SAMAYA x JOHAN MAZE

 

 

15 days bikepacking in the Pyrenees. Minimal weight, with only a change of clothes and a 655-gram tent. No water or food resources. For Samaya, Johan Maze looks back on his adventure and tells us what drives him and attracts him to bikepacking.

 

For this second bikepacking trip, why choose the route des cols des Pyrénées?

Johan Mazé: The idea for this roadtrip came about because I wanted to do the route des cols des Pyrénées, followed by the route des cols des Alpes. In the end, I didn't do the second part because the logistics were rather complicated with the train. I was able to ride through very diverse, wild landscapes, with very few people around. I took advantage of the opportunity to visit some old friends near Pau, Tarbes and along the coast, before continuing on to the Pyrenean mountain passes.

 

What was your day like?

JM: I usually rode until 7pm, then stopped to look for places to have dinner. I hadn't brought anything to eat, and had almost nothing in my panniers. When I got hungry, I stopped. On a bike, it's pretty easy to do that because you can cover a lot of kilometers easily. After lunch, I started riding again until I found a nice place to set up my bivouac.

 

Your bikepacking trip lasted 15 days, during which you covered a huge number of kilometers every day. What was it like?

JM: In amplitude, it made for long days, but I didn't necessarily ride all the time and I didn't necessarily ride fast. I rode slowly, but for 10 hours. At the end of the day, that still meant 200 kilometers. Incidentally, I also did quite a bit of climbing in the Pyrenees. In Aubrac, there were also a few bumps, and I spent my time going up and coming back down. They were very tough, because they were straight, linear climbs, and I didn't really feel like I was making any progress, whereas on the mountain pass roads, the roads wind and the landscape changes, and you become more aware of the difference in altitude.

 

Have you come across any other bikepackers on your adventure?

JM: I was surprised. There were a lot of cyclists and bikers on the Pyrenean mountain passes. But there were very few light cyclists like me. Most of them were with big panniers in front and behind. So I didn't have the opportunity to ride with other cyclists because I was lighter and therefore faster. To be so light, I had the minimum, but always in comfort. I had my cycling gear and an evening outfit with trail shorts and a t-shirt. When I wore this outfit, I washed my bike clothes, and when I wore my bike clothes, I washed the other outfit.

 

As a high-altitude mountaineer, how do you feel about bikepacking compared with your other activities?

JM: Basically, I come from the world of cycling and gradually I entered the world of high mountains. It's completely different from hiking or trekking. Different and incomparable. With bikepacking, you pick up everything you need along the way. I'd ride for 10 hours and never get bored. I'd start my day thinking about the stages that were going to animate it. Stopping to eat, finding water, settling down to sleep. With a bike, it's really easy to do that. That's what I liked about it.