I can’t remember if I’ve been to Montpellier but I’ve been to Lyon twice. The second time was in 1992; Al and I had some time to kill between trains as we escaped the rain in Burgundy and headed south. The first time in Lyon was 1981, when I was doing the backpack-and-railpass thing after graduating from university. A guy tried to convince me I was going the wrong way to the youth hostel and wanted to drive me there. I turned and walked the way he’d indicated and he crawled along beside me in his car. I met a woman and asked her for directions. I’d been going the correct way from the beginning. I explain about the guy in the car—he was still nearby— and she went over and chewed him out. Not the greatest memory of a city but that sort of thing can happen anywhere.

Seems worth considering to me, but then I’m biased. We really liked Montpellier and didn’t really care for the brief look we got of Lyon for no obvious reason. But then we didn’t care all that much for Avignon the one time we were there either. But that’s just us. So judgmental!

I've had another look and it seems flying in and out of Montpellier is similar to Lyon in terms of price, with the big plus that I could take Le Cévenol (famous scenic train route) from Nîmes to Clermont-Ferrand. Then either train or ride back from the Avignon area.

I can see from websites whether or not they are open, but "open" and open to tents are two different things. A campground operator in Brittany, when I said I'd skipped going to St-Malo because the one campground close enough to bother only accepted tents in July and August, said that many did that so as not to have to fully open and maintain their sanitary blocks.

I realize it will be a lot of up, especially at the beginning, but I should be okay for it after a summer of local riding. Even a "flat" ride around here involves over 600 metres of climbing. And from our new place, the popular Cypress climb starts almost from our door (about 1200 m ascent).

Sounds like a great tour, Jacquie! My experience with camping in France in September and October is about ten years old, but most of the campgrounds in the south were closed at the beginning or in mid-September. Might be a good idea to check their websites to see if they give any information.

Hi Jacquie,
I’ve done most of the routes you have outlined in your tour, and I think you’ve got a cracking great idea. Bring your climbing legs, you will need them, from the first kilometer in Clermont, which may actually be the hardest part! Campings are somewhat sparse in the region, but with careful planning you can do it. I’m not sure if there will be many open in October, but September should be fine. The Aubrac is spectacular for it’s barrenness, but well worth a visit. Again the only way to get there is to climb. It seems as though it was always foggy when I went that way, but that just emphasized the air of mystery that seems to hover about the country. Your planned side trip to Vallon Pont d’Arc will be well timed to avoid the crowds of summer, and the ride is fantastic. Ditto for your rides around Avignon.
Actually
, I’m making myself jealous of your plans. I shall be following along when you go.
Bonne route!
Keith

My plan was to fly in and out of Lyon. Getting there will mean at least one and probably two stops each way, aka chances for a bag to go awol. I hadn’t thought of coming home from a different airport. Somehow I think that might double the cost of the flight but I’ll check.

Looks like a fantastic way to spend the fall. I recognize most of the route, but what is that small red loop east of Mende?

I was surprised to see your plan to end in Avignon, because I didn’t know there was even an airport there. You might consider ending in Montpellier instead though. I suspect you’d save enough on the flight to make it worthwhile. You could get there by train from Avignon in about an hour, or just bike there if you added a couple days to the tour, maybe stopping in Nimes or Sommieres. And Montpellier is a great place, worth a few days at the end imho.

Will do!

CycleBlaze's very own Leo Woodland might be able to help with that. Email me at ibike2havefun at gmail dot com and I'll try to put you in touch.