A Week on the Ardeche-Cevennes Divide (Video)

The Ardèche–Cévennes Divide route had been on my mind for years. It’s set in a region I already knew; two years ago, I crossed the Massif Central, and I remembered just how demanding and technical the trails could be, not to mention the unpredictable weather. Last time, nature made that very clear. This time, one week before departure, the forecast looked pretty much the same. We knew what we were getting into.

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Originally, my friend Wim and I were supposed to ride it as a duo. We’d shared several rather “chill” bikepacking trips with no real objective, but were both in the mood for more of a challenge. Frankly, though, had it just been the two of us, we might have bailed.

Thankfully, the day before we left, Florian, a friend from Brussels, gave us a call and told us he’d been planning a ride in the Drôme region, but the weather looked so bad that they were looking elsewhere. He suggested that the weather in the area around the Ardèche–Cévennes Divide looked the “least bad,” and said we might cross paths with them out there.

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Florian has a solid ultra-distance background. He even finished third at the French Divide. It was pretty clear we wouldn’t be riding at the same pace for very long. As for Anouk, we didn’t know her, but since they often travel together, we had a feeling she’d be tough too.

It worked out that we all met up on the first day of the route, telling ourselves, “If the pace doesn’t work, we’ll split up. Sharing one day together will already be great.” As it happened, we ended up riding together the whole time, and the group dynamic worked instantly. The route was tough, and the first days were freezing cold, but the shared energy kept us moving forward. The hike-a-bike sections felt endless, and the descents were incredibly rocky.

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Wim is that travel companion with whom you can spend an hour in silence without it feeling awkward, and he’s also the guy you can talk with endlessly until 1 a.m., lying under the stars. Florian is the unstoppable Viking. Tall, strong, and with a rock-solid mindset, he’s always in a good mood and able to adapt to any pace. What we did in a week, he probably could have finished in about 48 hours. And then there’s Anouk… probably the encounter of the year. Always smiling, always encouraging, and incredibly strong on technical descents. Together, they make a powerful duo—the kind of couple that washes up in a freezing river at 3°C in the evening without even blinking.

From day three onward, my knee became seriously painful, and I genuinely thought I would have to quit. As a duo with Wim, we probably would have taken shortcuts and looked for smoother trails, but as a group of four, carried by team spirit, we made it all the way.

We found the Ardèche–Cévennes Divide route here on BIKEPACKING.com. The description says the route is rideable 99% of the time, but for our crew, that clearly wasn’t the case. Six to seven days is a good average to complete the traverse. As for difficulty, we’d rate it 6/10, considering the ever-changing weather, resupply management, and the technical nature of the trails. We never had trouble finding water, but we still used our filter a few times. Enjoy the video!

Further Reading

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