We at Hammerhead love to hear about the myriad ways in which you ride with Karoo. In the spirit of the Tour de France, we’re excited to share Miles Wood’s recent adventures in the French Alps.
Miles Wood riding in the picturesque French Alps with his Karoo
Miles rode with Velo Vercors, a one-stop cycling retreat that he strongly recommends.
“I led a group of three mates from the UK to the Vercors [in the South-East of France]. It’s an amazing place of ‘hanging’ French roads, with 1000m climbs up onto a high plateau. We had great weather, practically zero cars (if 30 overtook us each day, I’d be surprised!), few other cyclists save for the retired locals, all centered in Saint-Jean-en-Royans.”
Miles and the Sunflowers equally enjoying the French “soleil.”
Miles and his friends had as close to perfect riding conditions as one could ask for, leading to some of the most memorable riding one could ever dream of.
These roads are the stuff of cycling fantasy, complete with stunning hairpin climbs and fields upon fields of brilliant sunflowers.
Miles explained to us that, “This was my third trip and while I know the area quite well, this was the most challenging of my visits. It was the first trip here with the Karoo, which performed admirably.”
Even rides on familiar roads can have completely different outcomes depending on road and rider conditions. It’s an old adage popular with cyclists and non-cyclists alike: “proper preparation prevents poor performance.”
“The Karoo redirected us on a few occasions when road closures and re-paving necessitated a detour. But that’s the great thing about the rides, you can tailor your route to as long or short as you want, with loads of options to add or subtract loops at will, always with a great way home through amazing gorges. It was a truly fantastic cycling experience.”
Despite the terrain being familiar to Miles, unexpected changes often force a cyclist to adapt on the fly. Without Karoo, this can prove to be a nerve-racking experience, but intuitive mapping and snappy re-routing entice all riders to venture further, or at least not worry if a forced detour will derail the day’s ride. With the navigational logistics taken care of by the Karoo, you can immerse yourself in the ride, rather than frantically trying to get back to a familiar road.
A rider should be limited by the strength of their legs, not the duration of their head unit’s battery. Miles told us, “I bought a special power bank just in case, but ditched it after day one as I didn’t need it as the battery has improved so much.” We’re excited to roll out even more battery life enhancements in the near future, so a Karoo user’s only limit is their sense of adventure.
Thank you to Miles for sharing the story of a breathtakingly beautiful cycling trip on some truly perfect cycling roads. And thank you for using a Karoo to navigate and record the entire trip!
Miles Wood shared his photos and story with Andrew Scott.
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We love to see how you’re using Karoo. Please write to us with your own stories and photos and we’ll do our best to feature you on the blog or our social media channels. Just drop a note to andrews@hammerhead.io or harold@hammerhead.io and we’ll get back to you.
