Atlantic to the Med tour routes

Alain Quay

Is there an Atlantic to the Med route which is NOT
a) over all the Pyrenean cols, as this would be too arduous for my 60+ year old friends, or
b) which is not all flat i.e. on the Canal du Midi and other toepaths, etc?

In other words, if the Pyrenean route taking in all the big cols is a '5', and the canal and toe paths route is a '1',
is there a '3' or '4' grade route?

'Grateful for any advice.

Alain Quay

In othter words a variation on this route
http://www.routeyou.com/group/view/3520/atlantic-to-the-med.en#c=43.553482618493554;0.4988423585891866&z=7, closer to the Spaniosh border

infopete

Choose a start point and maybe and end point.

Get up choose somewhere you want to cycle to in the rough direction of your end point and cycle there ish.

If you don't get there ...so what.

Stay the night, get up the next day and repeat the above.

When you get close to your end point, plan your next trip.

That's what touring is about, it's not about following a route it's an adventure. Each day is different and wonderful

Either that, read a map.

Mikey23

Excellent advice !

Alain Quay

Thanks but you can't do that so easily if you have 6 or more cyclists in your group, which is what i'm planning.

bucksmatt

If you're asking if there are recognised, signed routes for your purpose, or books detailing them, then I think the answer is no.

Before deciding on a northerly route from Bordeaux to the Ardeche for my tour later this year, I contemplated the following, which might meet your needs and takes a lower-level route traversing the Pyrenean foothills following river valleys where possible:

Biarritz-Oloron Ste Marie-Lourdes-Lannemezan-St Giron-Foix-Quillan-Perpignan

There's no way around spending many (happy) hours poring over online maps - Google Maps, viaMichelin, opencyclemap, bikeroutetoaster (routing capability that'll show profiles) etc

apreading

How about:

Day Description Distance
1 Arrival St Malo
2 St Malo - St Dider 73 Miles / 117 Kms Approx.
3 St Dider - Brissac-Quince 89 Miles / 143 Kms Approx.
4 Brissac-Quince - Parthenay 81 Miles / 139 Kms Approx.
5 Parthenay - L’Isle Jourdain 64 Miles / 104 Kms Approx.
6 L’Isle Jourdain - Sorges 89 Miles / 143 Miles Approx.
7 Sorges– Souillac 73 Miles / 117 Kms Approx.
8 Souillac - Entraygues 76 Miles / 123 Kms Approx.
9 Entraygues - Mende 75 Miles / 120 Kms Approx.
10 Mende – Vallon Pont d’Arc 72 Miles / 117 Kms Approx.
11 Vallon Pont d’Arc - Châteauneuf-du-Pape 46 Miles / 74 Miles Approx.
12 Châteauneuf-du-Pape - Sault 44 Miles / 71 Kms Approx.
13 Sault - Moustiers-Ste-Marie 76 Miles / 122 Kms Approx.
14 Moustiers-Ste-Marie - Castelanne 52 Miles / 83 Kms Approx.
15 Castelanne - Nice 56 Miles / 90 Kms Approx.

https://www.skedaddle.co.uk/classicroad ... view.rails

Alain Quay

bucksmatt, apreading

Many thanks for your route suggestions, very helpful indeed.

Thanks again.