Massacan Rides

The weekend of July 14th. The idea was to get away for a few days, find a route far from everything, and preferably on a mountain bike. That's when we stumbled upon the Asiago Loop, and we didn't hesitate. The loop was all laid out: three days, 200 kilometers, 4,800m of elevation gain, and clearly mountain bike-oriented.

It's almost 4 years since we discovered Puy-Saint-Vincent and its playground, the Ecrins National Park, the old Galibier road, the Clarée valley, Montgenèvre... in short, plenty to enjoy by bike! Trails we've ridden on every Pilgrimage, but this time we asked Simon (one of the founders) to create a special three-day program just for us, to enjoy... and introduce our friends to this magical place.

Even before we had our first Paula, when Massacan was still just a sketch on a piece of paper, we contacted Carlo, one of the founders of Cascada, in preparation for our first wild photoshoot. Of course, Denis from L'Ermitage was in on it: he was the one who connected us. Since then, we've all come a long way.  Cascada has been with us on our bikepacking adventures since Massacan's very first day, and frankly, it's hard to imagine a better match between two brands. Passionate friends who want to do things differently, locally, with the simple desire to create...

One Saturday morning, Matt sent me a message: "Shall we do it?" and just like that, we signed up for Montenegro Mountain Madness, without really thinking about it. Six days crossing a country we didn't know, between steep slopes and deserted steppes, testing our Pianella mountain bike.

The Pilgrimage has become a tradition for us, our annual event. The first edition was also the first year of Massacan. You could say we grew up together. And the people behind this event, which is so dear to our hearts, are now friends: Simon, Cyril, Yorit, Nils, Anne.

Founders weekend: ride, coffee & cols galore. 2 well-deserved days of cycling with Carbonara, our first carbon, and Scapada, our all-road in aluminum. Departure from the Rifugio in Nice, Thomas takes off in a rocket. Col d'Èze, Madone, Sainte-Agnès, Braus… everything follows. Turini in sight, night at altitude and great discussions to remake the world.

Two days on deserted roads between Estéron and Verdon. Negative temperatures, an average altitude of 1000 meters. Clues, canyons, lakes, and landscapes frozen by the cold. We rode at a leisurely pace, really taking the time to savor. Dressed like never before, we were well wrapped up with down jackets, Gore-Tex jackets and winter shoes.

Appointment arranged early in the morning in Lantosque, far from the hustle and bustle and at the foot of the Col de Turini. But no question of going there directly: we choose a small road behind to reach the Col Saint Roch, a little hidden in the Paillon valley. The team is equipped with Scapada, except Adrien with his Paula, and even pumped up, he is in the lead and leading the dance... at least, for now.

But what exactly are the 7 Majors? Nothing less than seven hors catégorie passes, all perched at over 2000 meters in the Southern Alps, between France and Italy. Our adventure, in order: Bonette (2715 m), Vars (2108 m), Izoard (2360 m), Agnel (2744 m), Sampeyre (2284 m), Fauniera (2481 m), and Lombarde (2350 m). While some try to complete this journey in 24 hours, for us, it will be over three days. Long enough to fully enjoy it and have very busy days.

Three days of cycling on the legendary Salt Route, where kilometers and elevation take second place to gourmet feasts and incredible alpine landscapes. For this first Massacan event, a small group of cyclists set off to explore, taking the time to savor each moment. Forget everything, here, it's good food and fun that count!

A loop from Nîmes to Nîmes, with the Gard, Vaucluse and Lubéron as essential passages, with its emblematic Mont Ventoux and its lavender fields.

Gravel weekend in the Massif des Maures: 2 days of intense exploration between wild trails and the mountains of the Var. Day 1: unused slopes, coffee break and Snickers, descent to Collobrières. Day 2: exploration, break with a view at Notre-Dame des Anges.

Let's go. We take the group for a day of climbing, heading towards the Authion summit. The ride promises some surprises, we'll tell you everything. No taboos between us, sworn swear, the code of honor of Massacan is without filter. On the other hand, we like to make crates of them.

Cette fois on embarque les copains avec nous. Le Massacan club monte à bord du train des merveilles. Direction Breil-sur-Roya, terminus et départ d’une virée épique ; Alta Via del Sale.

At the beginning it starts rather well; beautiful track, pebbles but not too many, it's rolling, it's beautiful. Tourists on the move. Then at a crossroads our first “private road” sign. We look at each other. We look at the map. Frankly it's a DFCI track we go for it and we'll see if it passes or if we get shot. I don't hide from you that the path ends at the top of a not very reassuring hunter's mark. Never mind, we are stubborn, and so is Komoot.

This is the beginning of the adventure. That of the Paula track and that of Massacan. A pebble path that invites you to take your bike for a crazy day at the foot of the mountains. It's our little madeleine. A nugget that we share with you. We meet at Nice station for the first train and leave the city on the rails. An option that allows us to do as much gravel as possible, far from the city. There are two options: stop at Sospel or terminus at Breil-sur-Roya. For us, it will be Sospel with a visit to...