Introduction

Last September I completed a long-standing ambition to cycle from the Channel to the Mediterannean, mostly using the route described in the book 'France en Velo' which describes a route on minor roads from Saint-Malo to Nice - about 1000 miles.

I mainly followed the book route from Saint-Malo for 11 days as far as Espalion in the Lot valley, before taking a more direct route to the reach the Med at Sète after another three days.  That trip is described in another blog.

The plan for this year was to complete the remaining section of the route to Nice, travelling West to East rather than South to North, starting in Bergerac and joining the France en Vélo route after two days. Last year my mate Les had been intending to join me but had to drop out at the last minute, but this year he was persuaded to come after only a little arm-twisting.

Day 1. Bergerac to Monpazier

Standby

A flight from Southampton to Bergerac was a very convenient way to get to the start of the ride, as long as we could take our bikes on the plane. We decided to risk using ‘CTC bags’ – heavy duty transparent poly bags – in the hope that the baggage handlers would be able to see what was inside the bags and treat them with some care.

The other problem was that FlyBe operate the route with small propeller-driven planes and only allow bikes to be taken on a standby basis. However I did a little research, looking on internet forums, speaking to FlyBe customer services, and chatting to airport staff when we travelled through Southampton in June, and the consensus seemed to be that it was extremely unlikely that our bikes would not be carried.

Even so, it was a relief when the girl at the check-in desk was happy to take our bikes, although the FlyBe staff seemed to have no idea how to accept payment for the extra fee of £30 per bike. Eventually it was all sorted out and we took our bikes to the oversized baggage desk, where the lady needed to scan them to check for illicit drugs or electric motors, although for some unknown reason this could not be done while the bikes were inside the bags, so that all of our careful packing had to be undone and repeated.

The flight was on time and when we got off the plane we were pleased to see our bikes being unloaded. A seat outside the airport terminal was a convenient work bench to unpack and re-assemble the bikes, pump up the tyres and sort out the luggage. A drink and sandwich in the nearby café and we were ready to go, barely an hour after the plane had touched down.

The little airport at Bergerac is perfect for cyclists, as you are on a quiet country lane within 100 m of the terminal. The route took us east along flat roads close to the Dordogne river, to a coffee stop at Couze, then south-east as the road climbed gently up to Monpazier and our B&B run by an anglophone couple whose accents were hard to place, not surprisingly as we later discovered that they had arrived here from southern Africa via New Zealand. 

Monpazier is one of the bastides – fortified towns established in the 13^th century when the English controlled this part of France during the reign of Edward I. As you might expect in one of the plus beaux villages de France, the main square was an attractive spot for a pre-dinner beer and then we followed the advice of our hosts by going for a fine dinner in the hotel Edward Premier.

Distance today - 46 km

Day 2. Monpazier to Grèzes

The Longest Day

After an excellent breakfast, spoiled only slightly by having to listen to a diatribe from our host about the inadequacies of the governments in post-colonial Africa, we set out on a crisp cool morning. The roads were very quiet with a few short climbs but no opportunity for refreshments until we reached Salviac after 35km, where we stopped for a coffee and to pick up a sandwich for lunch. The next 20km were mostly flat as we followed the valley of the river Céou through Concores but then more effort was needed as we climbed up to almost 400m on the plateau of the Causses de Quercy at Montfaucon. 

We crossed over the A20 motorway and now a flaw in my planning became evident. I had mapped out the route using pages torn from an ancient Michelin road atlas, but what was a minor country lane in 1999 had metamorphosed into a very busy road leading from a motorway junction to Figeac, requiring us to mix it with the fast traffic for a few miles until we could escape onto back roads through Fontanes-du-Causse. 

The last section was a real struggle as the route across the plateau was undulating rather than flat with several hills.  We passed through Espédaillac (to reprise a photo that I took last year in the same place) before at last arriving in Grèzes and our hotel in an old chateau on the edge of the village.

With the benefit of hindsight this stage was a bit too far for the first full day, as 60 miles of hilly riding had transformed my companion from a highly-tuned cycling machine into a rather sad figure, laid out on the bed, in pain from cramp and barely able to move.  I had serious doubts whether the trip was going to end right here. What Les needed was a masseur (or even better, a masseuse), but although the hotel was very nice its facilities did not extend that far.

After an hour of rest Les had recovered sufficiently to venture as far as the swimming pool - we had been warned that the water was très fraîche but, just as rugby players jump in an ice bath to recover from a hard match, we hoped that immersion in cold water would ease the pain in some very weary leg muscles. 

Distance today 94 km.

Total distance 140 km.

Day 3. Grèzes to Entraygues-sur-Truyère

Le Lot

Another quite long day in terms of distance, but I was hoping for an easier ride as there was only one hilly section between the Célé and Lot valleys. Les seemed to have made something of a recovery and we started with a long downhill to join the route that I had taken last year by the river Célé, then a flat ride along the valley to Figeac and a coffee in the covered market at the heart of the old town. Les had been suffering a bit from cold legs in the cool of early morning, so we stopped off at to the local bike shop for him to invest in an rather expensive pair of leg-warmers. If only we had realised that cold weather was not going to be a problem on this trip...

Then we took things slowly on the two climbs up to Montredon where a picnic table and water tap was a convenient place for lunch at the high point of the day before the descent down to the Lot valley at Pont d’Agrès. I remember the road along the Lot valley to Espalion as one of the highlights of last year’s ride and it was just as good this time; in fact even better as restoration of the medieval bridge over the Truyère into Entraygues was now complete and the 3km déviation was no longer needed.

We found our B&B in an old house in town, arranged in traditional style with a rather austere exterior and rooms round an internal courtyard with open stairs, so it was a surprise to find that our hosts were an expat British couple from Bedford.

Distance today 85 km
Total distance 225 km

Day 4. Entraygues-sur-Truyère to St-Geniez d’Olt

Encore Le Lot

After two long days this trip along the Lot valley was supposed to something easier. It was certainly shorter - only just over 50 km – but the profile told a somewhat different story.

Conversation at breakfast turned to the inevitable topic of Brexit. A German fellow guest must have taken us for two of Mr Farage's finest and gave us a bit of a lecture on the benefits of European integration before we assured him that he was preaching to the converted. Meanwhile, the hosts were very worried about healthcare provision for retired expats after Brexit.

The first section of the ride was easy enough, keeping close to the river as far as Estaing, another of France’s plus beaux villages, where we stopped for coffee and to pose for photos on the splendid medieval bridge. Ex-president Giscard (still going in his 90s) owns the imposing chateau that dominates the village.

I had ridden this section last year and persuaded Les to follow an alternative route on minor roads on the south side of the river. The roads were certainly quiet but there were a few unexpected little hills before another coffee stop in Espalion. 

Last year I had left the Lot at this point to head south to Millau, but now we followed the valley up to St-Côme d’Olt (that's not a typo, Olt is the Occitan language version of Lot) for another crossing of the river and the first long climb of the trip – 350 m of ascent as the road leaves the valley to climb up to 700 m. The climb was not too steep, only about 4 or 5 per cent, but still a struggle in the 30 plus degree heat. After a half-hour rest and a cake at Lassouts the last section to the summit was a little easier and the reward was a long downhill through the woods back to the river valley and our very nice hotel in St-Geniez.

For a mid-week out of season the hotel restaurant was very busy, always an indication that the food would be good, and we enjoyed a fine dinner and a chance for Les to introduce me to the delights of steak tartare.

Distance today 54 km
Total distance 279 km.

Day 5. St-Geniez d’Olt to Bagnoles-les-Bains

Un café sans café.

Above St-Geniez the river Lot flows through a deep gorge, which the road avoids with a 250 m climb through the woods. It was a pleasant enough ride, but almost all of the height was lost as we descended back to cross the river at St. Laurent.  Time for a coffee, and right by the bridge there was a rather shabby café that claimed to be ouvert. Except that it didn’t have any café. ‘Je suis désolé. La machine est en panne.’ We made do with Orangina.

When planning this trip I had often used Google Maps to estimate distances for each day's ride. However, the France en Vélo route on this stage takes a long diversion to go over a 1020 m col near Goudard, whereas Mr Google quite sensibly opts for the shorter and much less hilly route on the main road through the Lot valley, so I had seriously underestimated the distance for today.  Even with the shorter route, this was going to be a long stage so it was an easy decision to follow the N88 to Mende, especially as it was a Saturday so there would be very few trucks on the road. And in any case, French drivers are much more willing to follow the advice of signs like this to 'share the road' and avoid close passes.

Halfway to Mende the traffic was held up by a couple of gendarmes. Apparently it was for a bike race but the wait would only be un petit quart d’heure. Five minutes later the peloton raced by at great speed in the opposite direction and we all resumed our journey. We stopped for lunch in a café outside the cathedral in Mende, carried on the N88 for a while to climb up to the Col de la Tourette at 839 m and then turned off onto the D901, a wonderful road for cycling that we would follow all the way to Villefort, up the Lot Valley for a steady but fairly gentle climb up to Bagnoles.  

As I entered the village and crossed the Lot yet again, there were lots of locals and a few gendarmes standing around, obviously waiting for something to happen. The bike race was passing through and expected in a few minutes. This was a stage of the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche, 137 km and finishing at 1500 m on Mont Lozere. We waited for the riders to come through before carrying on to our B&B at the far end of the village.

The B&B was run by a couple who combined it with a studio making glassware. The deal included a simple but excellent dinner, taken with all the other guests. It goes without saying that I was asked about Brexit, hard enough to explain in English let alone in a foreign language, so I simply suggested that I thought it was une grande folie.

Distance today 88 km. Total distance 367 km.

Day 6. Bagnoles-les-Bains to Les Vans

Au Revoir au Lot

We were hoping for an easier time today, only 60 km and descending from over 900 m in Bagnoles to 200 m in Les Vans. The first section was uphill, but a very easy uphill along a beautiful wooded valley, through a tunnel under a medieval castle and up to the small village of Le Bleymard for a coffee stop. We had been following the Lot for almost 200 km and by now it was just a small stream as we crossed it for the last time, only a short distance from its source high in the Cevennes.

More gentle climbing took us up to the Col des Tribes at 1130 m and a photo opportunity by the sign marking the watershed between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Downhill all the way now…

At least the next 25 km were downhill – a wonderful ride with sweeping curves and extensive views where it was hardly necessary to use either the pedals or brakes, descending back down to 500 m in the small town of Villefort where we joined the Sunday diners for a light lunch. Most of the lunchtime calories were then burnt off on a long grind climbing up to the Col du Mas de l’Ayre at 845 m. I connected an earpiece to my phone and found that listening to the Ashes on Test Match Special was a good way of taking my mind off the pain of the climb.

On the way up we were passed by a large group of Brits who were on an organised Channel to Med tour and as we rested at the col we met a lady who was doing a solo unsupported Saint-Malo to Nice ride and had stayed in our B&B in Entraygues, and was glad to have someone else around to take some photos of her and the bike.

From the col it is another long 650 m descent down to Les Vans, although the twisting road through dense woodland and steeper gradients required a lot more concentration than the carefree downhill in the morning.

I had booked a B&B in Les Vans which was located on the edge of town up a steep little hill. But it was well worth the extra effort – we had a large apartment to ourselves with a lounge and kitchen, and the swimming pool was a great way to relax after another hot day.

Strolling round the town and looking for a restaurant, Les spotted a likely place where the special was côte de boeuf. That will do, we thought. When the meal arrived it was a massive chunk of meat that seemed almost as big as the joint we have for 12 people on the WAGs, together with a large plate of chips and the bone marrow in a separate pot. As a self-professed gourmet, Les felt obliged to try the bone marrow. I wasn’t tempted.
 

Côte de boeuf for two - cycle tourists' portions

Côte de boeuf - the remains.

Distance today 62 km
Total distance 429 km

Day 7. Les Vans to St Martin d’Ardèche

La Chaleur

For me, the day started well with a sumptuous breakfast at the B&B, but Les was feeling a bit under the weather. I blame the bone marrow. After a very pleasant ride along back roads through woods and vineyards past Chandolas we crossed the Ardèche river at Ruoms.  A short stretch along a busy road took us to Vallon-Pont-d’Arc for coffee and to stock up with food before continuing to the tourist mecca of Pont d’Arc with its spectacular limestone arch spanning the river. I was last here with Liz on our honeymoon 36 years ago.

Now things started to get more serious.  The heat was intense and we were faced with a 3 km climb at a 10% gradient as the road left the river and climbed high above the gorge.  A group of four Dutch cyclists overtook us but then decided that it was all too much.  And they were on e-bikes!

After several rest stops and a few GOAPs (get off and push) from Les, we eventually reached the first of the belvédères where drivers can pull off the road to admire the views of the gorge and the river far below.  A French tourist was clearly impressed by our fortitude or stupidity, insisting on shaking Les’s hand in congratulation.

Unfortunately that was not the end of the climbing, as the road twisted along the plateau, with several irritating descents and re-ascents to cross side valleys.  The views were certainly spectacular, even if we were in no mood to appreciate them as there was no escape from the burning sun, and it was a relief to find a small café where we could rest in the shade and enjoy a couple of drinks.

Now it was almost all downhill back to the river at St Martin.  Our hotel was annoyingly located a few hundred metres from where Mr Google thought it was, and it turned out to be a nondescript modern building, but the young lady patronne was extremely helpful and the air conditioned room was a very welcome bonus on such a hot day. 

We discussed plans over a beer in the village café.  Les was suffering in the heat and more hot weather was forecast for the following day.  A quick search of the internet revealed he could hire a car in Orange and drop it off in Nice in a few day’s time.  We considered our options over dinner and back at the hotel the deed was done – a hire car was booked and Les would drive the last few days to Nice.

Distance today 75 km
Total distance 504 km

Day 8. St Martin d’Ardèche to Villes-sur-Auzon

Côtes du Rhône

The nondescript modern hotel surprised us again with a most excellent breakfast to set us up for our morning ride to the Avis car hire office in Orange. It was certainly a varied route - a fine suspension bridge over the Ardèche, quiet back lanes through vineyards and apple orchards, past a nuclear power station on a modern road that was as smooth as the proverbial billiard table, and then across the Rhône on a huge dam near Caderousse.

We had assumed that the Avis office would be near the centre of Orange, so it was a little disconcerting when Mr Google directed us to a little petrol station au milieu de nulle part about 4 km south of the town. I went in and asked for directions, only to receive some mild teasing for not having noticed the small Avis flag that was indeed flying outside. This was a first for me, a car hire office where nobody spoke English, but the car was waiting for us and after the usual formalities Les was ready to drive off with the bike in the boot. More importantly, my panniers were also in the car.

By now it was very hot, although the Avis lady assured us that this was nothing compared to the 45 C earlier in the summer, so I was glad to have a lighter load as I followed a cycle route through the vineyards and over a few small hills to Châteauneuf-du-Pape and a lunch of salade gourmande au foie gras in the centre of town. I was tempted by the local produce at €8 a glass, but thought better of it as I still had almost 40 km to ride.

That afternoon passed in something of a blur – I was still suffering in the heat and this was one of the less interesting stages of the ride, including a rather tiresome passage through Carpentras with its busy roads and numerous traffic lights.  Things could only get better and after Mazan they did – the traffic thinned out, the scenery improved with a few gentle hills and the stage finished in a very attractive little Provençale town with our B&B (recommended and pictured in the France en Vélo book) in an old house right in the centre. 

Meanwhile Les had spent the afternoon visiting the 1900 m summit of Mont Ventoux, something of a holy grail for road cyclists, though maybe not if your bike is stowed away in the boot of a hire car...

Distance today 89 km
Total distance 593 km

Day 9. Villes-sur-Auzon to Forcalquier

Les Gorges de la Nesque

 ‘Arguably the best 30km you can ride in the whole of France.’  That’s what the book says and it is hard to disagree. The road from Villes-sur Auzon up the Gorges de la Nesque is so beautifully engineered that a height gain of 440 m is almost effortless. The scenery is spectacular, the surface smooth, there is almost no motorised traffic and at the summit by the Rocher du Cire you can enjoy an extensive view looking back to Mont Ventoux. 

I had persuaded Les to join me for this part of the ride but he then freewheeled back to Villes-sur-Auzon to collect the car while I continued to Sault for coffee and to pick up some food for lunch.

Sault is the starting point for the least arduous route up Mont Ventoux, a small matter of 1200 m of ascent. From the terrace on the edge of town it looks tantalisingly close, but I left that for another life and headed east on the D950 which was undulating rather than brutally steep, rising up to over 900 m before an exciting descent to the small village of Banon. 

I bumped into Les and we settled into a café and asked for an ice cream, whereupon the waiter told us to forget the commercial stuff on his menu and head for the glacerie artisanale down the road. He was right - the ice creams were the best of the trip.

The glacerie is next-door to Banon's main claim to fame, Le Bleuet, which is supposed to be one of the largest bookshops in France with 150,000 different titles. We posed for pictures outside, then Les stopped to explore the bookshop and seek out a postcard for a bibliophile friend while I carried on to Forcalquier.

It was another interesting town although our digs in the Grand Hotel did not quite live up to the name.  We staggered up a very steep hill to the chapel that overlooks the towns before seeking  out a restaurant in the old town for an al fresco dinner.

Distance today 84 km   Total distance 677 km

Day 10. Forcalquier to Moustiers-Sainte- Marie

Laughing in Riez

A shorter day, starting with a long descent to the Durance valley and then across a landscape of lavender fields and wooded valleys. My first stop was in Oraison, where I sat down in a café before noticing that the rival establishment across the road was called La Fringale. My colloquial French is not much good but I do know that la fringale is the French equivalent of ‘the bonk’ so this might have been a more appropriate pit-stop. I picked up a superb croissant aux amandes from the nearby bakers which won the prize for the best patisserie of the trip and got me up the 250 m climb onto the Valensole plateau without suffering from la fringale.

An undulating ride led me to Riez where I was indeed laughing when I discovered that the main drag featured not only a café that would sell me a drink rather than a 3-course lunch, but also a boulangerie that was open at 1pm where I picked up a delicious tarte aux pommes. 

After lunch I followed the main road up a gentle incline to the high point of the day at just over 700 m. Thunder rumbled in the distance over the Verdon Gorge to remind me that my rain jacket had been left in the car, but the rain held off for a fast descent before a little sting in the tail on the steep ascent up to Moustiers where I found Les already ensconced in our hotel.

Some very heavy showers gave the first rain of the trip, but eased off to allow us to explore the town. The hotel restaurant was closed but the patron recommended a couple of other places. They were also closed.  Reluctantly (or maybe not) we made our way to the most expensive place in town, where Liz and I had dined when we were here back in November. It was worth it - this was one of the best meals of the trip, which included this beautifully presented starter of rillettes de lapin.

Distance today 62 km
Total distance 739 km.