Le Pilgrimage: Stories of our Journeys

What is a pilgrimage? It is a journey, it is about setting out, it is about learning, it is about the reciprocal sharing of stories, it is about returning. Pilgrims travel to seek enlightenment in some far place. Their own stories are offered freely to those met along the way, with a hope of knowledge and stories being shared in exchange. Returning home after with new tales to pass on to the ones they love.

Le Pilgrimage, as an event, is no different. It is not a race, but a journey. Each day the entrants, known here as the Pilgrims, return to the dinner table to share comforting meals and their stories of the day. A pilgrimage is never an easy journey to undertake, and Le Pilgrimage is not offered up in any different light. It is a physical challenge in demanding terrain. But by enduring, Pilgrims earn strength and depth to their stories.

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After a provided breakfast, each day of Le Pilgrimage starts with the cow bell, calling riders to assemble in front of the hotel. Stage 1 and 2 are single days covering 100 and 135 kilometers of mixed terrain riding, with 3,500 and 3,100 meters of climbing. The first around the Pays des Écrins and Briançon, the latter climbing the old military road of the Col du Galibier. At 230 kilometers long, Stage 3 takes riders out to Italy overnight, the stopping point is the riders choice, but controlled by an overnight closure of one segment. Each stage includes an ideally located checkpoint, where brevet cards are stamped and food, génépi, blankets and warmth await the riders. On their return to the basecamp of Hotel Saint Roch, Pilgrims appetites are satiated with a bowl of post-ride pasta before relaxing tired and weary legs. Later, at the end of the day, riders congregate back at the dinner table (or all end up at the same pizzeria in Italy!) to share wholesome food and their stories of the day.

So at the end of this event I took some time to talk to some of the Pilgrims, asking them specifically, what is their story? Capturing their words to share further. Because, after all the tough riding, amazing scenery and wonderful food, this event is about sharing stories.

I. A Much-needed Beginning

Anyone will tell you that a great story needs structure; we need a beginning, a middle, and an end. Therefore, we start at the beginning before the riding has even begun. Before the event, I look through the list of Pilgrims, a few names catch my eye. One being Jenny Tough, previous winner of the Silk Road Mountain Race and the Atlas Mountain Race. An impressive palmarès that immediately makes me worry about my own capability measured against those I will be amongst. It was therefore surprising to hear I was not the only one to have such reservations:

Jenny Tough instagram

“So obviously I’ve done a lot of the bigger races in the bikepacking scene, and there’s a lot of the heart and soul of bikepacking in that for me. But it’s not THE heart and soul? Something I’ve always said is that I keep going back to the races for the community. So, knowing Le Pilgrimage was going to be exactly that: it’s going to be hard on your bike, but it’s more about the community because you come back to that same place, you actually see each other. I was like “yeah, we need more of that”.

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But it was still really intimidating, you know that first night at dinner walking into the room with everyone else. I’ve already seen everyone’s rigs downstairs and all of a sudden there is everyone, all these cool guys with moustaches. I’m just thinking they’re all going to be “better” cyclists than me, however you measure that. They must all think I don’t belong here, it’s just how my brain works. But it’s not that here, we all lift each other, which you don’t get so much in a race. You know, here there’d be someone with a puncture and there’d be 12 people working together. You don’t *need* that, we all know how to fix a puncture, but it was a case of no one’s leaving you here, it’s sweet. You learn everyone’s names over the course of four days, you make friends, you bond with people. And that’s what I’ve kept thinking all weekend, we need more of this.”

II. The Build Up

We all have a different build up to a journey. For me it was about trying to maintain some physical fitness during a tough time at work, for some like Jenny, there is an internal mental battle, but for others there are different factors at play. Many of us internalise these, keep it as a personal battle. But as Jenny said above, you bond with these people, you share. One who I immediately formed a strong bond with was fellow British rider, Duncan. So when he shared the details of his build up, it hit me hard:

Duncan instagram

“It’s the mental stuff that happens around them that makes these events. It’s not just the event, it’s the journey to the event, it’s such a build-up and you’re so invested in it. I was 50/50 beforehand thinking I wasn’t sure if I would even be able to do it. I was so knackered after the Bright Midnight in Norway back in July. But I was thinking this looked the perfect place to take the easy pace, to come and just focus on enjoying it. Then, about a week ago I got diagnosed with cancer. I was like “woah, okay, that’s put some different perspective on this”. I questioned should I even be doing this? But I was like, “you know what, yeah, I should be doing it”. Because I’m doing this in a different way from previous events, I won’t be smashing my body through it but I’m taking the experiences from it; having them there to retrospectively look back on. I can bank that stuff for the next couple of years to help me get through, come back and do stuff again.

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But it’s given me time and space to, maybe not contextualise it, but get some perspective on it. Time feels different in the mountains. Up on the Strada dell’Assietta it felt like a different world, it gave me space to process and think things through. But also, you know, on a road bike you have that time to sit for hours and think about it, but here in some of these sections, you can’t do that, you’ve got to focus and be in the moment watching the track ahead and thinking about everything around you. That distraction can be pretty good too.”

III. Queen Stage

After that initial build up in any story, after making our connections with the characters, we come to the middle. At Le Pilgrimage, a four day event, the middle can perhaps be looked upon as Stage 2—some refer to it as the Queen stage. Whilst the routes for Stage 1 and the two-day Stage 3 have been altered and adjusted over the years, Stage 2 has become somewhat of a tradition. The route, remaining largely unchanged, takes riders on a steady gravel climb just below the main road of the Col du Lautaret before taking the old military gravel road up and over the Col du Galibier and round to the Vallée de la Clarée. To look at some history of this now traditional stage, I talk with Erik about his experiences on it over multiple editions:

Erik instagram

“This is my second Pilgrimage now, the original story for me was of seeing where my limits and boundaries were, somewhere to find the challenge but with some comforts of the base. It was a safe ultra. But during that Pilgrimage, between stage one and two, I got a phone call at maybe 2:00 a.m. to say that my grandfather had passed away.

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So that next day, the Galibier was very tough to do. Because I wanted to be with my family, but you know I was here in the mountains and I wanted to keep up with the group; I have some racing in me and I want to stay with them. A few days earlier I had spoken to my grandfather and he had said: “I’m so tired Erik,” and that was really haunting me that day up on the Galibier. So I stopped and I sat for a while, I let the group go and looked around where I was. I was with him then and thought “OK, this is not the worst place to be right now.” But others caught up to me there and they helped. I spoke with Michel and had a very good conversation with him, about loss and family and everything in life. We became very good friends from that.

So this year we both came back, I wanted to be back here but in a different state of mind. Obviously we would do that same route over the Galibier again this year, but I do not mind doing it again, I actually really wanted to do it again. I was able to revisit those spots where I broke down, mentally and physically, last year. I think I got some healing from that, some closure.”

IV. The Respite

After some heavy lifting from those last two stories it seems wise that we get into that comfortable lull in any story. A good storyteller might structure this deliberately. A moment where it slows, a respite, allowing you to process all the events so far. Chris tells me about a quiet moment on his Pilgrimage:

Chris instagram

“On day one, at the checkpoint, I rolled down from the viewing point, coming to the fondue on the open fire. For a moment the checkpoint was almost empty; only Erik who greeted me warmly and asked how I was doing. As I reflected, I realized that I felt empty; not in a bad way, but ready to just take in all the beautiful things around me. No pressure to perform, no time limit or deadline. I was allowed to just exist, ride at my own pace, enjoy the conversations, the cheese, the view and the génépi. I proclaimed something like that, got a hug from Erik, heard someone else giggle about my little revelation, and moved on to get more fondue.”

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V. Gathering Pace

But any story must gather pace again, we must look to signs of a finish line starting to build. I talk now to Lucie, one of the founders of bike brand Massacan, and she tells me how the brand launched at a similar time to Le Pilgrimage and the two have gone hand-in-hand together to become a traditional part of each other’s lives. But she also tells me about how Stage 3 got her thinking of an entirely different finish line from our main story:

Lucie instagram

“Those bits in Italy are really special, it’s one of the best places in the world. The people there, you see they are always in the mountains, they love the mountains and of course the food! Then up on the Strada dell’Assietta, it’s amazing, it’s one of those mystical places you just have to do in your life. Also, it’s very cool to be out here on those sections that overlap with the Torino-Nice rally, to see people riding that route. Our shop, Rifugio, is in Nice, and it’s very recently become the base camp, the finish line for the Torino-Nice. It’s cool to say to these people we meet “oh when will you finish?”, because we are the finish line, we will see them there maybe on Friday, and hear their stories.”

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VI. Future Fuel

After the completion of our story we look to the future beyond what we have been given. I am no different, and fueled on by chatting with Lucie and others currently out riding the Torino-Nice, I’ve been spending some time researching it for myself. To return to some of these scenes, experience it all again in a different way, to see the friendly faces of Team Massacan once more. But what else of my story in Le Pilgrimage?

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After a tough first day leading to a knee injury, unfortunately, I had to scratch midway through day two. But, thanks to the format, I was not left behind. I could take my camera and move from the back of the pack, right into the heart of it (massive thanks here to Jorrit for driving around with me!). Here, I found my story in this format of the “ultra” world. Taking a longer lens out on the camera, I often spotted the rider long before they saw me. I saw a moment of change in them. From riding a tough climb, exhausted, dirty, drained; to spotting a friendly face ahead, smiles appeared as if by magic. Maybe they would stop and chat for a few minutes, perhaps only a high five as they passed. This was up to the individual. But, in those moments, I saw what it was to be a Pilgrim, to share one’s journey and to take great pleasure in each other’s stories. At that final dinner table I took pride to be able to sit amongst these people who have endured, who have journeyed. But I take even more pride to know those for what they have shared with me; and now, with you. Merci Pilgrims, à bientôt.

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To learn more about Le Pilgrimage ahead of next years event, see le-pilgrimage.com or check out their Instagram account at @le_pilgrimage.

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