France

From the hustle and bustle of Paris to the wildlife haven of the Rambouillet Forest, this overnight route follows quiet roads and gravel paths from the southwestern edge of the French capital.

The Jura Traverse (Grande Traversée du Jura) is a classic French long-distance mountain bike route through a region known for its mountain scenery, quaint villages, and excellent cheese. This linear route runs some 421 kilometers from Mandeure to Culoz on the eastern part of France following the Doubs River and the Swiss border.

The Trans Verdon is the big brother of the Grande Traversée L’Alpes-Provence. Wending its way across a series of rugged, high alpine mountains, this five-day journey offers similarly enticing pâtisserie resupply points, albeit with longer sections of stunning and remote singletrack. Whilst both routes cross the same region of South East France and have a similar start point on the Italian border, each has its own unique character...

Beginning on the Italian border, the Grande Traversée L’Alpes-Provence is an incredibly varied crossing of one of France's most beautiful regions. Expect mile upon mile of flowy singletrack, curious rock formations, intriguing history, and of course, plenty of boulangeries and pâtisseries. The route takes you from high mountains, all the way down into dry pine and crooked oak forests, where it follows a raging river and crosses the surreal landscape of ‘Les Terres Noires’.

The Ardèche-Cévennes Divide crosses through rolling hills, high plateaux, beautiful chestnut forests, and picturesque towns of Monts d’Ardèche and Cévennes National Park. The route runs along the watershed’s invisible line, following part of the Grande Traversée des Monts d’Ardèche mountain bike route before connecting to Cévennes National Park and the amazing landscapes near Mont Lozère, before finally flowing down to Alès through remote and unknown Luech High Valley.

The GTMC mountain bike route runs some 446 miles (718 km) from the centre of France to the Mediterranean Sea. In between it crosses the Massif Central, a largely remote region covering 36,000 square miles (93,000 square km) of mountain, high plateaux, forests and heathland.

A signed and mapped dirt route along the length of the Vosges Mountains of Alsace, France. Visit castles, ride high above vineyards, and spend the night in quiet woodlands less than a day away from bustling French cities.