I was thinking about a fall tour in Québec, starting and finishing in Montréal.  Québec, because I've never really been and they have those Routes Vertes.  Fall, to see the maple forests changing colour (I think there are maple forests there?) and Montréal, because our younger son, the jazz musician, moved there last summer.  I started looking at routes and wasn't really inspired, then I looked at accommodation in Québec City (yikes!), and then I started thinking about France.  I put down Cycling in Québec: the Official Guide to Explore the Route Verte (why is it singular?) and went upstairs to fetch Cycling in France, sadly not updated since 2009 and out of print.

Now I was inspired!  So many potential tours!  I looked at Alsace-Lorraine-Burgundy, but perhaps the fall isn't the best time.  I've only been to Burgundy, in September of 1992, my first European cycle tour, and we ran away from the rain to Languedoc-Roussillon.  Perhaps that will be a spring trip someday.  The Alps?  From the book:  "The Alps, particularly the Vercors massif, also tend to attract heavy rain from September to November."  Add that to the future spring list.

I finally settled on the volcanos of the Massif Central, which "unlike the rest of France, receives most of its precipitation in summer..."  This would segue nicely into the gorges that various other CycleBlazers rode through last fall, making me so envious.

I presented the idea to Al and he said he wasn't interested, preferring to stay home and enjoy our new place, but that I was welcome to go on my own.  So I put it out to my cycling buddies, but I don't expect any takers.  It looks like it will be a solo trip.

The route I've planned is in the screenshot below.  I'm thinking of flying to and from Lyon, taking the train from there to the start at Clermont-Ferrand and then back from Avignon at the end.  I've yet to book my flights but am thinking around 30 days should be sufficient.

Heart

2

Comment

0

Link

Log in to comment or reply