I have no blood ties to “l’hexagone,” as the French often refer to their country*. My family originates from Scotland and England, with the exception of a minor incursion from the Cherokees. That said, I have spent the last 29 years living and riding my bike in and around France, and I can now claim to know the country better than most of its natives. I’ve inched up many if not most of the legendary alpine climbs of the Tour de France, pumped and heaved over the Pyrenees and the Massif Central, and I’ve rolled in wonder at the ancient stone towns that dot France’s varied and remarkable canyons, gorges and river valleys. None of this gives me French roots, but I hope it at least confers the right to share a few of the routes I’ve come to know and love in this cycling wonderland of a country, and to include a few notes about the people and places I meet as I continue my long journey here.

* Looked at with a somewhat forgiving eye, France is shaped like a six-sided polygon, hence the term “hexagone.”

 

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