02 Sep 2025 18 min read

Bike packing through the French Alps

The second part of our time in France was our main leg of bike packing; traversing the French Alps from Geneva, Switzerland all the way south to Nice, France. We spent just under a month making the journey through the incredible french countryside with some additional stops along the way.

Be aware, this is a bit of a long one as it covers all of the rest of our time in France! Lots of photos to keep you entertained along the way though.

Layover in Lyon

Our first stop was in Lyon with a friend of ours, Matt, who we met in the San Pedro de Atacama desert in Chile. Matt graciously invited us to stay with him and his family where they fed us endlessly with amazing cheese, meat and wine. We indulged in fresh pastries and bread from the bakery every morning, lots and lots of different specialist cheeses, salami and meats and incredible dinners paired with multiple selections of wine. Lucky we had a lot of biking ahead of us because we definitely put on weight over those few days.

The most amazing food at Matt's parent's place in Lyon.

Matt played tour host, showing us everything Lyon has to offer in a full one-day walking city tour. Our rest day ended up being 23,000 steps.

Matt and myself overlooking the Old Town Lyon.

Some of the beautiful architecture on display in the Old Town Lyon.

Near to where the river Saone meets the river Rhone.

We bid farewell to Matt and his family and biked the 15km into the central train station to re-commence our journey east to Geneva and our bike packing journey proper.

On our final evening we were telling stories about the travesties of travelling with bikes at times, mainly the stress of them getting broken in transport. A while later we came across Matt's Dad tucked away in the office printing custom fragile bike stickers for us!! Bless.

Matt's Dad's custom stickers for our bike boxes. These have been so handy!

A day in Switzerland

We arrived into Geneva about midday and rolled (literally) off the train and onto our bikes. We made our way to the waterfront, guided by the infamous Geneva water sprout, then followed the lakefront east towards Luasanne. We met a fellow bike packer along the way and spent most of the day riding with him. We followed the Via Rhona all the way along the lake front, providing for fantastic views and nice bike paths/ shared roads.

Life is pretty good for children growing up in Geneva.

Further east down Lake Geneva near to Montreux.

About 70km into the ride, I said good bye to Laura as she peeled off to spend the night in Luasanne with a friend we had met in Colombia. Laura spent the rest of the afternoon and the next day playing tennis, exploring castles, swimming and exploring the vineyards.

I carried on riding. The plan was to circumnavigate the full length of Lake Geneva all the way past Lausanne, Montreux and back into France, stopping in Thonon Les Baines. We can't afford to stop in Switzerland. The day ended up being 150km / 1,000m fully loaded, but was simply incredible. Especially the roads just past Lausanne up through the vineyards looking back across Lake Geneva. Simply amazing, i'll never forget riding along those roads.

The most idyllic countryside above Luasanne.

So incredible I was even inspired to take a selfie. Look at me go, Tour merch and all.

Down near the lake front at the far eastern end of the lake, just outside Montreux.

Cooked after a long day of riding and caught in a thunderstorm. The German couple next to me felt sorry for me putting my tent up in the dark and come over to offer me a beer - of course! Danke schön!

I spent the night at a campground in Thonon Les Baines and woke to find out that Laura hadn't booked her ferry ticket (classic move), so I had an extra day up my sleeve. A quick check of the map and I realised that I wasn't too far from Morzine - a world class and famous biking area (mainly for mountain bikes). I flicked Anton Cooper a message as I knew he lived there and we schemed out a route over the phone together then I set off.

It was a pleasant day riding up through the French Alps and into Morzine, knocking off a serious amount of climbing along the way. I arrived in Morzine in the early afternoon and went for a drive around town with Anton to have a bit of a look around and get some lunch. I also caught up with his flatmate and Kiwi mountain biking legend Sammy Maxwell. Back on the bike and down the valley back to Thonon Les Baines to meet Laura on the evening ferry. 110km / 2,000m all up and a day well spent.

Entry into the Alps from the shores of Lake Geneva.

Laura and I headed west from Thonon Les Baines and found a tidy wee camping spot out the front of a wind surfing club on the shores of Lake Geneva (technically Lac Lemon because we were on the french side) where we set up camp and went for a sunset dip. There is something poetic about freedom camping under the noses of the rich and famous and we slept well accordingly.

Free camping spot on the shores of Lac Lemon (french side of Lake Geneva)

Sunset dip. Luasanne in the distance on the opposite side of the lake.

Riding the Via Rhona through to Annecy

We journeyed from the shores of Lac Lemon / Lake Geneva west and south. We followed the shores of the lake along the Via Rhona back to Geneva and then carried on south down the valley to Seyssel.

One of the lovely little lakeside towns along Lake Geneva.

Great cycling infrastructure along the Via Rhona.

The riding was very pleasant, following the via Rhona which provided for very easy going riding through some beautiful terrain. Life was quite simple; wake up, ride, coffee, ride, eat, ride, swim, ride, food, bed. We finally felt like we were truly bike packing as we meandered through the countryside and the beautiful small villages.

Sunflower meadows rolling down to Lake Geneva.

Not all sunshine and rainbows. Caught in another afternoon thunderstorm!

We stopped over in a small riverside town called Seyssel which came highly recommended by our friends Tristain and Emma. It was a beautiful little township with a fantastic cafe, set alongside the Rhone with lovely old buildings. The township was beautiful and very quiet - stark contrast to the heavily touristed township of Annecy just over the hill.

We met up with fellow Kiwi bike packers Huw and Rose in Annecy. I know Huw from years of racing and more recently some mountain biking trips up around Blenheim and Nelson. Laura and I enjoyed a well earned "proper" rest day - no riding, just roaming around the small streets and canals, and spending a lot of time at the cafe.

Rolling the Via Rhona south with Huw and Rose

We rode with Huw and Rose for 4 days in total, rolling down the valley mostly following the Via Rhona and enjoying the sunshine and nice bike paths. It was great company riding with Huw and Rose, spending plenty of time in the sun, eating lots of baguette and cheese, drinking a lot of coffee and stopping for plenty of swims.

We followed the valley through the agricultural areas past the vineyards and fruit orchards.

Dropping down into the valley after climbing up and away from Annecy.

Rolling pastures and purpose-built bike paths. The dream!

Alpe de Huez

We continued our journey south and made our way to Grenoble, a strategic base to tackle the iconic Alpe de Huez climb.

We left early and made our way up the valley from Grenoble to the base of Alpe de Huez. It was a scorching hot summer day, so we took refuge to restock with espresso, pain au chocolates and Orangina.

Not the best riding on the A-road towards Alpe De Huez, but nice lighting.

Village at the base of Alpe De Huez (background), obviously a hotspot for cyclists.

We set out to tackle the iconic 21 switchbacks (technically 23) - one of the most famous climbs in Tour history. The climb was tough from the get-go with pretty steep and relentless grades all the way up, the switchbacks themselves providing the only momentary respite. I set out hard, but within my limits given the heat and heavy loading in my legs. I had a cheeky ambition to try and tackle some of my friend's PRs, but it was not to be, coming in at 1hr4min for the climb. Some margin off the KOM of 34min....

One of the iconic 21 switchbacks. The only momentary reprieve from the relentlessly steep gradients.

I look better on the downhill, rather than the uphill.

Side quest to Chamonix

In our original planning, we had hoped to pass through the famous alpine village of Chamonix on our route south. However, after a few days riding around the south of France and briefly into the French Alps the thought quickly became unrealistic due to the remoteness and difficulty of getting there, but also the cost of the exercise given how expensive Chamonix is.

However, my aunty Melanie, who had been following our journey, reached out to us and insisted that we come and visit her in Chamonix. Well - easy decision for us! We bid farewell to Huw and Rose and took the train as far as we could up the valley from Grenoble towards Chamonix, which still left us with about 85km and a LOT of climbing left to get to Chamonix.

Lovely valley roads heading towards Chamonix.

Tiring work, but impressive roading infrastructure.

We hoped off the train and tried to make as much distance as we could before it got dark and/ or we ran out of legs or the rain set in. Our attempt to cover distance was somewhat thwarted by Laura's lost Tiva, requiring a turn-back. However, we did manage to find out of our best free camping spots of the trip.

Mountains growing larger, getting closer to Chamonix.

We ending up spending 4 days in Chamonix, staying with Melanie and Rob at their beautiful chalet home. The setting was incredible; panoramic views across to Mont Blanc and stunning surrounds with the peaks towering above. It felt very relaxing and homely. A great chance to decompress and catch up.

The view from the terrace of Melanie and Rob's chalet in Chamonix - looking straight across to Mont Blanc.

We ate a lot of food and drank a lot of wine - seemingly the theme here in France. We are so incredibly grateful for the friends and family who have opened their doors for us on our travels, it has had such a profound influence on our trip.

Food - lots of delicious French food. Melanie was an incredible cook and ensured we were never left hungry.

apéro - the starter course for every meal. Usually some combination of meat, cheese, vegetables and of course, alcohol.

We spent our time in Chamonix relaxing; wandering through the town, sitting around at home catching up over an espresso or vino, going to the markets and just enjoying some time to decompress and not have to think or route plan. We were also put to work helping Melanie and Rob re-arrange their entire living room and move in some new furniture - a fair barter for their incredible hospitality!

Laura even managed to find herself a piano,

On one of our days we ventured down the valley to watch the final stage of the women's Tour de France, which was awesome to see in person.

The women's peloton ripping past on the final stage of the Avec Zwift Femme Tour de France.

We of course also sampled some of the incredible hiking on offer, with a day trip up to La Jonction; the junction of the two glaciers directly under Mont Blanc. The views were simply incredible and we were blown away by the size and scale. However, the glacier is looking rather sad due to the advent of global warming. The Tevas also held up to their reputation in the alpine environment.

The hiking trail winding its way up. Stunning views around.

This photo really shows the grand scale of the mountains and glaciers around Chamonix. Such a surreal place.

Right up and close with the glacier. Heavily crevassed.

If you look closely you will see the Aiguille du Midi perched right on top of the mountain.

I love the contrast in this photo showing the hillside, glacier and towering granite cliffs. Aiguille du Midi perched on top with the gondola line running down to Chamonix bottom left out of picture. The summit of Mont Blanc top right out of picture.

We unfortunately had to carry on and had to leave Chamonix behind us and continue our journey south. We absolutely loved Chamonix and have vowed to go back there. Our time there made even more valuable with time spent with Mel and Rob.

All roads lead to Nice

Back on the bikes and southward bound, we took a train back to Grenoble and picked up where we left off. Back to our simple life of waking up and riding all day.

Hot work riding through a heat wave in the south of France.

We continue south bound following the Via Rhona through an array of lovely quaint villages lining the shores of the river. So much amazing architecture, lovely old buildings and castles along the way, it made for very pleasant riding. However, did time our journey with a heatwave in the south of France, pushing the temperatures into the 40s, which made riding during the middle of the day tough going.

One of the small townships along the River Rhone.

Continuously blown away by the bike paths in France.

Sunset looking out across the Rhone in the Avignon region.

Sunflower meadows will never become dull.

Hiding out from a thunderstorm and refuelling with yet more baguette, cheese and salami. A more realistic shot of how we spend most of our time on the road.

Averaging just over 100km per day, we made our way south very quickly. We mostly freedom camped along the shores of the river Rhone along the way, with the odd camp site the further south we got. Plenty of swimming to relieve ourselves from the heat and the odd occasion of getting caught completely starkers by one of the tour boats cruising the Rhone our time was very relaxing and enjoyable.

Tidy wee camping spot right on the shores of the Rhone.

The best swim spot yet. Crystal clear blue waters underneath a Roman aqueduct; Pont du Gard.

Heading up to an old fortress in the Avignon region. Not pictured: 40+ degree heat.

Passing through an old citadel and fortress. Very cool.

I gave up on wearing t-shirts because they just became unbearably hot and drenched in sweat after 30min anyway. Saves on washing.

A small moment of appreciation for this fat campsite cat.

The south coast of France

After many weeks on the road, we finally made it to the Mediterranean coast (along with what seemed the entire rest of the French population). We ended up abandoning our plan to cut across from the Rhone valley through the bottom of the French Alps to Nice because it was just too hot to ride, so we instead enjoyed some shorter days allowing for more time to stop, swim and relax.

We instead headed straight south to Marseille. In all honestly though, Marseille was crap (sorry to offend anyway). The old town is lovely, in and around the harbour area, but everything outside that 3km radius is just crap. The roads were incredibly busy, no bike lanes, very industrial, dirty, loud, unpleasant and a feeling of unsafe. We ended up camping just on the other side of the hill from Marseille in a lovely little beachside campground to escape the heat and then made the quick trip up and over the hill straight to the train station and out of Marseille. Riding the train along the coastline to Nice was stunning looking out across all of the bays with the yachts bobbing in the waters.

Coastline on the outskirts of Marseille. Very idyllic, the locals were all out wading for shellfish.

Arriving in Antibes, just outside of Nice, was bliss. Golden sand, clear blue water and fresh sea breeze.

The stats from our ride from Geneva to Marseille: 1,420km and 13,800m of climbing over 21 days, including 4 days in Chamonix.

We made it to the coast! Nice in the backgrount.

Parting ways, briefly

After 2-months on the road together, I left Laura in Antibes, on the south coast of France... no complaints from her. Laura was going to spend the next week journeying along the Mediterranean coastline drinking espresso and Aperol, and eating pastries as she hoped between beaches, while I headed across to the UK to meet up with some good friends for a week of riding around Scotland. No guarantees on the Scottish summer weather...

We would reconvene at a friend's wedding in Dublin, Ireland a week later.

Laura not looking too disappointed about prospect of being left on the south coast of France.

Up next:

Max has a week bike packing in Scotland with his friends Harry and Campbell.
Laura spends the week on the south coast of France.
A friend's wedding in Dublin, Ireland.
A week of hiking in the Dolomites.

Plenty to come! Ciao for now.