You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’
The itinerary. Ash Smith obsesses over it. He loses sleep worrying over piecing together ancient pathways that crisscross the Maritime Alps. Yet miraculously, it comes together. Here’s how it happens, well, sort of: A municipal office worker in some sleepy mountain town begrudgingly hands Smith a faded, crinkled map. He scours it for dotted lines traversing contours, references it against Google Earth, studies the map again and hits dirt with his two wheels. Sometimes he strikes gold on the first attempt. But most often, finding rideable routes through the southern Alps is a process of trial and error requiring the curiosity of an archeologist, the map-reading skills of a cartographer and the tenacity of a gold panner.
A week ago, I flew to Nice on the French Riviera. It was a warm week in late October, the sky sparkling blue, mirroring the Mediterranean Sea. I joined Smith, founder of the legendary Trans-Provence enduro for some ground truthing. Trans-Provence’s popularity has risen meteorically since its inception 10 years ago. Its unwavering commitment to blind-racing rugged trail was second-to-none and noticed by all. But then in 2018, it ground to a halt—Smith said no more—why? I’m here to
