October 29, 2018 I’m writing this piece on the way back from a family vacation in Tuscany with my wife Lillie and our son Ben. A perfect week of riding, eating, laughing and relaxing in the beautiful Tuscan light. This reminds me that I was not so relaxed at the same time last year: I was rushing to wrap up … Read More
How to find purpose: lose your job
June 5, 2018 Less than 4 years ago, I was working in an office – of an organisation I had been employed by since 1994. Things were not bad: my colleagues were cool (well, most of them) and I was making good money. We had free coffee, and I was riding my bike at lunchtime. I was enjoying myself and … Read More
The death bedtime story
February 27, 2018 Nobody on their deathbed has ever said “I wish I had spent more time at the office”. Chances are you’ve read this somewhere, and the popularity of this quote suggests something to me: there are many people out there who are bored by their job and wish they were doing something else; that’s scary. Until robots replace us, … Read More
My Strava is bigger than yours
January 5, 2018 We live in a world obsessed by data. We want to measure everything. How many likes did I get on my latest Instagram picture? how many steps did I take today? How many calories did I burn? In cycling, this obsession has a name and it’s Strava. We all know it: if it’s not on Strava, it … Read More
Simple pleasures
December 8, 2017 What do we do when we have some down time? Chances are, we look at a screen. An old fashioned TV screen for those of us who were born in the 20th century, or more likely a laptop, a tablet or a phone. You might want to read this post by the awesome Semi-Rad about our addiction … Read More
2016: Rediscovering Switzerland
January 1, 2017 What a year. I wrote it twelve months ago: 2015 was the beginning of a new journey. It continued in 2016 with many ups, and a few downs. Where shall I begin? Certainly with Grand Tours Project. Starting a cycling tour company from scratch was a huge challenge. Did we succeed? Virtually nothing went according to plan, … Read More
The Transcontinental Race: no marginal gains but maximum excitement
August 4, 2016 The 2016 Transcontinental Race is underway. 5 and a half days after the start in Geraardsbergen (Belgium), Kristof Allegaert has ridden 2640km and leads the race as he approaches checkpoint 4 in Montenegro. Yes, you read it correctly. That’s about 480km per day. Unsupported. Oh, and he has to pick his route between every check point. To learn more … Read More
Thanks 2015, you’ve been good to me
January 2, 2016 “Our experiences are a bigger part of ourselves than our material goods. You can really like your material stuff. You can even think that part of your identity is connected to those things, but nonetheless they remain separate from you. In contrast, your experiences really are part of you. We are the sum total of our experiences.” … Read More
The Transcontinental Race: crossing a continent on a bike in 16 days
August 20, 2015 This is an adapted version of the piece I wrote for CyclingTips. For a presentation of the TCR, click here. My bike and my equipment are featured here. I failed. My goal was to complete the Transcontinental Race in less than 15 days in order to make it to the finishers’ party. But I reached Café Hisar … Read More
Riding a bike while pregnant is awesome!
July 12, 2015 I am a lucky bastard: I met my wife Lillie on a velodrome and she will always say yes to my cycling adventures. Most of the time she will be on the bike riding with me and will either be the model or the author of our pictures. Bike time often means ‘us’ time in our household. … Read More
Cycling in the Alps: le Tour du Mont Blanc
June 25, 2015 The Transcontinental Race is approaching and my bike is almost ready. The latest additions have been lights powered by a front dynamo hub, and a very cool set of Apidura bags (more on that in a future post). This was a great excuse to test ride a really cool loop: the Tour du Mont Blanc, in 2 days. On … Read More
The Red Dude
March 19, 2015 It was almost dark when I got to my hotel last night, but I woke up to an amazing view of the Massif du Vercors this morning. Situated between Provence and the Alps, these mountains were a hotbed for the French résistance during the Second World War. The Vercors is also a paradise for outdoor sport such … Read More