Introduction
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We are a couple in our mid-sixties from British Columbia, Canada who have discovered the joys of cycle touring on our Bike Fridays.
This will be our second month-long cycling tour in France, a country well suited to exploring by bicycle. In 2009 we did a combination bicycle and train tour of the Loire, Canal du Midi, and Luberon/Provence areas. Why return to France? We were impressed with the number of small paved roads, the civilized attitude the French have towards food and wine, and the great geographic variety in such a small country (compared to Canada). Last year we concentrated on the world class spectacular sights (Pont du Gard, Carcassonne, Loire chateaux), but we found that many of the quiet roads between major destinations also provided scenic and rewarding cycling.
This year we plan to rely almost exclusively on our bicycles as we travel from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, starting in Bordeaux, wending our way down to Perpignan and then circling up to Narbonne (where we will catch a train back to Bordeaux). Instead of cycling the flat canal paths across the country, we will travel a zig-zag route through St. Emilion, the Lot and Tarn River areas and then Cathar country. Once again we will travel in October/November, and we're hoping that the weather will cooperate as it did last year. We've discovered that traveling in the off-season is very rewarding. The temperatures are perfect for cycling, accommodations tend to be less expensive, and there are no crowds of people, even in touristy places like Carcassonne and Pont du Gard.
We do a lot of preparation before leaving home. Al maps all our routes mostly on tiny roads, using Michelin maps and Google Earth, including written directions for any potentially confusing spots ('turn right at the large building with a red roof...'). Eva books all the accommodation in advance, so our itinerary is quite fixed, which also means we don't have to spend any of our traveling time route-finding or looking for accommodation. This worked very well for our previous tour. Of course it doesn't make allowances for sequential rainy days or illness. Last year we could have hopped on a train if necessary to reach our pre-arranged accommodation. This year we will be traveling through areas with fewer train connection, so we will see. We travel between 45 and 70 km per day, and don't care about going fast. We want to have time to look around a lot and take photos.
There will be quite an emphasis on meals in this journal because we see good food as one of the attractions of cycling in France, and we always enjoy reading other people's accounts of their culinary experiences. On the other hand, between meals there was very little time left to take photos of churches.
On October 11 we fly from Vancouver to Bordeaux via Amsterdam. Our Bike Fridays travel in hard shell suitcases, which we will leave at our accommodation in Bordeaux and pick up before flying home on November 12. We carry waterproof Ortlieb rear classic roller panniers, an Ortlieb rack pack and Ortlieb handlebar bags. Our electronic equipment consists of Cateye bicycle computers and an Asus Eee notebook PC.
We have heard that there may be pension strikes in France during our visit, and are thankful that this year we will not be dependent on train service, except for once, right at the end of our trip. Fortunately hotels, chambres d'hotes and restaurants do not go on strike!
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