Who's our King of the Galette?

We’re back, after some long winter pause, we’ve cleaned and greased our bikes and are ready to hit the road for another exciting year.

What better way to do so than with our monthly cafe-croissant group commutes (info here) but with a twist… the French Galette des Rois!

1st MC Bike2Work Galette Group Commute - Copyright Ivan Blanco and MC Bike2Work.jpg

galette

noun ga·​lette | \gə-ˈlet\

Definition of galette

1: a flat round cake of pastry often topped with fruit
2: a food prepared and served in the shape of a flat round cake a galette of potatoes

_MG_3902 - 1st MC Bike2Work Galette Group Commute - Copyright Ivan Blanco and MC Bike2Work.jpg

This traditional French dish, specifically the Galette des Rois, is not to be confused with the Breton and salty version which is round too but usually flat an garnished with eggs, emmental cheese and ham; don’t tell this to a Breton, but it’s like a salty crepe ;)

Another important difference is that it is usually only sold during the month of January, during the Epiphany and related to the three King’s day and it slightly extends the cosy Xmas vibe until the cold wintery February.

Similar to the its Spanish counterpart, Roscón de reyes (but sold only for the 3 Kings day), a small trinket, usually porcelain piece, is hidden somewhere within the cake. The finders keepers is usually also designated the King/Queen of the Galette and receives his/her crown; usually they should then also pay for the Galette the year after… but this remains subject to the memory capacity of the non winning co-Galette eaters and the remembering willingness of the King/Queen.

Long story short, after braving the cold morning hours typical of our wintery commutes, we finished our monthly group ride with one good warm Galette and hot hot coffee at our finish line the Cafes Delices at Monaco’s border.

_MG_4104 - 1st MC Bike2Work Galette Group Commute - Copyright Ivan Blanco and MC Bike2Work.jpg

With hands quickly emptying the Galette plate, and cautiously avoiding a visit to the dentist, our King of the Galette fell on our dear FloFlo who avoided breaking a tooth and was designated our King of the day. Even if Strava didn’t crown him, he was our King of the ride, coming along with his heavy mountain bike, so big big kudos to him.

MC Bike2Work January 2019 Galette

We wish to thank all participants and encourage everyone else to join us for our next rides, how? Follow us on Strava for direct rides notification and also on Facebook where we publish all our future events. You can also drop us an email and join our mailing list.

Layer up and pedal safe!


References via Wikipedia:
Epiphany / King’s Cake / Galette / Galette (definition Merrian Webster) / Roscón de reyes

Here also some HISTORYon the whole King’s cake via Gerard from Manyeats.com ;)

Croissant Commutes!

Text: Ivan
Photos: Ivan

One of our most popular events is back, the MC Bike2Work Group (croissants) commutes!

Cyclin Commute Monaco 1st 2018 Group Ride MC Bike2Work HR © Ivan Blanco Vilar

Check below some instants from our first 2018 group ride and popular croissant + coffee ride.

For the new ones among you, we usually organize this rides around the last days of each month to both promote our transport choice as well as a way to share the road with our fellow commuters. Those who are members of our MC Bike2Work association receive a free croissant and coffee for their daily cycling efforts. Either member or not, you're free to ride with us, just join our Strava Club here and stay tuned to our group rides; obviously, free croissant + coffee are limited only to our members, if you want to be part, just drop us a word here and we'll get back to you ;)

Cycling Commute Monaco 1st 2018 Group Ride MC Bike2Work LR © Ivan Blanco Vilar

Safe riding and we'll see you on the road!

Disclaimer: we do not recommend eating croissants on a daily basis, despite the cycling, you may be at risk to become the Michelin man, consult your coach if in doubt but if croissants are just your thing, make 10 extra loops around Monaco before work and come share your croissanpassion with us once per month :)