Atlantic to Med tour.

[ANTONISH]

I'm contemplating some sort of tour next year - preferably Atlantic to Mediterranean
I'd love to ride in the Pyrenees again I'm getting a bit old for mountains and I would need something fairly flat.
Can anyone advise of a route (say from Bordeaux or Bayonne to Narbonne or Perpignan) which would fit the bill?
I know the canal du Midi and wondered if there was some sort of route along or close to a canal - I'm not particularly keen on a canal towpath
but something like the Midi has some parallel roads which would suit
Getting there with two assembled bikes might be a problem - in 1998 we took the ferry to Bilbao and used the Basque Euskatren to get to Hendaye - in recent years we've used a car to transport the bikes ( I have used trains in the past when on my own with a partially dismantled bike but my partner is resistant to the idea after her feelings about the experience on one trip)
I'm wondering if there is a possibility of long term parking at Biarritz or Bordeaux airport.
Any advice welcomed.

[roubaixtuesday]

I'm contemplating some sort of tour next year - preferably Atlantic to Mediterranean
I'd love to ride in the Pyrenees again I'm getting a bit old for mountains and I would need something fairly flat.
Can anyone advise of a route (say from Bordeaux or Bayonne to Narbonne or Perpignan) which would fit the bill?
I know the canal du Midi and wondered if there was some sort of route along or close to a canal - I'm not particularly keen on a canal towpath
but something like the Midi has some parallel roads which would suit
Getting there with two assembled bikes might be a problem - in 1998 we took the ferry to Bilbao and used the Basque Euskatren to get to Hendaye - in recent years we've used a car to transport the bikes ( I have used trains in the past when on my own with a partially dismantled bike but my partner is resistant to the idea after her feelings about the experience on one trip)
I'm wondering if there is a possibility of long term parking at Biarritz or Bordeaux airport.
Any advice welcomed.

I've been looking at a similar route for next year, but have no direct experience. There's a very good looking cycle route out of Bordeaux to the East:

https://www.freewheelingfrance.com/wher ... -path.html

For French routes generally, cycle.travel website works excellently, and if you subscribe you can use IGN mapping on there. We used that, downloading to a GPS computer (Wahoo Roam) for navigation.

IGN maps (without the cycling route planning) are available free on the geoportail app and website.

Not sure exactly what your parking need is, do you plan to drive bikes to Bordeaux then leave the car there whilst touring, returning with the bikes? We did exactly that near Lyon, finding a friendly chambre d'hote who let us park the car at their property for a fortnight.

[Jdsk]

You've already got the point about the towpath not necessarily being the best route. IIRC there's fair bit in the forum archives on this.

Yes, asking if you can leave the car at the accommodation where you start is a great suggestion.

I'd also include in the options a one-way drop-off car hire from the French port of your preferred channel crossing.

Jonathan

[MrsHJ]

I did Narbonne (actually port la Nouvelle on the med) to Soulac sur mer on the Atlantic coast this summer I then went on up to a channel port to cycle home. I agree the canal du midi is mixed although it is more sheltered from the wind (and there is a lot of wind on that stretch). The canal du Garonne is very smooth and tranquil. Loads of little d roads as is normal in France so you can mix it up. Photos are one from the midi (actually the robin which goes to Narbonne from the med, the Garonne and the roger lapebie. I think the evening stops are just as important though especially for a leisurely tour and this area had plenty of accommodation and good food.

The towns attached to the canal du midi and canal du Garonne are very nice (Narbonne, Carcassonne, castelnaudary, Toulouse, Agen, Bordeaux, Moissac etc) although overall I preferred what I did on the second half of my trip up through the vendee and Brittany.

I got the TGV to Bordeaux (Toulouse train station was closed/very limited the weekend I went) and then intercity to Narbonne but you’d normally do either the night train to Narbonne or TGV to Toulouse and train on. Flying is doable. Why not make it a leisurely train approach depending on your time availability so day one get the ferry to say Caen and an onwards train to Paris. Stay there overnight and get a TGV to Narbonne or Bordeaux the next day. Limiting yourself to one fast train a day should make it less likely to have problems.

I was looking at this on cycle.travel which also looks nice n the Pyrenean foothills. https://cycle.travel/map/journey/149763

[ANTONISH]

I did Narbonne (actually port la Nouvelle on the med) to Soulac sur mer on the Atlantic coast this summer I then went on up to a channel port to cycle home. I agree the canal du midi is mixed although it is more sheltered from the wind (and there is a lot of wind on that stretch). The canal du Garonne is very smooth and tranquil. Loads of little d roads as is normal in France so you can mix it up. Photos are one from the midi (actually the robin which goes to Narbonne from the med, the Garonne and the roger lapebie. I think the evening stops are just as important though especially for a leisurely tour and this area had plenty of accommodation and good food.

The towns attached to the canal du midi and canal du Garonne are very nice (Narbonne, Carcassonne, castelnaudary, Toulouse, Agen, Bordeaux, Moissac etc) although overall I preferred what I did on the second half of my trip up through the vendee and Brittany.

I got the TGV to Bordeaux (Toulouse train station was closed/very limited the weekend I went) and then intercity to Narbonne but you’d normally do either the night train to Narbonne or TGV to Toulouse and train on. Flying is doable. Why not make it a leisurely train approach depending on your time availability so day one get the ferry to say Caen and an onwards train to Paris. Stay there overnight and get a TGV to Narbonne or Bordeaux the next day. Limiting yourself to one fast train a day should make it less likely to have problems.

I was looking at this on cycle.travel which also looks nice n the Pyrenean foothills. https://cycle.travel/map/journey/149763

Thank you for that information.
Did the TGV you took accommodate assembled bikes? - that would be ideal and we can get to Paris by ter from Calais.
Other than that I'll look at the night trains - I'll have to persuade my partner - I understand the cabins are shared with others - 6 or 4 I think.

There are other difficulties - my partner will not fly (never has) and she is very reluctant to travel with a partially disassembled bike in a bag.
Using a bike bag I've never had a problem getting on a TGV

As it happens I rode most of your cycle travel route in 1967 and again the part from Foix a few years ago when I had to discontinue a Pyrenees tourist raid after falling and doing something to my back which made climbing very painful - that route does have some minor climbs which I found painful. My memory tells me it was a lot flatter in 1967

As for a car hire - I'm less than an hour's drive from Dover so hiring isn't really necessary.

[Jdsk]

...
Did the TGV you took accommodate assembled bikes? - that would be ideal and we can get to Paris by ter from Calais.
Other than that I'll look at the night trains - I'll have to persuade my partner - I understand the cabins are shared with others - 6 or 4 I think.
...

You can book the whole cabin:
https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-route ... e-privatif

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

I'd also include in the options a one-way drop-off car hire from the French port of your preferred channel crossing.

...
As for a car hire - I'm less than an hour's drive from Dover so hiring isn't really necessary.

Are we talking about the same thing... I was suggesting crossing without a car, hiring one to the start of the ride in France, and dropping it off there. No parking charge, and no need to reconnect with it at the end of the ride.

With two or more people the total cost comes down in comparison to per seat options. And there aren't any transfers or connections adding hassle and delay and constraints.

Jonathan

[MrsHJ]

Yes assembled bikes, allocated space, reservations only, usually you sit next to your bikes. Look at the SNCF app to get an idea of spaces- you can’t book til around 3 months in advance when the tickets are released. I’ve not managed to book a night train yet but have kept my eyes open (I also concluded that I didn’t fancy sharing a bathroom at the end of the corridor and wouldn’t sleep well on the train- obviously you may be fine with that).

You do sometimes have to evict luggage from your bike space but if getting on at eg Paris where the train starts it shouldn’t be an issue- the conductors get quite shouty if other passengers put their luggage in the reserved bike spaces. The TGV trains also announce their configuration 20 mins before arrival so you can be the right place on the platform. Each bike costs 10 euros for the reservation. Sometimes you have to cast around for find a route that takes bikes but Bordeaux, Hendaye and Toulouse definitely do, also Lyon, Metz, Brest so you can go in every direction. I think for Nice and Marseille the night train is the main option but I know I’ve done that direction with a TGV to Lyon and then TER trains down the Rhône valley. Some TER trains in the summer now require a bike ticket but if you use the app I think it deals with that.

PS routes were always flatter when I was younger too! I’ve added a sample search for me and the assembled bike from Paris to Narbonne on the SNCF app for interest.

[Steve X]

Possibly have a look at this page https://cyclingeurope.org/legrandtour/ days 31 onwards could be of help, and his podcast is very good IMHO and this one covers from Bordeaux https://cyclingeurope.org/2022/08/11/ep ... ur-part-6/

[simonhill]

Heresy alert.

You know where you want to start, you know where you want to finish, so you have a route.

I know roughly where I'm going and just plan as I go along. Actual route is often determined by accommodation options within daily distance. No point in going somewhere if there's nowhere to sleep. Also I go to or via places I want to go or look interesting.

This summer I rode a short tour from Bordeaux to Bordeaux via St Jean Pied de Porte. First nights riding accom pre booked so that was defined. I mainly used the Roger Lepebie but found it a bit dull after a while (protected cycle path with trees either side so no views). Happy to break out into hill covered vineyards in the afternoon.

Second day wanted to ride a bit of canal, so headed for the start of the Canal Litoral a la Garonne. Sorry to say that got very samey after a few hours, so hit the road. Then just vaguely pointed at St J and looked for suitable accom along pleasant looking roads.

Each evening I researched towns along the way and tried to stay in interesting ones. Had a great time, but apart from on the RL cycle path and approaching St J only met one other cycle tourist. This was early June.

Weather turned on me (heatwave in England) so took the train through some of Les Landes (stretches south of Bordeaux towards Bayonne and inland). Already cycled a couple of days of it and that was plenty. Also heard similar comments about that bit of coast - sand dunes and pine and more sand dunes and pines. Unfortunately didn't have time to check it out.

I mainly planned my route using Google maps. I get a "directions" then modify. More heresy I'm afraid, but I don't get on with cycletravel. Every time I plugged my route in it gave one much longer, with seemingly pointless diversions off roads I'm more than happy to cycle and usually far more vertical. Maybe I'm not putting in right parameters, but difficult on a small screen. I like towns and villages and people, even the odd car.

Currently on a 2 month tour and doing the same as it works for me. No Idea where I'll be tomorrow until I do a bit of research this evening.

Everyone to their own. Enjoy.

[Goosey]

I've done the Atlantic to the Med a couple of times now (I live in the Béarn, near to Pau) and started at St Jean de Luz and ended in Narbonne. Avoiding any hills or substantial climbs. I recommend it! If you are interested I can dig out a route that we followed?
This is a little blog I did for one of the trips...http://thewheezinggeezers.blogspot.com/

[matt_twam_asi]

If you're looking for some upland cycling without the massive hills, the Véloccitanie/Passa Païs may interest you. https://cycle.travel/route/passa_pais

The CdG/CdM is great, but the trail itself can get a bit monotonous for some. MrsHJ has provided a cracking list of towns that are on or near the canal, I'd add Béziers to the list. If you are a foodie tourer then an itinerary of those places wouldn't go far wrong.

[PT1029]

European Bike Express? I have not checked which routes they still run, I have not used them for some years.
Now days it does require an over night in Paris I think (working hours regs I believe). Your bike can go fully assembled. As a mode of transport, comfortwise I'd say comparable to flying (but on board food not as good, not when I went anyway!).
If the routes are still there, your outward drop off can be different from you return pick up location.

[MrsHJ]

Heresy alert.
Everyone to their own. Enjoy.

Not heresy. I’ll be doing 72% by road on my next trip (the trip this year was 65% on bike paths) and I’m not even following an established route although it’s close to parts of the Allier one. Work commitments are going to make a long trip a challenge next year which is annoying but I’m going to try to shoe horn it in. I’m thinking about booking my ferries this weekend.

[ANTONISH]

Thanks to all for the replies.
Mrs HJ's plan would seem feasible.
I did use the SNCF site to book bikes in Brittany last year - Trainline seems somewhat deficient in this, I find it's not so good at booking bike spaces.
Back in the sixties I often toured without any pre planned route other than a general idea of start and end.
Pre booking was difficult and it was usually turning up in a town in the evening and taking pot luck - so usually there would be a couple of nights sleeping rough.
These days with a smart phone I can find and book a hotel without much difficulty and of course there are lots of budget hotels which wasn't so in my younger days.

I've used the bike bus and it's OK apart from being all night on a coach - and there is the problem that the dates don't always fit, it can be late or run out of beer (not to mention the blue crystals)

I've checked the long term parking at Bordeaux and it would be cheaper than car hire - I've only hired a car in France once and driving through central Nice trying to stay clear of all the dented cars was an experience I wouldn't like to repeat.