France (local)

We were sitting around our dining room table sipping a glass of wine (can't remember if it was from a box or bottle) thinking about where to take our next bike tour, when I said, ``We should try for more diversity.'' Beth immediately replied, ``You're not going to go off about our immigration policy again? I thought we were going to discuss our next tour.'' I responded, ``No, no, not that type of diversity!'' Beth replied, ``Oh, you mean terrain, like cycling along rivers, canals, rolling terrain, forests, maybe a mountain or two, that kind of diversity?'' ``No'' I said, ``I was thinking more about red grapes, white grapes and grapes with bubbles.'' The solution was to combine both: red, the canals and forests of Burgundy; white, the mountains of the Alsace; bubbly, the rolling hills of Champagne.

So sit back, open a bottle of your favorite, and we hope you enjoy our journal.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 ...

Wir haben uns in diesem wunderbaren Landstrich fünfzehn Tage lang von dem hier herrschenden Wind voran treiben lassen. Schöne Landschaft, guter Wein und die romanische Kunst geben einen guten Rahmen für eine vergnügliche Fahrt.

A complete blog describing a ride across the Pyrenees from Hendaye on the Atlantic coast to Cerbere on the Mediterranean coast. 4 and a bit days diarised for 11 cyclists and 1 support car. The pain, suffering, cols and route are all described.

Im Herbst kamen Robert und Conrad auf die spontane Idee eine Radtour zu starten. Aufgrund der fortgeschrittenen Jahreszeit kamen nur noch mediterane Gebiete für die Tour in Frage. Nach einer Nachtschicht vor dem Rechner und über den Atlanten entschieden wir uns für Korsika. Die Insel galt als gebirgig jedoch schreckte uns das nicht ab, denn umso schöne Aussichten erhofften wir uns von den Gipfeln. Auf der Insel angekommen erwartete uns zuerst bedeckter Himmel. Die Wolken verzogen sich jedoch bereits am zweiten Tag und so hatten wir traumhafte Aussichten am Cape Corse.

For our two-week tour we choose the little corner of France tucked in between the Pyrenées Orientales and the Mediterranean: wine growing country, rich in history, near the Spanish border. Having just recovered from a knee injury in early summer, I can now put my knee to the test with hills and a loaded bike.

Cycling along Canal du Midi and Canal de Garonne from Mediterranean sea to the Atlantic Ocean. Nice pics and travelogue.

For people living in the South of England this is an easy tour to get to and makes a perfect first cyclecamping tour. No days over 40 miles, easy terrain and lots of history and beautiful countryside. Though done in 1997 nothing has changed. Especially for those terrified by some of the tours posted here:-)

La Francia è un paese solcato da canali navigabili e ogni canale possiede almeno un'alzaia o un sentiero di alaggio. Da queste considerazioni è nato il progetto di un viaggio lungo un canale di navigazione.

Abbiamo scelto una via d'acqua breve e facilmente raggiungibile dall'Italia, il canale dal Rodano a Sète, prolungamento del più famoso e lungo Canal du Midi che da Toulouse conduce sino al Mediterraneo. L'alzaia del canale dal Rodano a Sète è completamente sterrata, con fondo a tratti mal tenuto. A volte corre su una sponda, a volte sull'altra della via d'acqua: occorrono un po' di esperienza, di intuito e di fortuna per non imboccare sentieri che si perdano nella campagna.

In cambio si ha il privilegio di vedere la Provenza e la Camargue da un punto di vista privilegiato e sconosciuto ai più.

journal + a lot pictures

Eine abwechslungsreiche Radtour durch das zentrale Südfrankreich über insgesamt 630 km, 7 Tagesetappen zwischen 64 und 120 Kilometer.

Eine reizvolle Radtour in 7 Etappen über insgesamt 829 km durch hügeliges Gelände, Tagesetappen zwischen 90 und 145 km. Die Etappenziele wurden nach Sehenswürdigkeiten und dem Angebot der örtlichen Gastronomie ausgewählt.

Eine Radtour durch die französischen Pyrenäen in 8 Tagesetappen über 760 km. Das Gebirge, wo Majestix der Himmel auf den Kopf gefallen wäre. Die Wolkendecke hängt vor allem im westlichen Teil der Pyrenäen so tief, daß man Mühe hat die Straße zu sehen. Obwohl nicht so hoch wie die bekannten Alpenpässe, haben es die hiesigen ``Giftzwerge'' in sich.

A bike circle within 8 stages over 760 km through the French Pyrenees. The mountain range where the sky would have been fallen on Majestix' head. Expecially in the western part of the Pyrenees, the cloud cover is so low that it is difficult to see the road. Although not as high as the well known passes in the Alpes, the local ``spiteful little devils'' are tough ones.

We had just finished cycling the South Island of New Zealand and instead of sitting back and relaxing on the flight home, we began planning our next trip, a month long self-supported cycling trip in France.

What better place to begin a trip to France then in Paris. From the 'City of Lights' we would dabble in a little art history by visiting Monet's gardens and then it would be off to the D-day beaches and a WWII history lesson. From 20th century history we would go back in time to the 11th century and visit Bayeaux and its famous tapestry. We would then check out life in a monastery, cycling across Normandy to Mt. St. Michel.

From Mt. St. Michel we would travel along the Brittany coast. At St. Malo we would leave the coast for the medieval city of Dinan and continue to the mouth of the Loire. We would then cycle through the land of chateaux and wineries ending our trip at Fontainebleau.

Our site includes lots of photos along with a daily log and an equipment list.

This is a description with lots of pictures of our August 2006 trip on tandem recumbent around Alsace with a few days in Bourgogne. We also did some traveling on the train, even with out very long bike. I also describe some of our planning work and how we built a box to take our 104-inch long bike on the airplanes from New York state to Mulhouse France. We camped part of the time and stayed in a great chambre d'hote (bed and breakfast) for several days.

Eine anspruchsvolle Radtour in 8 Tagesetappen über insgesamt 549 km durch das südliche Korsika, Tagesetappen zwischen 40 und 109 Kilometern.

A demanding bicycle tour over 8 days and 450 kilometers through southern Corsica. The daily stages were between 40 and 109 kilometers.

Photos and video of the more scenic and quiet backside ride up to Alpe d'Huez, Col de Sarenne, in the French Alps.

The canyon of the Tarn is one of the obvious highlights of the Cévennes National Park. Another landmark landscape phenomenon are the so called 'Causses'. Causses are the bleak and barren high limestone plateaus of the Cévennes National Park.

This site deals about a short but fascinating cycle trip that Willem Hoffmans and I undertook through the gorges, plateaus and volcano landscapes of the Massif Central. Cycling in the autumn means there are gew facilities but also few tourists, which gave us a whole new perspective of life in the French countryside.

A historical look at Alpe d'Huez plus written and photo reports from the Marmotte and Etape du Tour events. Both events finished at the top of Alpe d'Huez this past July.

This bike trip in France, from Metz to Nice in July 2006, was our annual club event.

The Lafayette Riders (Cavaliers) started in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France, where a cardiologist noted the poor condition of the miners and determined to do something about it. Bicycles seemed the answer. Eventually, the mining group encountered American riders and it was decided to form a group with the Marquis de Lafayette being the symbol of enduring Franco-American friendship.

The Lafayette Riders alternate between France and the United States each year, and next year (2007) the club will get together in northern California.

Un tour par les petites routes et par des cols ni très hauts ni très connus pour arriver sur une montagne vraiment unique.

Taking small roads and riding over passes neither very high nor well known to climb to a really unique mountain.

Kleine Strassen und wenig bekannte, nicht so hohe Pässe, die zum einem einzigartigen Berg führen.

Freda White in her classic travel book on this region said that a visitor to this region of South West France would cry 'Now I know why they say ``la belle France''!. It is truly one of the best parts of France with beautiful rivers, rugged cliffs and gorges, spectacular cliff top castles and more than its fair share of the ``plus beaux villages'' (prettiest villages). It is a region that has been popular with tourists for years and during the peak holiday season from mid July to mid August, the roads, hotels and campgrounds are packed with holiday makers. Avoid this time of the year and you will have quiet roads to pedal along and a wide choice of accommodation.

This is truly one of Europe's best cycling regions.

We had eaten breakfast on board the ferry from Portsmouth, but shortly after setting up our tents in the campground in the old citadel at St. Malo, Alan and David walked down to the town to look for a boulangerie to buy bread for another breakfast. They had seen people walking about with fresh baguettes, but after wandering around for some time, they hadn't found the boulangerie. They stopped on a street corner thinking that there had to be one somewhere. They turned around and found that they were actually standing in the doorway of the boulangerie blocking the entrance. Armed with several baguettes, croissants and confiture, they started on their way back to the campground, only to be waylaid by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee from a waterfront café. Eventually they returned to the other members of the group who quickly devoured everything. This pre-occupation with food was to set the tone for this tour through Brittany and Normandy.

We caught the ferry from Newhaven in southern England to the French port of Dieppe from where we planned on cycling through Normandy. Because of bad weather, the ferry was diverted to Boulogne, 120 kilometres further north. Well that was the official reason given by the captain after we had left Newhaven. One of the crew told us that the real reason was that work on the ferry terminal in Dieppe hadn't been completed so the large hydrofoil ferries which had only started operating the route couldn't berth properly. Most of the people on board were taking advantage of the cheap fares to have a day shopping in France and provided there was a hypermarché nearby, they weren't worried where they ended up. For us on our bicycles, it meant a rethink of our plans.

Zwei Wochen gemütlichen Entlang der Loire radeln. Kleine Hotels, gutes Essen, nette Dörfer und natürlich viele Schlösser. Dazu ein wildes Fluß wie ich ihn in Europa nicht erwartet hatte.

Unterwegs waren wir meist auf ruhigen Strassen - der Radweg befindet sich noch im Aufbau. Nur bei Tours war der Autoverkehr unangenehm.

``For prehistoric man who sheltered in the many caves, for the catholic heretics who defied the Church, and for resistance fighters, war-time refugees and downed WWII pilots who eluded the Nazis to escape over the mountains into Spain,'' the Ariège Pyrénées have a long history of serving as a refuge. Today, this unspoiled region attracts those eager to escape from the stresses of modern life, and cyclists wearied of persecution by vehicular traffic.

Although we found the High Pyrenees a spectacular and historic place to cycle, we enjoyed the Ariege Pyrenees as much or even more. We never thought, in advance, that the two areas would compare, but after tallying all the check marks from our exhaustive field testing and crunching the numbers through our proprietary, mathematical bike tour formulas... we can declare a virtual dead heat. Now I'm left with the difficult task of explaining to the humble reader (that's you) how such a conclusion can be drawn. If you sat in for the two-part High Pyrenees show aired earlier this month, then you'll note immediately that the Ariege isn't quite as spectacular, and perhaps doesn't rank as high in the "friggin', jaw-dropping, gorgeous" category. But here's where it does top the charts: The region has countless, quiet, picturesque, one-lane, rolling and often challenging country roads extending in all directions, and sprinkled with charming villages. The main roads follow the valleys and are sometimes almost flat, but it's easy to find routes that branch off and over steep cols. The roads are in terrific shape; I don't recall a single pothole.

In September 2003 a group of 14 cyclists rode over most of the major cols of the Pyrenees including of course the mighty Tourmalet. The majority of the group had never cycled in mountains, were not 'sporty' cyclists and with an age range of 32 to 65 were a pretty mixed bunch. To make things interesting the group cyclecamped without any motorised back-up at all, everything was carried on the bikes.

The trip was an adventure that in the end raised over £12,000 for the Charity ITDG. In the fortnight it took there was triumph and tragedy; laughter and tears. What follows is the account of that ride