Narbonne to Roscoff: The Cheese Tour

[MrsHJ]

@MrsHJ (and others):
You've been on my Blog before and seemed to enjoy reading it.
I am adding the story and many photos of my last trip in the area you are now (Bordaeux- Oléron - Angoulême) on my blog just now.
I've tested Gtranslate on my posts and it does an amazingly good job at it (of course not perfect, but plenty good to understand, I think).
When you have time (it's long).

I will have a look for sure and I was very impressed with the translation (although feeling a bit guilty for not reading it in French).

[MrsHJ]

Bit of a trip report- partly for you and partly for me so I can reflect for my next trip. I did entre deux mers starting at Port la Nouvelle near Narbonne, through Toulouse and Agen, the roger Lapebie and once through Bordeaux I cycled through the Medoc to the coast instead of up the Gironde, then the ferry to Royan, EV1 to rochefort, La Rochelle and Marans then across country to La Roche sur Yon and Nantes. Then the mostly the Nantes Brest canal/EV1/velodysee route to Carhaix and then the Velodysee to Morlaix and onto Roscoff for the ferry home. I got to Narbonne/port La Nouvelle by trains- TGV, intercity and TER which all worked fine and I’d prebooked everything including bike carriage using the SNCF app.

Total km was 1260, total climbing 5500 metres, days cycling 20 including a couple of short days at the beginning and the end. Calories used- lots, and I only managed to lose 3 or 4 lbs! (The chocolate, pain au chocolat and ice cream input was high although the cheese input could have been better). I ate fairly well as I self catered a fair bit but I wasn’t quite as on top of hydration once the weather hotted up and I need to get better at that. I think that’s partly due to the practicalities for women of widdling en route.

Accommodation all prebooked- often arrival times set by the accommodation were quite late - 5pm was common and although cancellable often the cancellation times were quite long (the hotels were more flexible re cancellation and I tended to sleep better and occasionally they had aircon- I particularly liked the Odalys chain of hotels with a kitchenette but only found a couple of them). I stayed at quite a lot of apartments - a couple of which were pretty much student accommodation but overall it was good and the kitchens were well equipped including washing up stuff and oil/Salt and pepper. I found the b and bs harder work as I had to be a bit more social but I stayed at a couple of outstanding ones that I would highly recommend.

Route all pre planned with cycle.travel and that worked well- a few times I tweaked on the day due to weather, ferry availability or laziness. I found it was all well thought through- I know my preferences and although I could easily have done 100km days once I’d got over the first couple of days the unpredictable road surfaces, weather etc meant that taking a measured approach worked for me and meant I didn’t over do it. My longest day was around 80km and my shortest around 50km (other than the first and last days).

A note on canals/rivers- lots here don’t like them- I find them mostly relaxing - traffic free, easy route finding, they aren’t the fastest as often the surfaces are a bit mixed but I put an audible book or a podcast in one ear and then when I have some days off the canal I enjoy the variation.

In terms of surfaces the Canal du MIDI was mostly ropey, the Garonne was mostly sealed, the Nantes Brest was mostly unsealed but decent condition although I did get very dusty.

There will be a couple more posts of just photos. I’m already thinking about my next trip- I can’t claim I enjoyed every minute of this one but overall it was beautiful, the weather was good, the plans worked smoothly and it felt the right balance between a challenge and comfortably within my limits (no atrial fibrillation to report!). I feel spoilt though- such a long trip that was mostly on bike trails is difficult to achieve again but I will see what is available that appeals.

[MrsHJ]

Photos 2

[MrsHJ]

Photos 3

[matt_twam_asi]

Thanks for the trip report and excellent photos.

In terms of surfaces the Canal du MIDI was mostly ropey, the Garonne was mostly sealed, the Nantes Brest was mostly unsealed but decent condition although I did get very dusty.

Can you go into a little more detail about the CdM surface? I ask because when I was staying in the area between Narbonne and Carcassonne last year I noticed that several sections were getting work done to remove the roots of the old plain trees, and an unsealed gravel surface was being installed, about equal to what I understand is the situation on the Nantes Brest. I'd be interested to hear if that work was only in isolated sections or fairly widespread.

[Angstrom]

Thanks for the report.
I fully endorse your comment about canals and rivers.
Many comments can be read in cycle touring forums about the rideability of the canal du midi (which is been gradually improved, as mentioned in the above comment); I agree to it being poor in many sections. But this ought not be considered too much of a problem since there are many options available using country lanes and low traffic roads just near the canal, which make it much more comfortable, fast, and less boring. Using the sections which are confortable, leaving out those which aren't and enjoying the variety of the landscapes villages, encounters seems to me as the best way to make the most of the journey in this region. The urgency of making the canal confortable all the way is exaggerated IMO.

[MrsHJ]

Thanks for the trip report and excellent photos.

In terms of surfaces the Canal du MIDI was mostly ropey, the Garonne was mostly sealed, the Nantes Brest was mostly unsealed but decent condition although I did get very dusty.

Can you go into a little more detail about the CdM surface? I ask because when I was staying in the area between Narbonne and Carcassonne last year I noticed that several sections were getting work done to remove the roots of the old plain trees, and an unsealed gravel surface was being installed, about equal to what I understand is the situation on the Nantes Brest. I'd be interested to hear if that work was only in isolated sections or fairly widespread.

I used a mixture of the chamina guide book and cycle.travel for info on surfaces obviously both can be out of date as the upgrades to paths take a while to flow through to open maps and to a new book being published. The main factor for me was actually the wind not the surface plus I was protecting my wrists a bit as they had played up badly a couple of weeks before I travelled so I was nursing them (they are mostly fine now- a tiny bit of little finger tingling). Overall the answer is that I don’t mind poor surfaces if it’s peaceful - but I know that others prefer smooth tarmac. If anyone has done the C&O canal between Washington DC and Pittsburgh it reminded me a little of that in quality (no coyotes though!).

So segment one was port la Nouvelle to Sallèles-d’Aude. This was mostly along the canal du robine and was not improved but the only real issue was bumpyness. That’s photo (1). The next segment was Sallèles-d’Aude to Carcassonne and I did a real mix of canal and road for this section- my eventual conclusion was that the fairly strong wind on the road plus some climbing and more overall concentration on route finding was more hassle than the mostly sheltered and slightly bumpy canal. Day 3 was Carcassonne to Castelnaudary which I would described as improved unsealed. Castelnaudary to toulouse- the first segment was poor/very poor in places- deep rutted occasionally and otherwise not great to Avignonet-Lauregais (no photos, I was too grumpy). After that once in the Hauts de Garonne department there was a new smooth fast road surface- like a dream to Toulouse.

A mention of Nantes Brest- overall significantly better than the canal du midi but in places a lot of loose gravel that requires some care especially with kids which is a little annoying as in many ways this route is ideal for a family trip and I did do it with my family when it wasn’t as well maintained as it is now.

[simonhill]

Thanks for the write up etc.

If I were to link my tour, it would be chalk and cheese. I only booked first 2 nights and everything else night before or morning of. My route was largely refined by suitable places. I agree about the late check in, I tried to avoid when possible and it was often a deciding factor. Managed to keep prices between €50 and 60.

Mobile phone* essential for getting info eg door codes, confirming arrival time etc. Also on one occasion to let me know, after I was on the road, that that the check in time would be 3 hours later - great!

Rode about 30 Kms of Gironde canal path and also the Roger Lapebie cycle path. More than enough tree tunnel riding for me. Much prefer the open aspect and contact with local stuff of the roads.

Anyway we both had a jolly time in our own ways and that's what matters (actually I've still got a few days left).

One thing I wondered. Is that 5500 metres correct? It seems rather a lot given your 2 easy and numerous canal days.

* EE stopped my euro roaming, 3 days into trip. Had to buy 7 days pass at £10 (plus one more tomorrow).

[MrsHJ]

Thanks for the write up etc.

One thing I wondered. Is that 5500 metres correct? It seems rather a lot given your 2 easy and numerous canal days.

* EE stopped my euro roaming, 3 days into trip. Had to buy 7 days pass at £10 (plus one more tomorrow).

I’m honestly not sure. I didn’t take my garmin so I’m relying on cycle.travel which is relying on spot heights. So anywhere where there’s an actual tunnel or cutting probably not (but there aren’t many of those) but for gradual increases in heights and regular stuff on roads it should be fairly accurate. If you think that for an average day you might climb say 200m on a canal route ie pretty flat but a bit of up and down and then multiply that by 20 days it’s 4000m. Plus a small number of hillier days off the canals then it’s probably there or there about. Brittany in particular is quite hilly.

Sorry about ee- that’s a bit pants although not expensive. I’m conscious I’m coming to the end of my 3 contract in September when I might be travelling again.

I think I missed out by not camping in such nice weather actually- avoids the whole 5pm check in thing too.

[Angstrom]

I think I missed out by not camping in such nice weather actually- avoids the whole 5pm check in thing too.

Sunrise at Port de la Maréchale, Gironde estuary.

[Jdsk]

Was the second of those inspired by Poussin?

: - )

Jonathan

[Angstrom]

Was the second of those inspired by Poussin?

Oddly, I had left my camera on Aperture priority @ f11. Given the low morning light, this meant 3200 ISO @1/60th. Given the size of the sensor on my Canon G5X, this means a very noisy RAW file. But I hadn't paid any attention to image quality on the road since I only looked at the picture on my SP's small size display where the "out of the camera JPEG" looked great. It's only when I got home and viewed the picture on a large monitor, that I noticed the amount of noise and understood why the JPEG didn't look sharp. Noise reduction had done a very good job at removing artefacts ... and detail. It did give it a painting style.

Pushing it:

[Jdsk]

And then there's the composition:



; - )

Jonathan

[Angstrom]

And then there's the composition:

Jonathan

It's funny you mention it. I almost slipped and fell trying to get it framed how I wanted it.
So I guess I'm glad you like it, in spite of its classism (I suppose it's not a problem if you like Poussin).

[MrsHJ]

And then there's the composition:

Jonathan

It's funny you mention it. I almost slipped and fell trying to get it framed how I wanted it.
So I guess I'm glad you like it, in spite of its classism (I suppose it's not a problem if you like Poussin).

Absolutely stunning photos. I loved the light in the Charente maritime and vendee. Actually I enjoyed the most the more northerly part of the trip (Royan and up although I also loved the line trees smell in the Medoc) whereas before I left I was looking forward to the entre deux mers section more. Brittany was also truly lovely at this time of year- I guess I’m saying it was a beautiful trip.