riding in france -holiday

brakelever

having a couple of weeks in south of france - late june staying near perpignan, any information on routes ect - any info would be of help .

ALaPlage

Can't help on routes that far south. I regularly visit the Orb Valley which is nearer to Bezier. Cycling in France is an absolute joy. Smoother roads in general, not a lot of traffic and courteous drivers. Cafe stops abound and the locals love to see cyclists.

Enjoy. I am over in July to catch the TDF around Montpelier and enjoy some days out on the bike. Can't wait.

x8swift9x

Can't help on routes there either, I've toured france the last tour summers by bike (paris - montpellier, 2 weeks) (nice to dieppe, 3 weeks) Roads are great, weather was great, attitude toward cyclists is great! Enjoy it!

The maps we used both times were the michelin 1:150000 series, I highly recommend purchasing the one(s) that cover the area your visiting - D roads (yellow) are fine to cycle on, and most of the time are very quiet, if you want pain a triple ^ road will give it to you! We found that out by accident one day, when the ^^^'s weren't noticed by the map reader! 20+% after 70 miles riding with 30kg's of gear = PAIN

northernneil

I had 2 weeks in carcassone - not too far away last summer,

perfect cycling country, pretty much just bought a couple of maps (IGN are the OS maps of france) that covered the area I was staying and made routes up as I went along sticking to the quiet back roads.

Often I'd cycle for 20kms without seeing a car

Carcassone and the Cathar region is a must for a day trip out by the way, its a world heritage site and you can see why

donkykong

have a great time, maybe i,ll see you out .

Evil Laugh

6 of us are doing London to Carcassone area in July over 2.5 weeks with a house to stay in at the end destination. What are the thoughts of those with experience to the need for locks?

We will be staying en route at hotels/b&b not camping.

x8swift9x

Stayed in one b&b, the owner insisted she took her car out of her garage so we could store our bikes inside. Very nice of her, even though we had d-locks with us (quite heavy!!)

When we were camping at the bottom of alpe dhuez, we were told about the serial bike thieves in the area - they come in at night and wander off with all the blingy bikes people take to climb the mt. So unless your going somewhere like that, cable lock?