Half To Peak

Half To Peak is the little sister of Erminig's Sea To Peak: the same wild, self-supported off-road ride into the Alps, but starting from Pontgibaud by the Chaîne des Puys, exactly halfway along the big route. Riders set off a week after the Sea To Peak field has left Brittany and share the alpine finale with them, all the way to Saint-Véran in the Queyras.

The track follows the second half of the Sea To Peak through the Massif Central and on into the high mountains, on terrain the organiser describes as made for a mountain bike or monster-cross. It is pitched at riders short on time or wanting a first taste of ultra bikepacking without giving up the beauty or technicality of the full route, with intermediate checkpoints and a strict time limit to be a finisher.

Erminig is a Breton association whose events rest on autonomy: no outside help on the route, no pre-booked accommodation, and a GPS tracker on every bike so friends and dotwatchers can follow the adventure. It is not a race; the only opponent, as the organiser puts it, is yourself.