The Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year!
After a bit of a post-@desertusbikus and @gravelbirds.cc slump, we felt the need to refocus, to get back to our daily playground. And what a breath of fresh air it was! Our spirits soared, ready to go full throttle again.
The idea was simple and beautiful: to take full advantage of this unique day of the summer solstice , with its sun setting late, to treat ourselves to a beautiful escape, free and light, with no other constraints than that of following our desires, at the rhythm of the moment.
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We know it, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves: you don't have to go far to experience great adventures. The ones that leave a lasting impression. The ones we experience right here, close by.
It's never easy to come home. Even when you love your routine. Even when you're surrounded by the right people, in a setting you've chosen, in a life you love. But sometimes, after experiencing something powerful, something extraordinary—a cycling adventure , a trip that shakes you up, an escape that touches something essential—returning to normalcy can leave you feeling a little hollow. A bittersweet emptiness. We ride the same roads as before, we take the trails we know by heart... but something has changed. Or maybe we're the ones who have. And those familiar paths suddenly seem a little duller. As if the intensity of what we've experienced elsewhere casts a shadow over everyday life.
But over time, we understand that this hollow is precious. It doesn't mean that our daily lives are insufficient. It just says that we experienced something that mattered. Something that leaves an imprint , that continues to resonate within us once we return.
So we pedal anyway. On the roads we know. We look at them differently. We let them carry us again. Until the moment when, without realizing it, we find ourselves smiling—feeling again that simple joy of being there, on the bike, even close to home .
And we know that one day or another, we'll set off again. Toward another adventure, another horizon, another line drawn somewhere on a map or just in our heads.
But in the meantime, we take care of the return. We tame it, we listen to it. Because it is also part of the journey.
And that day, for the summer solstice of 2025, I chose to ride between Ariège and Aude. Not so far from home, nor from the Velocidade workshop. A place I know well, that I love deeply. I could have told myself that it wasn't "far" enough, not "new" enough... but I preferred to see things differently.
And I enjoyed myself, from morning to night. 306 kilometers on the odometer, each hour full, each moment anchored in the present. It wasn't a challenge. It wasn't an escape. It was a tribute to this land that surrounds me. To this body that rolls. To this freedom to go far, without going far.
The ultimate goal that day was to create a memory back home in Ariège. One that lasts. One you think about in the middle of winter, or when the days get shorter. A memory to remind me that you can also reach "up there"—no need for a legendary pass or to go far. Sometimes all you have to do is open the door, get on the bike... and start pedaling.
So, go on… open the door, let the wind whisper stories to you, and let your legs write the path. Sometimes the greatest journey begins right outside your front door, where every pedal stroke becomes a promise of freedom.
