Life in the South of France — Rides, Villages & the Expat Experience
We write about motorcycle rides through the Cévennes and the Pyrénées, the experience
of choosing a region in Southern France, and the practical reality of moving from the
US to France. We are not journalists. We are two people making this move — and we write about what we find.
Our Story: How Two Expats, Three Countries, and Forty Years of Living Abroad Brought Us Here.
The Day I Left In 2013, I was living in the United States, working in IT security, and doing well by every conventional measure. I had a career. I had stability. I also had a growing sense that the life I was building was not quite the life I was meant to be living.I…
Motorcycle Riding | Exploring Southern France Recap 2024 / 2025
10 rides 2 seasons 5,057 km Total distance 3,143 miles GPS tracked 1,912 m Highest point 2 years Southern France 1 cèpe Found When we moved to the South of France, we knew the riding would be good. We didn’t know how good, or how varied, or how quickly 5,000…
The Cévennes in Two Days — Mushroom Picking, Mountains & Perfect Roads
366 km GPS distance 2 days Duration Gard · Lozère Departments 1,264 m Col du Minier Sep 2025 When we rode May–Jun · Sep–Oct Best season This one started with an ulterior motive: we went to the Cévennes to pick mushrooms. Specifically cèpes — the fat, meaty porcini…
Mont Ventoux & the Luberon Riding — Three Days in Provence
389 km GPS distance 1,912 m Ventoux summit 3 days Duration Vaucluse (84) Department Sep 12–14, 2025 When we rode May–Jun · Sep–Oct Best season Mont Ventoux is the Giant of Provence — 1,912 metres of bare limestone rising from the Vaucluse plain with a visual drama…
Carcassonne to the Pyrénées Orientales with our Triumph Tiger
859 km GPS distance 4 days Duration Aude · Ariège · P-O Departments Sep 19–23, 2025 When we rode Jun · Sep–Oct Best season Biggest ride To date 859 kilometres over four days. This was our longest ride in Southern France to date, and it covered three departments, two…
Mont Aigoual by Motorcycle — The Roof of the Cévennes
172 km GPS distance 1,565 m Summit altitude Gard · Hérault Departments 1h45 From Montpellier Sep 18, 2025 When we rode May – Oct Best season Mont Aigoual at 1,565 metres is the highest point of the Cévennes massif and one of the windiest places in France — the…
Two Days Riding with my Son Luc: Gorges de la Vis, Gorges du Tarn & the Cévennes
456 km GPS distance 2 days Duration Gard · Hérault · Lozère Departments Father & son Ride character Aug 23–24, 2025 When we rode May – Oct Best season Some of the best rides happen when someone who knows the roads takes you somewhere you wouldn’t have found on your…
Ardèche: Four Days Through the Gorges de l’Ardeche
609 km GPS distance 4 days Duration Ardèche (07) Department Les Vans · Pont d’Arc Key stops May 2025 When we rode May–Jun · Sep Best season The Ardèche is where France puts its gorges on display without apology. The river cuts through limestone on a scale that stops…
A Day in Provence: Fontaine de Vaucluse, Gordes & the Alpilles
303 km GPS distance Day ride Type Vaucluse · BdR Departments 4 stops Highlights Sep 2, 2024 When we rode Apr–Jun · Sep–Oct Best season This began as a preparation ride — scouting the Vaucluse and the Alpilles before the Corsica trip. By mid-morning we had stopped…
Corsica Motorcycle Ride | The Island That Earns Every Kilometer
781 km GPS distance 8 days On the island 2A · 2B Departments Ferry Marseille ↔ Corsica Sep 2024 When we rode Sep – Oct Best season Corsica is not a gentle motorcycle ride. The roads are narrow, the mountains are serious, the drivers are confident, and the island tests…
4 Day Motorcycle Ride in the Aveyron and Tarn
203 km Total distance 3 days Trip duration Aveyron · Tarn Departments 910 m Max elevation Jun 2024 When we rode May – Oct Best season There are parts of France where you round a bend and the road drops into a valley so old, so unhurried, so completely unchanged that…
Summer Day Rides from Montpellier — Life on the Hérault Roads
444 km 4 day rides 106 km Longest single day Hérault (34) Home department May–Jul 2024 When we rode May–Jun · Sep Best season Montpellier Starting point Not every ride needs to be an expedition. Some of the best riding we do is on an ordinary Tuesday when there is…