Meet with Peter: our most loyal adventurer

1. Can you introduce yourself in 3 sentences?

I am an American who found out by accident some years ago how fabulous it is to live and cycle in Nice, France. I love bicycles (and bicycle people); touring, gravel, road, mountain, urban, cargo, etc.. My favourite colour is the blue of the sea and the sky contrasted against the mountains and forests.

2. How did you hear about GravelUp?

I first found out about gravel up via Cafe Du Cyclist, and now I see them online and in magazines.

3. What was your first trip with GravelUp?

My first tour with GravelUp was in Nice, for a 3-day tour. I loved being a tourist in my own town, and also discovering new routes with fabulous people.

4. How did it go?

I truly enjoy the GravelUp psychology: fun, with effort, but relaxed, and not driven by watts or competition. The three day tour was a great way to experience the camaraderie, food, and fabulous guides.

5. What other trips have you done with GravelUp?

I have had the absolute luck to go with GravelUp to Corsica for some days (and will go again!) and I am looking forward to a trip to Norway as well. The hardest part is choosing which trips, and how big the GravelUp budget will be.

6. What did you like most in our trips?

The lack of competition/performance/faster-than-you/bravado. We were all there to ride, to enjoy, to explore, to eat well and converse and share.

7. What can you say about the logistics and overall organisation of the trips?

Effective, “simple” and not complicated by loads of transfers or overburdened schedules. We didn’t try to put too much into each day, which meant that we had time to pause, take opportunities to play on a piece of trail, not be stressed by the minute or hour, and to actually enjoy the surroundings.

8. How did you feel about the tracks the GravelUp guides have taken you to?

I am biased because I love the "Nicoise" mountains - I adore the sense of human-scale terrain that we got to play on. You can actually reach the top of a mountain that has a stunning view, and without needing safety equipment or a helicopter in reserve. The trails were always a good mix of some fast, some technical, some open, some road. I was never bored or wishing for something to stop.

9. A word on the hotels and food?

I thoroughly enjoyed the hotels and restaurants we went to in both Nice and Corsica. The places chosen were comfortable and proper without being too fancy. I adore the countryside nature of the Corsica base camp. And we always had enough food, with variety. The same is true for the lunch stops with the van - always a plethora of things to choose from, based on how you feel or the heat of the day.

10. Are you planning to join another trip soon?

Absolutely undoubtedly of course yes! The question is how many times a year and where!