J12. The importance of excess

The importance of un-measuring

Already J12.

(and yes… yesterday was J11, not J10 😅)

Time flies. Way too fast.

This stop in the middle of nowhere did us good.

An old bastide… almost prehistoric by Canadian standards

We could have lit a fire there and been told not to look out the window…

We set off in good spirits, therefore

The Canadians are doing their out-and-back again like yesterday 🇨🇦

Long and hilly stage, so we switch into a more tourist mode 🚴‍♂️

No one wants to push into the red.

We’ve already given a lot.

Since the beginning, we’ve measured ourselves against many things: ourselves, our ambitions, our motivation

We’ve measured ourselves against effort, endurance, pain.

Against nature too: the cold, the wind, the rain.

Against the Giant. Against leg-breaking climbs.

In short… we’ve measured enough.

Today, we mainly measure something else: the chance to be here. To ride among the olive trees 🌿. To share this together

And above all… to receive your encouragements every evening 🙏

What we don’t yet fully measure is the scale of what we are achieving. The achievement is personal to each of us: a finely tuned organisation, almost like lacework. A demanding, almost epic crossing (that some are doing for the 13th time)

Not to mention those absurd moments: battling on a climb…

while others casually pass you, loaded panniers and 1000 km already in their legs 😄

But today… we ease off on measuring.

Because the landscapes deserve more than our egos.

National parks 🌿

truffle oak trees 🌳

Lake Sainte‑Croix 💧

its unreal colours, its crystal-clear water…

We enjoy it. Really.

And even more so when we meet the Canadians 🇨🇦

Ice cream 🍦

cold drink 🥤

group spirit…

Kindness,

but also playground vibes 😄

We end up racing. We can’t help it.

You can’t change who you are. The end of the trip is approaching. We enjoy it… but we are also fighting against the monotony of the pedal stroke.

And in the end, it only takes a little to bring the magic back: a group of passionate people, a ray of sunshine ☀️, a beautiful view over the valley

And everything becomes simple again.