Living in the south of France has its advantages. For example, just being able to take a bikepacking trip from home in early November. A great opportunity to test our new gravel bikes. Where best to do so? On the coast, of course! From home, we ride to Aigues-Mortes on the Mediterranean coast in a few days. From there it's great fun; you ride right through the Camargue, among other places. There you will find very nice stretches of unpaved roads, while you are surrounded by water left and right. And don't forget the beautiful flamingos. Lots of flamingos. Or graveling in the Calanques of Marseille is a big tip for a next cycling adventure in France
Text and photos: Margriet Ravensbergen
Marseille's calanques
Once I read somewhere that it was in the Marseille's calanques beautiful gravelen would be. So we decide to stay in this city for 2 nights. With some cutting and pasting of routes we find on Strava, we create a route. A route we will ride as a bikepacking adventure, with the aim of testing our new gravel bikes. Erwin and I are really looking forward to it.
Our accommodation is a stone's throw from Marseille's Vieux Port (old port). This is a major tourist attraction. We follow the coastline. Every now and then we are surprised by a nicely laid-out cycle path. But one of those bike paths built with the French stroke. So expect awkward bends here, having to cross and a cycle path that suddenly continues across the street or disappears into thin air. It is Sunday morning and pleasantly busy; cyclists, joggers and walkers accompany us on this trip.
Gave trails in the Parc de Montredon
The route sends us into the Parc de Montredon. Here it starts to look even more like a nice gravel route. The Parc de Montreden is a super nice park with great gravel paths. You also have a little bit of elevation change here from time to time. Not serious, but certainly not pancake flat like in the Netherlands. This route, through the park, is a super fun way to cycle out of the city. After leaving the park, we only have to continue for one kilometre to the entrance to the Calanque massif.
The Calanque massif
The resistance of our new bikes can be properly tested right away on a vicious short climb averaging 12.8%. This is no mean feat. A short descent is followed by another such calf bite. In French, they say "jamais deux sans trois", which freely translates as "3 times is a charm". And we are at our beck and call, because not much later another such gut-biter follows. Three times is the charm. You would almost forget to enjoy it. Almost, because not enjoying is impossible. The paths are perfect for graveling and the views of the Mediterranean and the various calanques are breathtaking. Calanques is the French name for the rocky inlets along the Mediterranean coast.
Although it is a beautiful sunny Sunday and there are many walkers and some other cyclists, the atmosphere is convivial. Everyone gives each other space and greets each other. And on the steep sections, I am regularly encouraged. This in turn boosts morale. Especially when I get to the top.
Descending all the way to the sea
Unlike most gravel bikers, we decided not to return to the asphalt at kilometre 30 of our route in order to ride back to Marseille via the road. In fact, I noticed that a number of gravel bikers had descended to the sea from that point to end up in the town of Cassis. That there are only a few of them has a reason. The path here gets a lot narrower and also rockier. Eventually it becomes extremely narrow and it is better to continue walking. The steep gradient of this path also does not help with a safe descent. Perhaps we would have been better off turning back. Although, after those few kilometres of bumbling, the path becomes a fine gravel path again and the initial regret quickly disappears.
Crowds in Cassis
In Cassis, it is lunchtime and the terraces at the restaurants on the picturesque harbour are packed. Slightly off the harbour, we find a sandwich shop where we have a nice lunch. Here we can regain our strength, because between Cassis and Marseille there is still the Col de la Gineste, all in all a climb of almost nine kilometres, entirely by road. It is, however, a climb with friendly gradients. The views are correspondingly stunning.
Col de la Gineste, Cassis, France
- Distance: 7.4 km, Elevation: 236 m, Avg. Grade: 4 %
After just over 62 kilometres and 1,260 altimeters, we returned to our accommodation. What a wonderful route to start with!
Gravel routes in the Calanques of Marseille
Want to know more about cycling in this region? Then for more routes and inspiration, check out the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur Tourisme Office
