Pain au Chocolat | The only pain we like

THE ONLY PAIN WE LIKE

August 17 – 22, 2026 in Grenoble (F)

Selfsupported Bikepacking – Roadbike – 1100 km – 19'000 m of up

Pain au Chocolat is an adventurous ride through some of the most beautiful but less known areas of France: Drôme, Cévennes, Vercors, Vaucluse, Gard, Ardèche, … Deep canyons, deserts, rock formations, rough little roads winding through mountains and along rivers.

It’s a selfsupported bikepacking event, created to explore new places, challenge yourself and meet up with fellow adventurers.

Registration is open from April 9, 2026, 8:00 p.m. until April 16, 2026.

THE ROUTE

We spent many days and bikepacking trips on our bikes to explore the area, in search of the most beautiful roads and best bakeries. Our main goal was to create a route that takes you away from traffic and into the more remote and rough areas, to show you the true beauty of roadcycling.

It’s a hilly track with many climbs but the route is created to have the best time possible. We did not add any super steep climbs or unrideable sections to make it extra tough. Most of this route has been discovered on our bikepacking-holidays in the past years – and we like to enjoy our holidays!

WHY A FIXED ROUTE ON TARMAC?

We see more and more events moving to unpaved gravel and MTB tracks to avoid traffic and we can fully relate to this. At the same time we still believe that riding a roadbike is a lot of fun, if you take the quiet backroads and go places where not many cars go.

You all know we love free route adventures. But they come with one big flaw if held on tarmac – the main road is usually the fastest way from point A to B. That’s why we spent countless hours to draw a route that will avoid traffic and busy roads. Cruising on a tiny road that takes you through the beautiful village or to see the waterfall will suddenly feel good, because everyone else will ride it too!

WHAT BIKE?

Pain au Chocolat is created to ride on a road bike. But keep in mind that in rural France tarmac can be quite rough and that there will be some short unpaved sections (all rideable on a roadbike!).

We recommend a road- or gravelbike with a minimal tire width of 30mm. For a more enjoyable ride we recommend a slick tire between 32 mm and 35 mm.

And bring your gears. We did try to avoid very steep climbs, but with body and legs getting tired even a 12% climb can get tough. We recommend a sub 1:1 granny gear.

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PARTY-PACE START

Do you plan to stop at every bakery, get a good rest every night or you simply know that you’re not the fastest? With our Party-Pace Start you can give yourself a headstart of 24 hours! (17 August)

Party-Pace Riders will show in the tracking, the checkpoints and the finish, but not in any ranking or leaderboard. They are allowed to share the road, ride in groups (even drafting), share the fun – they are here for the party!

Party-Pace Riders are still not allowed to get outside assistance. But they can group up and help each other!

Our bikepacking-family is home for so many different people with so many different backgrounds. While many events are created for and focussed on fastest athletes in the peloton, we all know that riders in den midpack and arriving late to the finisher-party are the ones with the best stories!