Matchy Escape Days
From some time, We wanted to invite cyclists we appreciate for their authenticity to come and discover our playground and our products. This is the idea that led to the birth of MATCHY ESCAPE DAYS.
After a few emails, we finally have a group of guests assembled. It consists of:
- Luisa, ultra-cyclist with a victory in the Atlas Mountain Race and the Italy Divide to his credit...
- Fanny aka @sportivresse, great rider and founder of the @watt_cc team
- Jess, ultra-trailer, skier and cyclist from the US
- Yann, artistic director and ultra-endurance practitioner
- Stephane, journalist from Gravel and Bike, the 1st Gravel Francophone YouTube channel
- Julian, photographer and member of @parischillracing @pcrgravier @steelcoffeeshop
The meeting is scheduled for Saturday, May 13 at Matchy Cyclist Clubhouse, the brand's headquarters and meeting place for cyclists. We're off for two days of gravel riding around Lake Annecy and then in the Aravis mountains, with a night in a mountain chalet.
It is 9 o'clock when our small team meets at the ClubhouseThe weather is gloomy outside, but it doesn't seem to affect the morale of the troops. We meet for coffee and begin the introductions. It will be for us to discover our guests, and for our guests to discover our products. Since this weekend we will be riding both on the trails and on the road, we decided to mix our ranges. Our guests are therefore equipped with outfits from the ranges Gravel and road. But enough hanging around, it's already time to leave for the first day of cycling.
The program includes a counterclockwise ride along Lake Annecy, climbing the Col de l'Arpettaz, riding the Route de la Soif, and finishing at the Col des Aravis before descending to our chalet in Saint-Jean-de-Sixt. An 80-kilometer route with almost 2,000 meters of elevation gain that the team faces in daunting conditions.
The ride began by riding along the gravel paths that run alongside Lake Annecy. They were relatively flat, allowing us to get our legs moving without getting bored on the bike path. Boredom is acceptable when you're riding in this unique setting. Arriving at the end of the lake, we enjoy a lunch break in the sun. The sky has decided to clear up for the occasion.
The respite is short-lived, and the day gets more complicated in the Col de l'Arpettaz and its endless switchbacks. A storm catches up with the team, who finds themselves riding in the rain and 2-degree temperatures. On the thirst route, at 1,600 meters, we encounter no one; we're freezing. We begin to doubt our ability to reach the finish line in these conditions.
At the Col des Aravis, we find a bit of civilization. As if to remind us not to forget it, the rain starts falling again on the descent to our chalet in Saint-Jean-de-Sixt.
On Strava, Fanny summed up the day well:
In the evening, we sleep at Chalet-Sixtine in Saint-Jean-de-Sixt. We relive the day over a drink and warm up with a veggie croziflette prepared by Flore, who is as good a cook as she is a textile designer. Cycling is the kind of thrill we seek. Riding until we sometimes suffer during the day allows us to better savor the moments of life that come afterward.
…
The second stage is, according to its profile, more peaceful.
We simply have to descend from the chalet to tackle the Col des Glières, the only real challenge of the day. Then we can reach Annecy by exploring roads and trails. That's without taking into account the conditions, today too, and the 11% average gradient of the Glières climb. Stéphane, who joined us the day before, attacks the climb first, camera in hand. As talkative as he is, his words become more scarce on the pass.
We arrive at the top of the Glières, stop to take a group photo, and set off again without delay. It's not warm up there. On the plateau, the course resembles cyclocross. We try to ride on the wet trails, but it's so slippery that we find ourselves running alongside our bikes.
Once this ordeal is over, we head back down into the valley by road. With the wet asphalt and the cars, we're more scared than on gravel. Cycling brings us back to reality: Sure, you're more likely to lose your balance on gravel, but on the road, falls are uncontrollable and often serious.When we arrive in the valley, the sun returns. We take off our vests and accelerate along the trails. But the journey still has a few surprises in store for us. Moguls and technical sections add to the excitement. Yann, a former mountain biker, takes the lead. Jess, a regular on American gravel roads, handles the technical sections well. Before Saint-Martin-de-Bellevue, we take one last nice climb before stopping for a sandwich. Come on, there are 15 kilometers left until Clubhouse and it's over.
…After a tour of “BIKE WASH”, we finally arrive at the ClubhouseThe team gathers for a drink to debrief. We've built bonds and friendships, and our guests tell us they're happy with the weekend and their outfits. Mission accomplished.
As after every bike ride, we feel a little amnesiac: We've finally reached the end of our troubles and we already want to start again... Are we doing it again in 2024?
