Looking for mountains in the South of France

shisaa
shisaa Posts: 82
edited November 2009 in Tour & expedition
I'm going to spend a couple of weeks in France based around Agde in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, and I was thinking of possibly taking a day or two to ride Mont Ventoux and one of the Pyrenees. I would be travelling there and back by train. Just wondering if anyone had any advice about how easy it would be to do this, could it be done in a day, and where would be the best place to start the ride?

Comments

  • weeve
    weeve Posts: 393
    get the train from agde to avignon (less than couple of hours) and cycle to ventoux from there...about 60km. there may even be other branch lines but no need. plenty of cycle friendly places to stay at ventoux obviously..google away.
  • andymiller
    andymiller Posts: 2,856
    SNCF network map:

    carte-sncf-2010.jpg

    If you could try looking at

    http://www.ter-sncf.com/

    and clicking on the region you're interested in eg:

    http://www.ter-sncf.com/languedoc/carte ... index.asp#

    there's a drop down menu on the right hand side ('fiches horaries') which lets you select and download the timetable for the route you're interested. Beware though - some SNCF services are in fact buses which don't carry bikes so look for the bike pictogram.

    Alternatively you could use the search engine on the region's home pag - or alternatively try the German Railways site which has a more useful search which allows you to choose to search for trains that will carry bikes (yes I know, how mad is that?).
    Italy Cycling Guide
  • jc4lab
    jc4lab Posts: 554
    http://www.bike-express.co.uk/index.html
    An alternative to the train..A couple of routes hit the mountains either side of Southern France
    jc
  • MichaelW
    MichaelW Posts: 2,164
    You are pretty close to Ax Le Thermes and Tarascon Sur Ariege. Both towns have a railway station , are close to Le Route des Cols and are good bases for mountain day rides.
    Tarascon for a loop of Port de Lers, Col du Saraille Col d'Agnes,
    Ax for Cold de Pailheres and Col de Pradel (no loop) or to Tarascon via Col de Chioula, Col de Mamare

    I have just spent a few weeks exploring this area and there are loads of fine mountain roads. The autumn colours should be at a peak now so its the best time to ride.[/code]
  • JeremyintheCzechRepublic
    JeremyintheCzechRepublic Posts: 25
    You're a bit far - 4 hours 40 minutes - from Lourdes, which is a shame as there is a great cycletrack from Lourdes along an old railway track into the mountains - and Tourmalet is easily doable from there.
    Checking the times on the SNCF website reminded me of what an awful website it is. Anyone wanting French timetables can use the German railway website, http://www.db.de
    For some pictures of the route you can have a look at:
    http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/cycling_to_Tourmalet_1.htm

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