Massif Central Gravel Circuit

The Massif Central is the volcanic spine of France — a 85,000 square kilometre upland plateau formed by volcanic activity over the past 65 million years and still geologically active in recent geological time. The landscape it produces is unlike any other in France: flat-topped extinct volcanoes, lava fields, and basalt plateaux at 1000-1800m, connected by a network of pastoral roads and forest tracks that are largely ignored by the bikepacking world.

The Chaîne des Puys in the Puy-de-Dôme is the most recognisable section — a 40km chain of 80 volcanic domes aligned along a geological fault, with the Puy de Dôme (1465m) at its summit. The cycling routes through this UNESCO World Heritage Site use tracks between the puys that are genuinely unusual terrain: black basalt gravel roads through beech forests with volcanic summits emerging above the canopy.

The Cantal section in the south is where the Massif reaches its highest point. The Plomb du Cantal (1855m) and the surrounding caldera landscape of the world's largest ancient volcano (30km diameter) are wild, windswept, and frequently visited by cloud. The tracks crossing the Cantal volcanic plateau use estive (summer pasture) roads that carry traffic only during the transhumance season.

The Aubrac is the final section — a high, treeless plateau at 1200-1300m that is cold, empty, and exposed to the weather of the central uplands. The Aubrac is famous for its fog (brume de l'Aubrac is a local expression for the conditions that close visibility to 20 metres), its volcanic stone villages, and its cattle. The track network across it is good but navigation in poor visibility requires attention.

Small towns throughout the Massif provide adequate resupply. This is not remote France — there are people everywhere in summer — but the distances between services in the plateau sections can exceed 40km.

Most riders take 8-10 days.