France (all)

This is my travel blog of several years on the road. It started life as a round-the-world trip, but before long I realised that A-to-B cycling isn't as interesting as getting off the beaten track and really exploring a place. So since I left home I've had as much time off the bike as on it, earnt more than I've spent, learnt a new language, met an amazing girl and got married to her! Eager to travel by bike as a couple, we're currently seeing where this new dimension takes us.

I prefer to write about the way the trip affects me psychologically and about the cultural, political and historical curiousities I encounter. It's an uncomfortably personal story at times, but I think it's more interesting than reading pages of distance measurements, road conditions and visa hassles.

My creative outlet comes through photography and video which I also share on the site - I carry 6kg of camera equipment and don't regret it for a second!

The shortest way to France from Munich would be about 300 kilometers. We reached the French border after pedaling 2,300 kilometers. On a round-about route we cycled north to Berlin, west to Hamburg and Groningen in the Netherlands and south as far as Rouen in France. By then we had had enough headwinds and rain. Our Bike Fridays, folding bikes, made it possible to continue by train to southern France and finally back to Munich two months later.

Foreword :Day 8

This morning I was Lance Armstrong leading the peleton on the road through France to Rodez! No it's OK, I wasn't suffering from heat stroke. I just saw the tell tale still partly decipherable graffiti road markings that told me that my man “Lance Armstrong” & 200 other athletes had cycled this very road. I put my head down & stepped up the cadence racing to my imaginary finish line. Out of breath, but exceedingly happy & content I hoisted my arms & shouted at the top of my voice “KING OF THE WORLD” beating my chest like a gorilla. Not quite the British coolness & understatement I know, but this was my tour, I was a winner & feeling good at what I was doing!

Grab a coffee and pull up an armchair. Travel with me for the next 30 minutes through one of the most scenic Countries in the World. France!

For the tenth year in a row I am doing a medium to large cycling trip. This time I will be staying in Europe. The idea is to cycle through Germany and Austria to southern Italy and Sicily and to cycle back home over Sardinia, Corsica, France and Belgium. An overall estimate shows me that it will be around six thousand to seven thousand kilometers to fully realise the plan.

The last weekend of September and the weather forecast is good for Brighton and northern France. We really don't want the start of winter to arrive too soon, so it's off to Dieppe for a short 4 day cycle tour of the Normandy region, taking in Rouen and the coast on the way.

En la mayor parte de este viaje seguimos el trazado de la ruta ''Eurovelo 6``, que aunque con tramos todavia en proyecto, es una via ciclista que une la desembocadura del Loira en el Atlantico con el delta del Danubio en el Mar Negro recorriendo toda Europa de Oeste a Este.

Pero como las vacaciones no son eternas, este año nos tuvimos que conformar con el tramo que cruza Francia. Empezamos en Nantes remontando el Loira hasta Digoin, luego por el Canal du Centre y el Saone, y despues por el canal del Rin y el Doubs hasta llegar a la frontera con Alemania. Alli abandonamos el trazado de la EuroVelo-6 para girar al Norte y siguiendo la cuenca del Rin visitar Colmar y Estrasburgo. En total fueron 1250 km de pedaleo con algun corto trayecto en tren que nos llevaron 16 dias, 13 de ellos viajando en bicicleta.

J'ai fait le tour de l'Europe à vélo en solo durant l'été 2009. J'ai parcouru 12 000km à travers 11 pays. J'ai vécu une expérience magnifique! Venez lire mon blog!

We don't just have our house on our bikes, we also have our two dogs, Jack and Paco, along for the ride. That's 60kg of furry luggage and another 50-60kg of non-furry luggage between the two of us! Needless to say we don't go fast but we do go everywhere, refusing to let our extra load stop us from tackling hills with grades of up to 18%. We have been on the road with our two dogs since July 2008. So far we have covered 17,000 kms and 18 countries in continental Europe.

Another tour of the Alps for this Summer was being planned, but nearly had to be cancelled due to an accident in early June, when I fractured my collar bone and hurt my head and right leg. I had the goal of completing climbing all asphalted pass roads in the Alps from 1700m and higher (which I have detailed in a list at the cycloclimbing.com site).

My memoir of riding the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200 km Randonnee in 1995 - a day-to-day dairy, plus a bit of history and an equipment list.

At the end of August in 2008, Mike Samuel, Roberto Peon and I toured across France, starting in Hendaye on the Spanish border, and then riding across the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean coast. There, we took a train transfer to Montpellier, and then rode North through Languedoc, Provence, and the Rhone Alps to Bourg-en-Bresse and then Geneva. The journey totaled 1047 miles with 92949 feet of elevation gain.

Travel By Bike is a website about a group of enthusiastic bikers with more than 10 years of travel experience. From Belgium through The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom. Do not forget look at to the page 'pregnant on bike', reading our travel stories and watching the beautiful pictures!

This was a five-day bicycle trip to various Chateaus in the Loire Valley, using Tours as a base. Following that, a few days sightseeing in Paris, sans bicycle.

La buona riuscita del viaggio dello scorso anno ci ha spinti anche quest'anno a pedalare per un po' di giorni in un paese sempre ospitale e ricco di storia, cultura e gastronomia come la Francia.

La Francia dunque : liberté, égalité e vin rosé -

L'idea che ha dato vita al viaggio è stata quella di bagnare le ruote delle bici nell'Oceano Atlantico e di bagnarle a fine percorso nell'acqua del Mediterraneo. Se vi lasciate prendere dalla lettura di questo breve racconto, vedrete che ci siamo riusciti

Three fledgling cyclists, Liz, Nix and Mal, pimp their £400 bikes and invest in wooly jumpers to cycle across France coast to coast from St Malo on the English Channel to Sete on the Med. 3 bods, 3 bikes, 14 days cycling, 2 days resting, 1100 km, 700 miles and 0 punctures!

What follows is the journal of the ride seen from our saddles. It hopes to be informative to those who dare, and reflective for those who like the highs and lows of the human story. Each day has a detailed google map of the route we took, pics, contact details of the place we stayed, and of course the journals of Liz, Mal and Nix. Oh and when we calculate our daily speed we're basing it on the length of the complete day with our breaks - this was a challenge with no time for long lunches or relaxing strolls on cycling days.

25,000 children die each day mainly from preventable causes. These children are not dying from incurable diseases or causes. These children are dying from diarrhea, pneumonia, measles and malaria - things that cost pennies to treat or prevent.

My aim is to raise £25,000 by riding 4,000 kilometres from London to Athens with an average of 25,000 spins of my legs per day.

World Biking: The web's most comprehensive Africa Cycling Expedition. Eric and Amaya pedalled 55,000 kilometers and traversed 55 countries (37 in Africa) when they cycled from France to Cape Town via West Africa and then back to France via East Africa and the Middle East between 2006 and 2009. The next stage of their expedition beginning in June 2009 will take them across the USA and then through South America all the way to its southernmost tip, Ushuaia. Lots of photos, tales of their adventure plus touring tips, practical information and gear reviews.

It's amazing how time flies. It seems like just the other day that our fathers were taking the training wheels off our first bikes and now we've been informed that our subscription to AARP needs renewing. On top of that we get more advertisements for Medicare drug plans than we get catalogs from the Colorado Cyclist. Maybe it's time to do a Bucket List. And if it is time, the first thing on it is to cycle the Pyrenees before we're eligible for Medicare.

And that led to this tour ...

We decided to give ourselves an easy start by cycling down the West Coast of France from Bordeaux to St. Jean-de-Luz, a scenic ride through pine and fern forests, alongside sand dunes and the Atlantic Ocean.

At St. Jean-de-Luz we would take a left turn and head into the Pyrenees toward the Col de Tourmalet. After conquering or being conquered by the Pyrenees, we'd go on to Carcassone where we would make one more left turn to follow the Midi-Canal for a leisurely, and flat, ride back to Bordeaux.

A lonely Hungarian cyclist who has the Summers free and likes to make new advantures on his bike.

Started with his short Croatian tours, but made it always longer, and in 2005 didn't stop before the 2700th kilometer in Greece. In the following year he decided to start the real adventure, to cycle out of Europe.

2007 was the year of cycling across Canada, the headwindy way - of course :) After this 9000km trip now he is in the planning stage of the South-American tour for 2009.

An ``aventure bicyclétale'', it's a two-wheeled little miracle which combines discoveries around the world, respect of others and protection of the environment. So let's get in the saddle!

After 10 years in Asia, I've decided to go home, to Châteaudun in France. I left on Sunday the 29th of June 08 from Bangkok, I'm on my way.

Listen to Africa is a collection of African sounds and voices recorded during an 18-month bicycle journey across the continent.

bike route between Gósol and col du Tourmalet. Circular Route 630 Kms between Gósol and Gósol by the most famous cols of Tour de France Pyrenees.

Il diario del mio primo viaggio cicloturistico (da Mantova a Parigi in 12 giorni in campeggio) dalla preparazione fino alla realizzazione. Oltre al diario è disponibile una mappa interattiva contenente tutte le informazioni riguardanti distanze, sistemazioni ecc. Il diario risale al 2003 ma credo che possa comunque essere utile sosprttutto a chi si avvicina per la prima volta al cicloturismo e come me deve superare tutti i piccoli scogli derivanti dalla mancanza di esperienza.

Cycling with my Lowrider Tricycle and my Bongo drum from Germany to Vietnam :o) stopping my bank career 1/2a ago to fulfil my dream and exploring alternative approaches to life; very interested in the current financial crisis and following future; doing interviews with citizens asking them for their approach to life, and opinions about the financial crisis.

Presenting results of my interviews, blogposts with GPS pics, video documentations,

Believing in One World, One Love, One Unity, Dread Marco

In 2008 I cycled 1807 kms and 32199 m height difference in the Alps. I climbed the 3 ascents of Mt Ventoux in a day, had a nice tour in Provence and at the Riviera. I had huge memories: riding my bicycle from the sealevel to the 2802m high Cime de la Bonette that I reached in the evening.

I had a dangerous descent in the rain from Col d'Izoard. Also climbed Colle Agnello (top in fog), and another fantastic day with an italian guy, Mauro Repetti as we did the Trittico Mortirolo : 3 ascent in 1 day. The last serious ``task'' was Passo Stelvio (2760m) from Tirano.

This is a photo diary of a bike trip in September, 2008 from Paris, France to Blois and Chenonceau in the Loire Region of France. It also includes a description of cycling out of Charles de Gaulle Airport.

The goal this Summer was to make sure I have climbed every asphalted (at least one side) pass throughout the whole of the Alps above 1700m (which I have detailed in a list at the cycloclimbing.com site). I also wanted to include some difficult roads that are not passes.

(Length: 4916.7 km for 29 days = 170 km/day; Height metres climbed: 105454 m for 29 days = 3636m/day.)

This is a blog mainly about short rides in the south of France, mostly Languedoc. Each entry has a short description of the ride, pictures, and a Google Map at the bottom, outlining the route. I do have a few longer trips in there as well, with more coming as I get out on the road and do them!

Stelvio summit with Valle di Trafoi background. Weather in the picture was typically cool with constant chance of rain and snow. It was a cold summer.

Ibach - Rosenlaui - Hospental - Biella - Ivrea - Tenda - St. Etienne - Arvieux - Lanslebourg - Bourg St. Maurice - Lavachey - Brig-Ried - Bignasco - Thusis - Brusio - Stelvio - Astfeld - Marebbe - Brixen - Landeck - Urnerboden - Alpnachstadt - Brunnen

www.velopourvous.com est le site de l'association ``Vélo pour nous, vélo pour vous'', qui à pour but de promouvoir la pratique du vélo.

Entre autres, il raconte les voyages en vélo de ses adhèrents, et pas seulement...

Une grande partie est dédié au voyage de Claudia et Thomas autour d'Europe. Leur but est de faire un inventaire de la culture du vélo en Europe. Des jolis photos et un impressionant carnet de bord vous attend à les découvrir...

Our 2008 cycling trip gave us a taste of France. We cycled in Paris, Burgundy, Alsace and Provence. We loved French bakeries and cake shops. This has had some not so good side effects - we came back with extra weight! And that's in spite of cycling over 1000km.
If you are planning a similar cycling tour you will find a lot of useful information in our trip Itinerary and day-by-day Trip Report. If you would like to see the beauty of cycling in France do not miss the Best Photos & Videos. You may also be interested in our recommendations for the best places to see, stay and eat in Top 5. If you have any questions or comments please write to us. Enjoy and have a great time on your virtual bicycle tour!
Glen and Margaret

This eight day trip around the volcanic region of Auvergne in the centre of France took us through some surprising ladscapes, nice valleys and some challenging passes (at least challenging for us). On our site you will find the description of our itinerary and brief notes on what we saw with some potentially useful tips for housing.

Burgundy is a great place for cycling: whether your tour is to be short or long, flat or hilly, with emphasis on nature or architecture - in Burgundy you have your choice. For part of our short visit we followed bike paths following the Canal de Bourgogne and Canal du Nirvenais, otherwise we cycled on small roads with almost no traffic through pleasant, but hilly, countryside. We visited Auxerre, Tonnerre, Avallon, Pontigny, Semur-en-Auxois ...

I ve actually done quite a number of bike-trips myself. It was always a pleasure to be out in the nowhere for longer period of time just moving forward on two wheels.

Finally, after a longer period of absence from travelling I could free two months again. This time the challenge was to find a way of cycling with the entire family, with Juri (4) and Lenya (1), and my wife Angela of course. Thanks to the great Swiss invention of follow-me tandem we could attach Juris bike and de-tach it from time to time if traffic allowed. The bigger challenge was to find enough storage for our luggage which lead to the ``convoi exceptionnell'': two trailers in row behind my bike.

If you want so see how that worked out on the way from Zurich to the French Atlantic, read this live-blog written during the tour on my mobile phone (German). There are plenty of pictures of course as well.

Nascondo il bagaglio presso il monumento che ricorda l'eccidio nazista di Kalavrita, che è un po' la Sant'Anna di Stazzema del Peloponneso [347], e per la prima volta mi godo dunque qualche km scarico. A cinque anni esatti di distanza dal 29 agosto 2003 in cui scoprii questa affascinante montagna, mi ritrovo dunque a calcare i 2341 metri del monte Helmos o Aroania [348], terza vetta della penisola dopo il Taigeto e il Cillene. Quest'ultimo è vicino e ben visibile, con il suo ampio costone sul quale Ercole si sedette a suonare le nacchere di bronzo per scacciare gli uccelli della palude Stimfalia... Quella fatica - la sesta - fu anche l'ultima che l'eroe portò a termine nel «piccolo mondo» del Peloponneso; per le altre sei avrebbe dovuto aprirsi al «grande mondo» - il Mediterraneo e anche oltre - spaziando dal Caucaso, dove si impadroní della cintura di Ippolita, fino là dove il Sole va ogni giorno con il suo cocchio a riposare, sul lontano Atlante marocchino, dove colse i pomi delle Espèridi.

From June 16 to August 1 2008, I cycled from Alta to the North-Cape, there I started a 7-week trip through Finland Sweden Denmark Germany Netherlands Belgium and France back to Switzerland.

Lost in the Seses.
Blackness you could touch. No moon to guide us. No bike lights only Simon's tiny maglite. The road was barely a path, which pinged and cracked as we cycled along it. Simon held the torch in his mouth, and its light wound a curving trail on our ''road.'' Several times we almost crashed into one another. Mumbled curses firing from Simon, unable to release the full volley for fear of dropping his light. Undoubtedly, this was to my advantage and I was able to retaliate with much vitriol, winding him up even more.

Vagabondages autour du monde d'un apprenti voyageur.

Un ou deux ans de voyage au programme pour découvrir l'Europe du Nord, l'Asie et l'Afrique du Nord différemment.

Prochaine étape : la traversée de la Russie en hiver

Vagrancy around the world by a apprentice traveller.

One or two years to discover in a different way north Europe, Asia and north Africa.

Next step : from St Petersburg to Vladivostok during winter time