicycle. Building her bike with friends out of various spare parts and a Surly Ogre frame, she also sewed together her own panniers, ready for a serious bike-packing adventure. Isabel decided she wanted to travel to Tehran from her hometown Plouër sur Rance in northwest France. And it was this adventure that led to the 26-year-old documenting her travels through illustration. Having loved drawing when she was younger, sketching and colouring all the time, but never studying it, she found on her bike trips that she had the peace and solitude to reignite her love for illustration. Overcoming the fear of the blank sheet and the need for perfection, she made lines she liked and began to feel good when putting pencil and ink to paper. During her trip to Tehran she drew more and more; gaining confidence in herself and her form. One of the results of this voyage is a graphic novel she has recently published called Plouheran (a contraction of Plouër and Tehran). Now, on every journey, she retransmits in drawing the emotions she feels on her bike: loneliness, encounters, nights in bivouacs, friendships. The eternal act of ‘looking to the end of the road’. Isabel’s creativity is very much a product of riding her bicycle. She pulls a fresh copy of Plouheran out of a box and looks it over, saying: ‘You have so much freedom physically and mentally when you ride a bike, the body is busy but the mind can think. It brings peace, and it is this serenity of mind that will allow you to be creative. It develops the imagination to have large landscapes in front of you, mountains that make you dream, you can project all your thoughts on them.’ During her trip from Brittany to Tehran she found it gave her the opportunity and inspiration to draw. As she pores over different landscapes and details, Isabel continues: ‘When you travel long term, you need moments of pause, sometimes there is no internet, no books to read… We have time to occupy, which is an immense luxury. The mind is really linked to the pedals, for example there are very frustrating things that we somehow exorcise when we climb, and things linked to freedom and happiness when we descend. It’s a vehicle for reflection and we can find a real organization of creativity on the bike.’ We ask the obvious question about how this kind of travelling and exploration influences her creative work, and how it manifests itself on paper. ‘The two are really linked but in fact they are conducted in different environments… When you do comics and cycling, you are brought between two phases, the outdoor phase, when you're on the bike finding inspiration and looking for stories to tell. But at some point, you have to sit down and create the comic strip; which is extremely demanding. You lock yourself in your studio and draw and take your time.’ Isabel’s process for creating her stories obviously begins with sketches but also photos and notes on the phone, plus that old fashioned thing called human memory. ‘When you're not looking at the photos and your notes, the question to ask is, “what do you remember?” Memory is a screenshot in your head. Sometimes the mind distorts a little but it's a memory so it's a strong image. For my graphic novel Plouheran, I used what I remembered the most. I now travel to find stories. Afterwards, you have to work to shape these stories into something more than just experiences... There are so many joyful memories you take from cycling. Every day I was happy on my bike. You are in nature, so you see beautiful things. You exercise, you feel good. Like riding in the Euphrates Gorge, a magnificent gravel road, with friends I’d met along the way, it was one of the most magical moments and in the evening you make your bivouac. Pure adventure.’ Those magical moments are the driving force for Isabel, she does not consider herself as a pure cyclist, but really an ‘outsider’. But it’s clear that as soon as she reaches another new destination, she makes herself right at home with conviviality and enthusiasm for whatever and whoever she sees and meets. ‘I wanted to go somewhere, and the bike was a way of getting there. Today, I have a hyper-rational love of cycling. It’s the best form of transportation in the city or anywhere. Cycling isn’t just a sport – it’s a means of travel, of escape. I didn't think I would call myself a cyclist but now I think that from the moment we ride a bike, it doesn't matter what we are, we are cyclists. Everyone has their own way of cycling.’ Café du Cycliste first teamed up with Isabel in 2021, supplying her with some essential kit (including her trusted Alizée which she takes ‘everywhere’) on her trip from Brittany to Tehran. Isabel’s first time in Nice was memorable for those same reasons that so many keep returning; the mountains, the sea, and the culture. ‘Nice has inspired me to draw. The city is that of the sportsperson but also that of the traveller. The tiled roofs, greenery, and boats. The colours, the churches... and the socca. The atmosphere of the city feels very Italian. It's a beautiful, relaxing city and feels like an endless summer vacation.’ READ MORE RIDE & CREATE: Jade Robertson. It's clear that Jade’s cycling life feeds directly into her art. Movement and textures fly out of the canvas like the road or trails in front of you. VIEW MORE Ride & Create | Laurianne Melierre. On her bright orange Brompton, Laurianne Melierre skilfully navigates the beautiful neighbourhoods of Paris with equal parts curiosity and power. VIEW MORE Ride & Create : Andrea Sarri Italian Michelin Starred Chef Sarri annually records more than 25,000 km on the clock.Andrea should have become a professional cyclist, but life decided otherwise. VIEW MORE Ride and Create : Anne Pesce. For over 15 years, Artist Anne Pesce has been repeating the same ritual every day. Just before 6am, when day is barely breaking or is still completely dark, she leaves her apartment on her bike to climb the Col de Vence. VIEW MORE

RIDE & CREATE | Jade Robertson In early June we stopped by the studio of Jade Robertson, an abstract artist and lifelong cyclist who this year created an artwork for a campaign with Café du Cycliste. Originally from the UK, Jade is now based in the Bastille area of Paris. Her art is, in her words, ‘about energy’ and if you take a look through her catalogue of paintings you can see how Jade’s work is certainly dynamic, but also heavily influenced by nature and the environment in which she often travels by bike. Cycling for most of her life, and coming from a family of cyclists, Jade went on mountain bike holidays as a child, honing her technical skills and a love for the exhilaration of cycling. ‘I got a pink drop-handlebar bike for my 10th birthday and thought I was the coolest. I learnt a big lesson when I put the pedal down and turned into a curb and came right off. It hurt, and [laughing] I’ve never done it since.’ After graduating she moved to New York City to pursue a textile-design career working for large brands for almost 20 years. Jade grew despondent with the homogenous world of commercial fashion and was desperate to find a new outlet for her creativity. But it was cycling, rather than art, that pushed her in a new and far more fulfilling direction. ‘I wasn’t feeling inspired in my professional life, and that’s when I started cycling more in New York City.’ Having commuted on a CX bike, she met a group of cyclists in New York and upgraded to a slicker road bike. Soon she was riding twice a week with this all-male group, pushing herself to new limits every Wednesday and Saturday on chain-gangs from the Big Apple into New jersey state. ‘Cycling was my everything. It allowed for the expression and outlet that my job wasn’t giving me. I just couldn’t wait to get out on the bike. And cycling with the guys made me really strong.’ ‘It sounds a bit corny but that gave me the push to do my own thing in my career. You know, I’m thinking “if I can ride with these guys, and I’m taking turns to pull on the front…” It was metaphorical in my career, and I started to be true to myself. My job ended in NYC and since then I’ve been a freelance artist.’ Jade moved to Paris and began looking for a similar group to ride with. Here she met Christophe Flemin, in-house photographer at Café du Cycliste, and they got talking about the creative world. ‘One of the beautiful things about cycling is you meet amazing people. It creates a camaraderie… Since I met Christophe, he’s been a great advocate and contact for my work.’ Having worked on a project with Christophe previously, he contacted Jade for about a campaign to launch the new Café du Cycliste footwear category. ‘The beauty of the project was I’m a cyclist and I know what it feels like to ride on the road and off the road, I know the feeling – you know like riding through Paris at 6am in the morning with no one around, that thrill of the ride. and I wanted to emulate that in the painting.’ Influenced by many things alongside Japanese painting and French abstract expressionism, Jade’s work is undoubtedly full of the energy and dynamism found when travelling fast on a bicycle. But it’s also a window into her ecstatic take on the world around her. She loves to capture the duality of her experience, blending light and dark, calm and chaos. ‘Most of my painting is about energy, and a feeling. So this project with Café was not difficult for me to interpret. We did a few versions, but not many. I used a few different techniques like the spray bottle to create the splash effect. It was a really fun project to work on.’ It's clear that Jade’s cycling life feeds directly into her art. Movement and textures fly out of the canvas like the road or trails in front of you. And she clearly understood the brief, the DNA of Café du Cycliste as a brand. ‘Things like water on the road, the dust, the tyre marks, and I think Christophe didn’t need to say much to me as I knew what you guys were looking for... I love capturing the movement and energy and trying to recreate that from the experience on the bike.’ Jade’s bouncy demeanour is even more apparent when you meet her, she beams with positivity and it’s infectious. But it’s perhaps the toil and discomfort (maybe even darkness) of hours in the saddle, especially when climbing and overcoming a hill or mountain that creates this dissonance, and ultimately clears the mind. ‘Cycling is like therapy for me. It makes me so happy. What you can learn from cycling is endless. It’s very metaphorical for life. Like when I rode Mt. Ventoux, these moments are very humbling. Overcoming, you know. It’s not just a work-out, you can really clear your mind, focus on the present, it’s really good for your mentality.’ As with all our subjects in this series, we pose the question, are the two worlds of cycling and creativity symbiotic? ‘I think cycling and creativity are strongly linked. It’s hard to visualise what comes into my head, but it helps me to free my mind, and I don’t think I could do one without the other. It allows me to stay present and focus. The physical and mental side of both are so important to me.’ Cycling and art have one overriding thing in common for her: energy. And this is of course what turns the pedals, creates the brush strokes and ultimately makes the world go round for Jade Robertson. She harnesses that energy in everything she does. ‘Without getting too philosophical, I think cycling and art have saved my life. I don’t know what I’d do without them. It’s 100% who I am. I know it's not easy to be a successful artist. I just want people to feel good when they see my painting. That energy I want to portray, it’s something that’s really important to me.’ READ MORE Ride & Create | Laurianne Melierre On her bright orange Brompton, Laurianne Melierre skilfully navigates the beautiful neighbourhoods of Paris with equal parts curiosity and power. Ride & Create : Andrea Sarri Italian Michelin Starred Chef Sarri annually records more than 25,000 km on the clock.Andrea should have become a professional cyclist, but life decided otherwise. Ride & Create: Antoine Ricardou Founder of Paris-based Saint-Lazare / A.S.L agency and Montmartre Vélo Club (the MVC Paris), Architect Antoine Ricardou rode out with us on a rainy morning in Paris to share his thoughts on links between his creative practice and endurance sports. Ride and Create : Anne Pesce For over 15 years, Artist Anne Pesce has been repeating the same ritual every day. Just before 6am, when day is barely breaking or is still completely dark, she leaves her apartment on her bike to climb the Col de Vence.

The Tour 2023 –– High Profile Whatever you might be doing this summer, July generally means one thing in the bike racing calendar... All eyes are firmly set on France. The bunting is up, the sun cream is out, and three weeks of peloton prime time is ready to be devoured. Of course, we’ve always been here in the spiritual home (and key training location) of road racing, but that doesn’t stop the excitement fizzing about our corner of the Riviera like an unattended fire hose come July. As well as stunning scenery and very fast humans on bicycles, the Tour (pour hommes et pour femmes) tells you a lot about the diversity and culture of France; its regionality and eccentricities. And with Bastille Day falling in the middle of the race, the Tour is more than just a cacophonous bike race invading towns and villages. For many bike riders and lovers of the sport this time of year is the peak of the season. This year marks 120 years of this grandest of all the stage races and takes in five distinct mountain ranges: the Vosges, Jura, Massif Central and the Alps and Pyrenees of course. And as with every July, the anticipation for the mountain stages gets most people feeling highly effervescent. It’s the pinnacle of bike racing, and to see who can be first (and last) to the top of some of the world’s most storied and mythical mountain passes will never lose its appeal. Pulsating uphill battles and hazardous downhill hijinks abound when the gradient rises. The Big Cheese of the Tour, Christian Prudhomme, is certainly making a name for himself in terms of the difficulty and demeanour of the world’s greatest bike race in the 21st century. And as cycling is possibly more popular than ever, this should be admired… bums on saddles and all that. Not sure how some of the riders feel but alas it’s not supposed to be a holiday for them now, is it. Route planning doesn’t really get more high-profile (get it?) than this. Prudhomme’s relentless approach to creating punishing roadmaps is a testament to the rich terrain the country offers and also the origins of the Tour. Henri Desgrange, the creator of the race in 1903 envisioned a Herculean Odyssey through his native land that was so difficult only one rider would finish… Mystic pieces of history that still have relevance today. Whatever Desgrange might have thought of this route there is plenty for the professional teams competing as well as those watching at home and along the route to get nervous and elated about. So, let’s take a bird’s eye view of this year’s itinerary via each of the five mountain ranges. Pyrenees Departing from Bilbao and the Basque Country will ensure the race kicks off with a bang. Two hilly and lengthy stages to begin proceedings then take us to Stages 5 and 6 in the brooding peaks and troughs of the Pyrenees. The wilder more unpredictable cousin to the Alps, the Pyrenees, which demarcates France and the Basque Country/Spain is darker, more rugged and has some incredible riding for the hungry amateur and long-suffering professional alike. The Col du Tourmalet and Aspin feature on a fire-starter of a first week. Jura An unknown territory for the casual observer (and not to be confused with the Scottish island known for its whisky), bike riding and racing in the Jura is probably not as well-known as some of the more edible things you can find in the region such as Morbier cheese made with Comtè cows’ milk. This sub-alpine range of mountains runs along the border between France and Switzerland and the region is densely populated by evergreens (as well as cows). The region is also close to the vineyards that produce Beaujolais, so the stage here will be expected to produce a vintage day of racing with a very tasty finish. Alps What to say about the Alps and the Tour that’s not a cliché. If cheese is the food of cycling, then the Alps is a giant plate of tartiflette you won’t be able to finish after climbing for 30 kilometres. There are altogether five days of racing in the Alps this year including an uphill time-trial and a very undulating stage 15 in the Haute-Savoie region that will send the peloton up the Col de la Forclaz de Montmin, Croix Fry, Aravis and the Cote des Amerands. By the end of this second weekend the rider’s legs will certainly be feeling the heat. Massif Central Stage 9 finishes on top of the Puy de Dome, which was immortalised by an image from the 1964 race, where Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor locked shoulders riding up this volcano’s back. What the French public and media would give for a rivalry like that again. We may have to settle for the great Dane and the superhuman Slovenian to battle it out, but maybe not in the second week. We shall see. Vosges The first ever Tour stage over a mountain pass took place in the Vosges in 1905 up the Ballon d’Alsace and the final mountain stage of this year’s race could be just as historically significant. The profile reads like a cheese-lover’s cardiogram first travelling up the Ballon d’Alsace, and then onto to five other climbs… According to Prudhomme it may cause a bit of ‘indigestion’. Whatever that means, it will make for a very entertaining showdown. Let battle commence. READ MORE Le Tour; Dans la Chaleur. In more recent times we've seen weather protocols finally being introduced to protect riders from snow and freezing cold conditions. But the heat, 'La fournaise', is another matter. The Tour de France Ride. With Turini at the top and Eze by the coast this is a sea to sky ride to rival the best in the world. Another Tour : Morzine, July '22. The Tour is life. From the northern cobblestones to the Alps, the Pyrénées to the Champs Élysées. Every dog has its day. The highs and lows, the mountains and the valleys, on and on they race. Ventoux Times Two. Scenes from the road side of the Mont Ventoux on Stage 11 of the Tour de France 2021.

Ride & Create | Laurianne Melierre ‘You must listen to your bike. They know a lot about their owner's personality.’ On her bright orange Brompton, Laurianne Melierre skilfully navigates the beautiful neighbourhoods of Paris with equal parts curiosity and power. It’s the same energy and passion the polymath puts into her professional life broadcasting and creating.‘I have a lot of energy to spare, I think I am an “intense” person.’ She says without hesitation. Born in Lyon, Laurianne is the founder and director of PLUME, an editorial agency based in Paris run by journalists. Since 2018, its authors, strategists and editors from around the world have been setting the tone for brands in fashion, design, wellness, culture and tech. Curious by nature and passionate about many subjects like travel, fashion and culture, Laurianne previously worked for various magazines and newspapers such as Glamour and Le Parisien, alongside TV and radio work. Since launching Plume in 2018, Laurianne has been rather busy. Alongside writing and editing she does podcast and TV work, talks, collaborations, and interviews with a string of prestigious personalities including Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Assa Traoré, Claudie Haigneré, Aya Nakamura and Emma Chamberlain. But mega-famous work subjects aside, the topic that really lights the fire in her eyes today is the bicycle. ‘I find that the bicycle is an incredible therapeutic tool, whatever the environment, whether you are a few kilometres from your house or the other side of the world. For me, it is a way of truly exploring a territory, at your own pace, on you own terms.’ This year she co-founded Free the Cycle with her friend Marion, a women's and non-binary people cycling club aiming to ‘reclaim the asphalt’ of Paris and its surroundings. A community aiming to promote the exploratory and transformational power of the bicycle, inspiring newcomers without any unnecessary techno-waffle. ‘There is very little content that talks about cycling in an uninhibited way, without going into technicality and performance.’ Having embarked on a trip with her friend, Marion, from Bordeaux to Biarritz on rusty old bikes; ‘an amazing experience’, they decided to create Free the Cycle to share with others their newly discovered passion for travelling by bike. ‘During this journey, we shared our daily adventures on our social networks... We quickly noticed a real interest from our community.’ Discovering too what her body was capable of and pushing physical boundaries, beyond what she had done before, her cycling epiphany was the catalyst for this new project. ‘Coming back to Paris, I saw things differently, I had the impression of knowing myself better. I digested this adventure and I decided to do everything by bike in my daily life.’ Laurianne made other journeys, alone or with Marion, to Brittany, in the Lot, in Auvergne, or Alsace, joining Strasbourg to Basel in Switzerland. Next step: discovering Japan, always accompanied by her bike. ‘The bike has changed my life. My world. My city. I felt faster, freer, more powerful, I clearly gained confidence in myself. Typically, on a bike, I feel much safer, more so than if I walk alone. By bike, you can go out at late hours without feeling in danger, you don't always need to be accompanied. I feel more independent.’ Free the Cycle is still in development, and Laurianne insists it’s not a typical ‘Velo Club’, but it is certainly a community empowered by the bicycle. They have several small project ideas forming, such as the organization of monthly bike rides, departing from Paris. The project is fundamentally about meeting people, gaining confidence in cycling, and discovering for yourself what it's like to travel by bike... ‘For the moment, our club is only for women and non-binary people. We started from an observation: cycling is not sufficiently democratised, it remains a very white and masculine sport. It’s about getting together and cycling without concern for performance or competitiveness, without judgement. This was essential for us.’ It seems that Laurianne is something of an energy goddess, and the bicycle is simply fuelling her fire and passion for the world around her. ‘Certainly, I am human, I can have little moments of fatigue, a little slack, like everyone else. But what is important for me is knowing how to balance my activities. And the bicycle has certainly helped me to do this.’ READ MORE Ride & Create: Antoine Ricardou Founder of Paris-based Saint-Lazare / A.S.L agency and Montmartre Vélo Club (the MVC Paris), Architect Antoine Ricardou rode out with us on a rainy morning in Paris to share his thoughts on links between his creative practice and endurance sports. VIEW MORE Ride & Create : Andrea Sarri Italian Michelin Starred Chef Sarri annually records more than 25,000 km on the clock.Andrea should have become a professional cyclist, but life decided otherwise. VIEW MORE Ride and Create : Anne Pesce For over 15 years, Artist Anne Pesce has been repeating the same ritual every day. Just before 6am, when day is barely breaking or is still completely dark, she leaves her apartment on her bike to climb the Col de Vence. VIEW MORE Ride & Create: Rémi Clermont Rémi Clermont is creative director of Café du Cycliste. Here he speaks about creativity, and the vital role his own cycling plays in the process. VIEW MORE

Ride & Create | Antoine Ricardou Founder of Paris-based Saint-Lazare / A.S.L agency and Montmartre Vélo Club (the MVC Paris), Architect Antoine Ricardou studied fine arts at the School of Architecture of Paris-Val de Seine. His branding, architecture and design company, founded in 2000 in Paris, supports brands in their entirety from graphics to architecture. A devoted cyclist and adventurer, the father of three rode out with us on a rainy morning in Paris to share his thoughts and connections between his creative practice and endurance sports. Growing up in the Hautes-Pyrénées, near Bagnères-de-Bigorre, Antoine naturally grew up with a love for the outdoors, involved in sports such as climbing and sailing. But he and his family were not particularly interested in the act of cycling. As we pause in the Parisian traffic, he explains. “The noisy crowds and garish colours and general atmosphere of the sport of cycling did not appeal at the time. However, I started running around the age of 18, becoming obsessed with marathons and pushing my body as hard as possible, to the point that, by my early thirties, I was burnt out.” Like many young athletes, a background in cardiovascular sports led Antoine to the bike and cycling naturally superseded running for Antoine. “So, I took up swimming, and then triathlon, and of course needed a bike. Little by little, I abandoned triathlon to focus primarily on cycling. The bike has been a revelation for me, taking me further than any other sport. Now I try to ride at least once a week, especially on weekends, commonly in the Paris region and the countryside of Ile-de-France.” Antoine takes us away from the traffic and a swift left turn leads us up towards Montmartre. We pause at the corner of the cobbled Rue St. Vincent. A hand-painted sign reads ‘Au Lapin Agile’, Antoine certainly has the air of a nimble and cunning rabbit. “I’m aware of being in a profession that requires me to live in a big city like Paris, London or New York. With cycling there is the sporting side, of course, but above all, it is to have the opportunity to escape the city to breathe. It's not necessarily just a breath of fresh air, a way to get some fresh air, but it's above all a chance to reflect and observe, a kind of therapy.” Antoine’s bike outings are, as for many riders living in a city, the highlight of the week, expanding horizons, finding solace. We take another pause to breathe in front of the Parisian panorama at the top of Montmarte, beside Sacré Cœur. “It’s the time where I can see the capital differently. Cycling is a visual and intellectual oxygenation: allowing me to discover the Parisian hinterland, to see places that the majority do not see.” Back down the hill at his studio – which feels more like an old school workshop than your average digitally-dependent ‘design space’ – Antoine discusses how he analyses and interprets his work. “The architect must be able to know as well as possible the brand with which he is going to collaborate, he must immerse himself in it. This requires having a very transversal vision of the brand, he must understand the way in which it surrounds the customer.” As we admire all the beautifully organised stationery, tools and artefacts, Antoine discusses the importance of details. “You must have an analytical look at every single detail, knowing how to dissect the minutiae of everyday life, being on the lookout for clues. It takes a very very sharp eye for everything that surrounds us. Finally, there is the chemistry that takes place inside the mind after viewing and analysing – interpreting and transcribing what you have seen as fluently as possible.” This notion of chemistry brings us back to the catalytic effect cycle sport can have on the creative brain, and process. “It's not just cycling that brings positive vibrations, but all other cross-country and endurance sports, such as ski touring and trail running. Indeed, such sports are by nature contemplative. In contemplation, there is a kind of satisfaction from practicing sport independently, with the strength and unity of your breathing, body and consciousness. It provides a unique sensation, a momentum, a creation of emotions. The bike increases emotions and sensory awareness tenfold. Pain and pleasure, it’s a real privilege. When I’m pedalling and experiencing this unity, I feel truly privileged, because at that moment in time I’m the only experiencing this place in time and space. Rather than sat in a car, in traffic. I feel like a noble knight on horseback, but my horse is carbon and my armour a lot lighter.” Antoine believes cycling is a territory of exploration and experimentation for his work. “The dynamic world of cycling also offers an extraordinary visual and graphic universe, which I bathe in, and this graphic universe is a source of inspiration.” We then discuss the concept of ideas that arrive whilst on the bike. “I remember a long outing in the direction of Rambouillet [about 50km from the centre of Paris], in the Haute Vallée de Chevreuse. On a road I often took, I passed old farm sheds that I’d never seen before; then I saw another barn, then another. Suddenly all these barns. This bucolic vision of île-de-France with these wonderful sheds, these farmhouses confirmed to me the legitimacy of building one: The barn Hotel was born like this. My subsequent trips to île-de-France by bike, on the national and departmental roads, confirmed the idea. The time spent on the bike, observing everything, reassured me and allowed for a concrete analysis, an architectural inventory of the countryside around Paris.” Further Riding Rémi Clermont Rémi Clermont is creative director of Café du Cycliste. Here he speaks about creativity, and the vital role his own cycling plays in the process. VIEW MORE Benedict Campbell For photographer, filmmaker and visual artist, Benedict Campbell, creativity is intrinsically linked to a life on two wheels, and here he discusses how riding is key to preservation and productivity. VIEW MORE Alexis Carlier Former professional cyclist, Alexis turned away from the peloton in 2019 to devote himself to another passion, cultivated far away from the roads, requiring a different kind of bravery and technique. VIEW MORE Andrea Sarri Italian Michelin Starred Chef, Sarri annually records more than 25,000 km on the clock.Andrea should have become a professional cyclist, but life decided otherwise. VIEW MORE Anne Pesce For over 15 years, Artist Anne Pesce has been repeating the same ritual every day. Just before 6am, when day is barely breaking or is still completely dark, she leaves her apartment on her bike to climb the Col de Vence. VIEW MORE

Alexis Carlier - Music on the Edge Alexis is the kind of boy who doesn't do things by halves. Since jumping on a racing bike at seven-years-old, brimming with the feeling of being the best, he has attempted to win. From climbing Alpe d'Huez on his steel Gitane before his tenth birthday, then on to Ventoux (via Bédoin no less) the following summer, the years that followed saw him spend hours and days on his racing mount. Cycling has rarely rhymed with the leisurely pleasure of the countryside that many of us enjoy. For Alexis he's always cycling hard, trying for the win. From Grasse, where he grew up, training over long distances and sustained intensities, he rose through the Cadet categories, racing across France and Belgium. The hope at 19 was to turn pro, but the death of his close cycling friend Théo proved a serious setback. He endured a knee problem too, and the morale was not there. He returned to the game with a new team, enjoying victory at the highest amateur level, winning races against the rising generation of French cycling. But then more health problems followed, with a fracture of the collarbone, then broken ribs. And then more crashes in the peloton, road signs being hit head-on, collisions with cars. Alexis thought hard, no longer feels like taking reckless risks, health is more important than trophies. Alas, in 2019 Alexis turned away from the peloton to devote himself to another passion, cultivated far away from the roads, requiring a different kind of bravery and technique. Music is Alexis' other passion. His parents imagined him as a guitarist, but in 2007 the singer-songwriter Mika bursts out of the radio. Like the best all-rounder bike racer, just as capable of rising high as of descending low, the range of this phenomenal performer covers almost four octaves. He accompanies himself with disconcerting dexterity on the piano, sets concert halls on fire with infectious good humour. It's the click for Alexis. Self-taught at first, Alexis later attended the Conservatory, the most academic way to learn music. But the classical and jazz piano, music theory, scales too, lessons upon lessons; it was all too structured, and not really in his nature. He dropped out and tried his hand at a few recordings, surprising people online with a performance of Coldplay's The Scientist, among other popular favourites. “It was ten years ago. In terms of the voice it's not really that, it's painful for me to hear this piece again" Alexis laughs. “The voice is really something that is constantly being worked on, you must train again and again. I stick to it relentlessly. You need to find an original tone that differentiates you from all the others, that's the key. Being told that your voice sounds like Freddy Mercury could be a compliment, but it’s actually a problem.” At 18, Alexis writes and composes. At 20 he tries to record a first EP (extended play), six pieces of his composition, sung in English. At 25 he has an LP to his name, the time has come to release something new. The young artist seems to have found his style, an originality of voice and classical pop piano which takes inspiration from the grandiose and epic styles of Hans Zimmer or the group Muse. The piano is now his bicycle, always there to carry him up to the high notes and down to lower and calmer moments; his voice is the body that he will push in order to perform. Expert technique and a powerful set of lungs are presumably related to his racing experience. Listening to his 2020 LP, Brain Wave, you can hear some dramatic outbursts, wearing his heart on his sleeve. On the title track Alex crescendos above his grand piano to wail ‘Please let me express my feelings, I can’t contain the flowing out of my body, I can’t control it.’ The track Undead and dreamers has Alex declaring he’s ‘afraid of failing and falling’, much like any good racing cyclist is on a regular basis. But amid some heartfelt confessions on Let it Flow, he seems to pick himself back up, ‘unforgettable memories, love is a beautiful disease’. Alexis is aware that on a pure artistic level, you need to write songs that sound different from what exists without being ‘hors format’. “You have to hang on, make concessions. It's not what you like the most that will work best, it's not where you think you're good that people are going to like you the most, and that's a tough choice to make. It's like on a bike, I've always preferred passes and the mountains, but the races I won were hilly parcours. I won in the sprint while in my head I saw myself escaping and winning alone at the top of a pass. In music it's the same.” Alexis explains that he never composed when riding his bicycle, no melody has come to his mind, no words have sprung from his brain on the road. On the other hand, he confesses that he ‘limited’ himself quite a bit with the headphones on his ears and that his musical culture owes a lot to the long hours spent in the saddle. Today music is his main game. On social networks, his cover versions exceed one million views, thousands of followers join his Instagram account every week to watch live performances, proof that the boy's exceptional voice does not go unnoticed. His upcoming EP Dans Le Mille will be released in the first quarter of 2023, by then a first single A Nouveau will set the tone for this hard work he has carried out in recent months. Two videos have already been shot, with one of them alluding to his former cycling career. FURTHER RIDING Andrea Sarri Italian Michelin Starred Chef Sarri annually records more than 25,000 km on the clock.Andrea should have become a professional cyclist, but life decided otherwise. View more Rémi Clermont Rémi Clermont is creative director of Café du Cycliste. Here he speaks about creativity, and the vital role his own cycling plays in the process. View more PIERRE LÉOPOLD Pierre is a specialist in Drosophila, the fruit fly that is used to understand genetics. Outside the laboratory, cycling is for Pierre essential, and he explains to us that riding and research form a complementary whole. View more ANNE PESCE For over 15 years, Artist Anne Pesce has been repeating the same ritual every day. Just before 6am, when day is barely breaking or is still completely dark, she leaves her apartment on her bike to climb the Col de Vence. View more

Andrea Sarri – The Star Chef Receiving a Michelin star is the Holy Grail for a Chef, the recognition of their tireless art. It crowns creativity, talent, and the sheer hard work of an establishment, striving for the very best possible quality. But keeping one's star is often depicted as a subject of stress or even anguish for a Chef, the fear that the Michelin inspectors, who will arrive incognito, will enjoy the experience which achieved it in the first place. But Italian chef Andrea Sarri seems quite serene about keeping his star. The first restaurant he opened in 2002 obtained one after only a few years of business. It only took six months for the current establishment he runs in the small Ligurian town of Imperia to be recognized by the Michelin inspectors. It seems this serenity may come from the long hours spent on his bike in the hills and valleys of Liguria. Our chef has as much passion for cycling as the culinary arts, inseparable from each other, according to him. Pedalling is not just an escape; he is accustomed to riding throughout the year with professional cycling friends based on the Côte d'Azur. And Sarri annually records more than 25,000 km on the clock. Andrea should have become a professional cyclist, but life decided otherwise. During three years of study in computer programming, he dreamt of something else. He told his father, himself a restaurant owner in Imperia, “I want to become a cook”. Andrea left his studies behind, and trained to become a chef. A lot of work followed, learning the trade. And in 2002 the dream became a reality. The small 30-seat restaurant is always full, its young team working in the kitchen and in the dining room with the same passion as Chef Sarri. At the table, the dishes follow one another like so many works of art in a gallery, like a firework display of colours, scents and flavours. When asked about the process of creating culinary works and the role that cycling plays in this process, Andréa makes an astonishing comparison to the world of digital information he left behind to become a chef: He explains to us that over time, his brain – like a database – has stored thousands of smells, tastes and flavours with astonishing precision. He assures us that for him it is not necessary to smell or taste to imagine a dish, he is able to mentally associate ingredients. His outings in the mountains, on the Mediterranean coast, turn out to be favourite moments to create a new dish. Sensory research, at speed. The tempo of a bike ride is the perfect opportunity to awaken feelings. A sudden smell from a kitchen in the hills, a thought, a sight or a sensation can generate an idea, and spark a new firework display. Back in the kitchen, he will programme this idea using his personal database. The Sarri restaurant offers local cuisine, rooted in the purest Mediterranean tradition. Seafood, fresh vegetables and herbs are at the heart of Andrea's cuisine. These elements that form the basis of his cuisine are present everywhere just metres from his restaurant; in a market square, around a bend, in the fields of a neighbouring farmer... At the heart of refinement, the Sarri restaurant offers a family experience. His wife, Alessandra, reserves the best welcome in the dining room with attention and delicacy, a peaceful atmosphere reigns in the small team which makes the success of a starred restaurant.And then eating at Sarri also means belonging to the great family of cyclists. So, if the chef comes to your table, don't just talk to him about his cooking, also talk about his cycling, you'll see in his eyes those other stars, not the ones that hang outside the restaurant, the ones out there in the hills and valleys of Liguria. FURTHER RIDING Anne Pesce For over 15 years, Artist Anne Pesce has been repeating the same ritual every day. Just before 6am, when day is barely breaking or is still completely dark, she leaves her apartment on her bike to climb the Col de Vence. View more IZU ANI Izu Ani is a well-known chef on the Côte d'Azur, he has a habit of appearing at the Café du Cycliste in the port of Nice like magic. When he enters the place, he completely inhabits it with his energy and charisma, changing the atmosphere in an instant. View more PIERRE LEOPOLD Pierre is a specialist in Drosophila, the fruit fly that is used to understand genetics. Outside the laboratory, cycling is for Pierre essential, and he explains to us that riding and research form a complementary whole. View more RÉMI CLERMONT Rémi Clermont is creative director of Café du Cycliste. Here he speaks about creativity, and the vital role his own cycling plays in the process. View more

The best afterwork in the world The best after work in the world is organized in August, at the end of another hot day on the Cote d’Azur. The best afterwork in the world includes a quick spin around places only locals know, just long enough to gird the loins. The best afterwork in the world requires a little critical thinking to keep your drinks cool during the ride. The best afterwork in the world involves a vantage point with a one hundred and eighty degree view of the blue sea and the shade of olive trees. The best afterwork in the world features salty pissaladière and other Nice specialties with a tipple of choice to wash them down. The best afterwork in the world is sharing the idea that not all work is work work. The Best in the World The Best Brasucade in the World A meal at the end of exploring the Camargue, home to flamboyant flamingoes and brooding bulls. Fresh Mediterranean mussels from the local fishing port, with a sauce made of olive oil, herbs and Pastis. VIEW MORE The Best Aligot in the World Aligot must be worked for a long time to obtain its very elastic texture. It is served with a sausage from pigs raised in the surrounding farmland of the Massif Central. VIEW MORE The best crêpe in the world Found in France. Obviously. A specific part of France, the place where it was invented. The rugged, coastal and rural Bretagne. VIEW MORE The Best Ice Cream in the World Stacked with fresh fruit, produced by hand and eaten in a shady spot on a blazing hot day. It's found in the south of France and is the perfect full stop to a ride. VIEW MORE

Anne Pesce - Crossing the Landscape For over 15 years, Anne Pesce has been repeating the same ritual every day. Whatever the season, whatever the weather, just before 6am, when day is barely breaking or is still completely dark, she leaves her apartment on her bike to climb the Col de Vence. ‘The exercise is an established habit, almost automatic’ she says. Every day she does this. After completing a small warm-up loop on the flat, her route passes the Fontaine de la Foux, the water source well known to cyclists in the vicinity, where she stops to refresh before embarking on the 650 meters of ascent. The Col de Vence culminates at 963 meters, its length a little less than 10km. Some passages have almost a 9% gradient. With few trees, the climb does not offer the slightest passage in the shade, and so the locals carefully avoid the Col de Vence in summer. And also early in the morning when Pesce appears here. But the view of the coast from Nice to Antibes is breath-taking for anyone, and this climb remains a mythical pass around Nice. Why such stubbornness, why the recurrence of the same exercise tirelessly repeated day after day? By observing and scrutinizing the work and career of Anne Pesce, we may understand her stubbornness more clearly. Cézanne is her father; she says with great humility. And according to Picasso, he is also your father and mine too, if perhaps we could paint. But Paul Cézanne’s approach to painting inspires Pesce fundamentally, deeply. despite them not actually being biologically related. Perhaps it is no coincidence that, like the master of Post-Impressionism from Aix-en-Provence, she cultivates such a rite to visit Col de Vence each day. Cézanne the solitary went every day to the Sainte-Victoire mountain, seeking pictorial gestures to express the concave, the convex; the cones and the cylinders, of these natural forms which fascinated him. It gave him the vigour to touch the canvas and to reconvene the colour of the air, its thickness on which depends its tones, discovering the true palette of Sainte-Victoire. ‘I like to observe the light and its variations, but also the feeling of the cold and the rain on my skin.’ This is the basis of Anne Pesce's painting – a demanding daily repetition of absorbing details and colours she has not known until that moment. Already she has entered her studio when she rides her bike, alone on the slopes of the pass. Already creating, absorbing sensations that she will transfer to the canvas. Anne describes her work as ‘crossing the landscape.’ She defends the idea that everyone's perception of the world is unique, that we don't see the same things. But Pesce also believes these individual experiences are more powerful than we realise, and so must penetrate each fragment of her travels – from Iceland, to the South Pole, to New York and back here on the slopes of the Col de Vence. From deep observations, this systematic examination of places and the moment when the sun rises in the sky, she chooses to compose with three colours: red, yellow, blue. These three colours are those of the sunrise. "When I leave early in the morning, I look towards Saint Jeannet, towards the east, everything is a blue so deep that it is black. As soon as I am towards the southwest it will be the time when little by little the red sky will dye the greens of the plants, slowly the yellow will flood the mineral white of the rocks, and the azure blue will appear. In winter when I arrive at the top of the Col de Vence at 7am, the colours above the sea are beyond belief. They change from year to year, it's hardly noticeable, but I can assure you that they do." These intoxicating colours, this enchantment of light is why so many artists have gravitated (and often levitated) to the Côte d’Azur. Anne the solitary, who devotes an infinite time to observe, to experience, to absorb. And then comes the time to hurtle down the hundreds of metres of altitude which have been accumulated so dearly. ‘Col de Vence is Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 32. First there is this music that rises slowly, like me. I climb the pass and then there is this fantastic descent, the descent at full speed, the return to the foot of the mountain.’ Re-entering the town of Vence, the contrast is striking. In a few seconds, the solitude of the altitude gives way to a hive of activity. Anne goes to the old town, takes a bag out of the back pocket to bring back some bread, then goes to her fishmonger ‘a lover of his trade’, to choose the catch of the day, and takes a break with Pierre who runs the grill, and share a coffee with him. Everyone knows her here, she is a regular character. The Col de Vence is hard, the majority of those who live at the foot of the road have never even experienced its ascent with the strength of their legs. And now Anne is standing in the calm sanctuary of her studio. In front of the frame of the canvas, she delicately and attentively traces a red circle. It brings back all the sensations, the colours and impacts, the harshness or the softness of the weather, the feelings of the day's outing. A brushstroke reinterprets movement and experience, to offer us a singular view of the world, and take us across the landscape. Further Riding Izu Ani Izu Ani is a well-known chef on the Côte d'Azur, he has a habit of appearing at the Café du Cycliste in the port of Nice like magic. VIEW MORE Pierre Léopold Pierre is a specialist in Drosophila, the fruit fly that is used to understand genetics. Cycling is for Pierre essential. VIEW MORE Rémi Clermont Rémi Clermont is creative director of Café du Cycliste. Here he speaks about creativity, and the vital role his own cycling plays in the process. VIEW MORE Sandra Sommer As an artist, Sandra knows that inspiration can strike when you least expect it. Her most recent project came to her while exploring the mountains around Salzburg. VIEW MORE