France coast to coast

edreevc

Looks like i will have to take an eight week break from work during April May 09.

I had done two weeks camping and touring Brittany in 2008, using a Lonely Planet guide route.
I have done many of these LP routes in France previously using B&B's.

Its always been my aim to cycle from say St Malo to Bezier.

My aim would be 50 -80 miles a day but as I have so much time this aim is not set in stone.

I have never wild camped so would like to try this but also use campsites to recharge etc.

I plan to use bike and panniers as previous trips were with a Avenir trailer.

I welcome ideas as to the route as I want to avoid mountains.

andymiller

Up the Loire and down the Rhone?

mercsport

Funnily enough I've been presented with the same objective lined up in September so will watch this thread with a bit of interest , I'd suppose .

I confess that my usual tour planning is non-existant in most respects as I tend to make it up as I go along . Stick a ruler on a large scale map , transfer the line to a pocketable Michelin multipage road map of France and pedal away . Diversions optional .

It's not about being cheap but wild camping is the only way for me and that's never been a problem .

I've traversed France a few times over the years but never been this far west . Having no alps or significant ranges of hills - that I'm aware of - it doesn't look as if it will harbour any horrors for the tourist . Looking forward to it .

andymiller

Having no alps or significant ranges of hills - that I'm aware of - it doesn't look as if it will harbour any horrors for the tourist .

Erm Massif Central?

mercsport

O.K. , I was waiting for someone to put me right .

But the Massif Central is , as the name places it , in the middle of France E > W and a wee bit S . On the route St Malo - Beziers , aside from the humpy geography around Toulouse I cannot see any bumps of significance to make me think ' hey, wait a minute ! '
The 'M-C' appears to be well off the line S .

pneumatic

mercsport wrote:

O.K. , I was waiting for someone to put me right .

But the Massif Central is , as the name places it , in the middle of France E > W and a wee bit S . On the route St Malo - Beziers , aside from the humpy geography around Toulouse I cannot see any bumps of significance to make me think ' hey, wait a minute ! '
The 'M-C' appears to be well off the line S .

We thought the same when planning our trip to Santiago, but the toes of the MC stretch quite far West and the terrain is what the French describe as Casse-Pied, literally sole-destroying. One short sharp climb after another so that you end up weeping on the downhill bits because you are losing height and you know what's coming next.

I remember riding South from Limoges, through Perigueux, all the while waiting for the land to flatten out a bit. It wasn't until three days later when we reached Bazas, on the edge of Les Landes that it stopped going up and down like a Wh0re's Drawers.

That said, if you've got as much time as you say you have, just plan your mileage cautiously and enjoy it, because, for all the climbing, the landscape is wonderful.

mercsport

Your description puts me in mind of Luxembourg . To me at least , a day out in Lux is tougher than a day in the Alps . It doesn't surprise me that the Schleck brothers fine form developed there .

Well , at least I've been warned .

andymiller

Casse-Pied, literally sole-destroying

Clever pun :

mz__jo

You should be aware that "camping sauvage" is actually illegal even though a lot of people have done it. In a populated area you could very easily have police problems that will give you at least a broken night and at worst a lot of grief. If your route planning alows you to find "aires naturelles de camping" these are the closest you get to legal wild camping and cost not very much (in euros, probably a small fortune in sterling!). In the more remote areas picnic stops make good wild camping sites if you are not stopping too early in the evening. Otherwise small camping municipal sites cost next to nothing and allow you to have a shower, play on the swings etc. if you are not on the coast or in a tourist trap (where they cost a bit more). In may some municipal sites are open but have no permanent staff; if you are in late and out early whether or not you pay depends on your sense of honesty!
Who says that the Limousin and the Dordogne are hilly? Not really, just go up and down a bit (like 100kms will have the equivalent climbing of a small day in the Alps). Much of France is like that and french cycle tourists have not yet learnt to read a map to avoid the hills. If you come through here give me a ring (or a pm in a cybercafé).
A lot of the smaller campsites won't open until may.
To get to Beziers you will have to cross the mountains somewhere and somehow. The best solution would be the Canal du Midi with perhaps a chunk of the canal lateral of the Garonne to avoid going to close to Bordeaux.
Before you get there, the départements of the Vienne and the Charente will be flatter than the Limousin region but could be a bit boring. South of Angoulême there are lumps albeit little ones. If you want beauty come through the Limousin and the Dordogne, you can find an easy route if you look a bit.
Between St. Malo and the Loire the country is lumpy and I am in uncharted territory (for me). I suggest crossing the Loire at Les Rosiers because with a bit of mist on the river first thing in the morning it is eery (and it is not the middle of a town).
Have a nice ride.
Cheers Jo

edreevc

Thanks for all the replies, very constructive, I shall take these on board.

Especially those regarding wild camping...

jibi

I did the same trip in November/December last year. went through Rennes Nantes along the Loire, Canal lateral du Garonne, Canal Du Midi on the way down. Camped "sauvage" every night, except one in toulouse where I stayed with a friend and he joined me for the trip to Beziers/Sete/ Montpellier.
The way back was through the Massif Central, Puy en Vallee/ Montbrison then the roanne/digoine canal etc etc back to Le Havre.

Freezing in the Massif nearly got hypothermia but managed to get into a sports shop and they warmed me up.

One again most nights were camping or finding empty buildings


http://picasaweb.google.com/imjibi2/France#

for some pics of the trip, even mamnaged a few hours naked LOL


george

cycladelic

I'll be doing a similar trip in April, starting from near Roubaix - I want to catch a bit of the Paris-Roubaix race - and ending in Nice.

Has anyone cycled to Versaille, near Paris? I wonder what getting there is like regarding traffic.

From there I will probably head south to the Loire Valley.

What's the Rhone Valley like? Is it a tad flat and monotonous?

mercsport

cycladelic wrote:

I'll be doing a similar trip in April, starting from near Roubaix - I want to catch a bit of the Paris-Roubaix race - and ending in Nice.

Has anyone cycled to Versaille, near Paris? I wonder what getting there is like regarding traffic.

From there I will probably head south to the Loire Valley.

What's the Rhone Valley like? Is it a tad flat and monotonous?

You're not headed there I know but further on up the Rhone past Lac Leman ( Geneva ) and eastwards , etched deeply on my memory is the flat and monotonous part I did heading west between Brig and Martigny . Sheesh ! After the Simplon pass I encountered a full on gale force wind for nearly two days and averaged - well , I don't know - but it seemed like about three mph max . It would have been easier to have walked it I think . It was such a relief to turn right upto the lake . Not only flat and monotonous but dead straight . I think the Swiss air force use the road as an airstrip at certain times .

Have only done the Loire upto the bend at Orleans . Pleasant enough .

cycladelic

mercsport - I have been along the valley east of Martigny; once went from Chamonix to Verbier and looped back.

I guess I'll pop the bike on a train if it gets boring. I have a month to get from Amsterdam to Nice.

psmiffy

I’ve cycled north coast of France to Beziers twice – Loire & Rhone the first time 16 years ago was my first long trip after circumnavigating Brittany – The only lumpy bit is getting from the Loire to Lyon – spent 7 days dreading it in my head and was pleasantly surprised when it was relatively easy after a week on the road – in fact it gave me the confidence to go into the alps proper the following year – (C de Roseland Isere etc)

If after being on the road for a week you feel good then the Ardeche is nice side trip off the Rhone

Campsites will be open in quantity after Easter – something to do with taxes and electricity bills – I’ve camped savauge all around Europe but rarely in France (twice out of around 300nights) municipal sites are cheap, plentiful and generally of a good quality

Repeated the trip last year with the difference that as an “experienced” tourer my mindset was that it was a toddle – the bit of hill around Lyon became a nice variation

Atlantic coast to Bordeaux and Midi ive done both ways and is a nice ride with very little in the way of proper hills – however in my opinion the LR route is the more interesting –you have the time so I would say do both - LR going down and Midi Atlantic coming back – or turn left at Bordeaux and pick up a boat at Santander – Bordeaux to Spanish border is very flat but next bit is lumpy and interesting

Top of Lumpy bit between Loire and Lyon

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/psmiffyphoto/20082FrancePhoto#5302626523644240642

mz__jo

This is from our club forum and might be of interest to those proposing the Rhone valley. The Glaude (as he calls himself) is from Annecy, not Limoges and knows the eastern side of France pretty well. His links are worth following.

http://reveil-cyclotouriste.forumsclub. ... b2239bc6be

I would give a big vote for "the lumpy bit around Lyon". There are in fact several lumpy bits depending if you go south, north, east or west. I have ridden in the Parc de Pilat (to the south) which is wonderful, and gone col-chasing in the Monts de Beaujolais which is very pretty and quite accessible (I am not a mountaineer!)
Cheers Jo

waltho bum gravy

jibi wrote:

IBeziers/Sete/ Montpellier.

did you go along the spit from cap d'agde to sete beside the bassin de thau? i thought it might be quite pleasant when i was planning my ride some years ago. turned out it was head wind all the way and sand being blown into my face too. you live and learn though, eh?

saw a great boat race in sete eating fresh sardines though.

psmiffy

Regular last day ride for me when i end up in beziers and catch bus from montpelier

however its being spoilt by the construction of a new cycle path (and new dune) it used to be one of my favorites in late evening finish of whatever tour at beziers