Exploring an unknown region by bike is Apolline’s favorite thing to do. Based in Dijon, she travels a lot, usually with her bike en-tow. During trips, her bike is her favorite companion, and with the help of komoot, she goes in search of nature’s hidden gems. Apolline is one of our most active users in the French community. Here she shares her favorite Highlight, her best but most exhausting Tour to date, and some route planning tips.
When Apolline thinks of her most beautiful Tour, she smiles but her face quickly turns serious.
“That ride L’étape du Tour was one of the hardest I’ve ever done in my life. Stunning landscapes and beautiful encounters were the rewards for spending more than eight hours in the saddle.”
Even when the route includes lots of climbing, riding is the thing she loves most. According to Apolline she is happiest in the saddle, even on the harder, more challenging days. The bike gives her the ability to explore the area around her.
“I like to discover places that I would never have discovered if I hadn’t taken the cycling option.”
The social aspect is also a big part of her motivation and she enjoys group rides. That said though, she has taken on some solo rides recently.
“Basically I don’t like riding alone at all, I love talking and challenging the people I ride with. But I’ve been doing a lot of rides alone lately and I realize that it’s a completely different experience to ride solo.”
Apolline describes herself as determined, then grins: “And definitely stubborn.” She switches bikes for different purposes.
“For short rides in town, I’d go for a fixed gear. And if I want to go further, I grab a fully geared road bike.”
When asked about her favorite highlight, she points out La Karrière, a place she added to komoot, for others to discover.
“It’s an unexpected and colorful spot between the vineyards in the classic Burgundy countryside.”
Remembering her first few rides with komoot fills her mind with happy memories.
“My very first ride with Komoot took me to the Jura mountains, to my grandparent’s place. I went through many villages and places where I often went when I was younger. It triggered a lot of warm memories and made me want to return to this region to explore it properly on two wheels.“
Since then, she has been planning all her rides with the route planner. Apolline is a big fan of Highlights, which help her discover something new whenever she is out riding.
“I really like how simple komoot is to plan a ride within minutes and the really accurate data regarding way types and surfaces. It’s really useful. Also, I like the Highlight system.
It’s perfect for encouraging you to deviate a bit to discover stunning places while still riding in the area you want to ride.”
It’s great to plot a route around Highlights using a larger desktop screen before you head out but Apolline also has advice for planning on the go.
“Don’t hesitate to go for the route planner on mobile if you don’t have much time. The screen may be smaller but it’s as accurate as if it was planned on a computer!”
For the rest of the year, she plans on getting to know her home region better – by bike of course. She is also looking forward to the next completely new region she’ll explore.
“In the coming months I plan to keep exploring my own Dijon area, and depending on where I work from January (my job makes me move quite a lot) I will discover a whole new region…”
Follow Apolline on komoot and Instagram, to stay up to date with her travels and places she discovers.
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