Last week, I had the pleasure of welcoming Tom for a three day gravel escape in the Vosges.
By train, the Hautes Vosges are less than four hours away from Paris. Tom arrived at the station of Remiremont at 11 am. Just 15 minutes after his arrival, he was on his way to climb the first pass. Last week’s rain has transformed the forest into a magic place and you can smell autumn. The deer rutting season has started. Reconnecting with nature is guaranteed.
Before Tom arrived, we organised the details of his trip together. I optimised the itineraries so that they would fit as much as possible with Tom’s riding habits. We decided to include no more than 2000 climbing meters per day.
The terrain was slippery in places, so Tom decided to put winter tyres on his gravel bike. You can read the feedback on his tyre choice below.
We decided that I would lend him a GPS. Lucky coincidence, the Garmin Edge 830 is the model that he wants to test before buying. Familiarising with the Garmin is easy and Tom loads the track for day 1 in no time. The small tracker, that I lend to all my clients, fits easily in the top tube bag.
Now and again I check Tom’s progress on the tracker map. He’s pedalling fast. Around 5pm I receive a message that fills me with relief and quiet confidence for the next few days : « Une sortie au top merci pour la Map, ils sont mastoc chez vous les graviers 😉 » .
The level of difficulty seems to be ok. A couple of days later it’s time to meet up once more at Remiremont, where Tom’s train for Paris will be leaving at 5 pm.
THE FEEDBACK :
I’m curious. Before he jumps on the train, we exchange about the routing and his tyre choice. Next time, Tom will put on a winter tyre, but only on the front. Some climbs on the tarmac roads will be much more fun with a summer tyre at the back. He’s still excited about the beautiful singletracks in the forest. I’m well impressed, he descended them all on his gravel bike !
Thanks Tom for this precious feedback.
MORE ABOUT THE GRAVEL ESCAPE :
The Gravel Escape is available up to the 1st of November 2022. The colours of the forest have just started to change. A must see ! Click here for more information.
Routes, bag transport, accommodation, half board and packed lunches are included.
The tracker and mapping software have been sourced from Follow My Challenge. Before your departure you’ll receive a link to the mapping software that you can share as you please.
GPS, tracker and other small kit are available on loan.
The photos were taken on my test rides.