Village of Ste-Cirque La Popie clustered around its tall Gothic church
Five
By Norman D. Ford
Village of Ste-Cirque La Popie clustered
around its tall Gothic church
During September and October 1997, I spent 36 days cycling alone through Southwest France. For 18 days I rode along the crest of the Pyrenees, following part of the Tour de France route. Then I took a train north to the Dordogne region and spent 18 more days biking through the deep gorges and valleys of the Dordogne River and its half-dozen tributaries.
Besides being the least expensive part of France, I found the Southwest a cyclo-tourist's dream. Riding much of the time on rural backroads called "petites routes", I discovered that traffic was light, motorists were incredibly courteous, and the scenery was awesome. Affordable hotels lie an easy day's ride apart and every day, I rode through a series of ageless villages with ramparts and churches dating back to the 13th century.
Each day, I met about 35 other touring cyclists, mostly Swiss, Dutch, German and English. Talking with them, I quickly learned that--given the money and time--the main requisites for bike touring in France are 1) a working knowledge of basic French; and 2) an itinerary to follow.
A crash course in French can give you the linguistic skills to survive. And as for an itinerary, I'm not claiming mine is perfect. But if you care to follow the log below, I'll guarantee you a world class, five star ride.
As I say, I actually spent 36 days exploring the area. But the log below condenses the best of my rides into a highly rewarding 21 day itinerary.
Don't expect a flat, easy tour. My route takes you over some of the highest passes (called cols) on the Tour de France route. If you like, you can tent camp or stay at rural hostels called "gites". But I stayed throughout at budget hotels. Though unpretentious, each was satisfactory and reasonably priced and each is listed in the log after the abbrevation H. (example: H. de la Gare). Rather than move on to a new hotel each night, I would stay for two or more nights at the same hotel and make out-and-back side trips unburdened by panniers.
GETTING THERE: From my home in the Hill Country of Texas, U. S. A (a great all-year road biking area) I flew Air France from Houston to Paris and Toulouse; my bike box went free and arrived safely with me. A 115-franc taxi ride took me to the Hotel Albion at 26 rue Bachelier, (a quiet, reasonably-priced hotel with ample space for assembling bikes) midway between the rail station and the city center. .
I spent the entire next day assembling the bike, packing panniers, changing money, buying maps (Michelin #234 and #235 cover my entire route), obtaining a telephone card, getting free hotel guides for both Midi-Pyrenees and Aquitaine plus a street map of Toulouse from the nearby tourist office, and walking to the station to buy a second class one way rail ticket to Foix (bikes go free on local trains in France). In 1997 the French franc was worth about 17.5 U. S. cents.
A DAY-BY-DAY LOG OF MY TOUR
DAY 1: Toulouse to Tarascon. Early in the morning I rode my fully loaded bike to Toulouse's Matabiau rail station, validated my ticket in an orange "composteur" machine (never forget this) and boarded a slow train for Foix, 80 kilometers south. Most trains on which you can wheel on/wheeloff bikes are slow, local trains and they're all listed in a giveaway timetable called, in this case, "Guide du train et du velo en Midi-Pyrenees." After nine brief stops, the train pulled into Foix, a medieval town sprawled below a chateau poised on a rock.
Since it was only 9 a.m., I biked east for 90 minutes on Route D-1, climbing gradually into the beautiful Plantaure Valley. Then I coasted back to Foix and head up the west side of the swiftly-flowing Ariege River to Tarascon, a Pyrenean town ringed by green mountains. Directly above my riverside hotel (H. Confort), an ancient clocktower atop a rock pinnacle chimed at ear-splitting intensity every 15 minutes (fortunately turned off from midnight to 7 a.m.). Distance: 60 kms.
A hilltop chateau with three
towers, each uniquely different, overlooks
the town of Foix, a popular
starting point for bicycle tours of
the Pyrenees
DAY 2: Tarascon to St. Girons. For the next week my route followed, as closely as possible, the road that hugs the crest of the Pyrenees and crosses a series of the highest passes. On Michelin maps the most scenic roads are bordered with green and my map showed this road bordered with green for its entire length.
The map was right. From Tarascon, it was a stunning 18 kilometer climb through wooded mountains to the summit of the col de Porte, at 1,250 meters my first Pyrenean pass. Like most cols, this one had a cafe on top.
En route, I detoured through Saurat, a village of ancient houses, many hung with baskets of flowers. For the rest of my tour, I detoured into every village I passed. Many villages were historic treasures with chateaux, abbeys or churches dating back a thousand years. From the col de Porte, I coasted down through deep river gorges into St. Girons, a pleasant town on the Sarlat River. (H. Mirouze) Distance: 58 kms.
DAY 3: St. Girons to Aulun-les-Bains and St. Girons. Today, I left my panniers in the hotel and rode up a narrow mountain valley to Aulun-les-Bains, a hot springs resort nestled in the mountains. Aulun is starting point for two very steep and challenging bike ascents, one to the col d'Agnes at 1,570 meters and the other to the col d'Escots at 1,618.
In this area, tourist offices offer cyclists an 8-col passport. Atop each of the 8 cols in the region, including the Tourmalet, bikers can validate their passports in a machine. Since "velo" means bike in French, "validate" becomes "velodate" and cyclists with passports are called "velodateurs". Bikers who climb all 8 passes get a certificate. To encourage road biking, all 8 passes are marked by signs at each kilometer showing the distance to the top, the elevation and the average grade. Distance: 70 kms.
DAY 4: St. Girons to St. Gaudens. From St. Girons, the Pyrenean crest road climbs for 35 kilometers through wooded valleys and ancient villages to the col de Porte d'Aspet at 1,069 meters. Then came a fast downhill run into St. Gaudens, a rambling hilltop town with an esplanade overlooking the Garonne River. (H. Le Richelieu). Distance: 65 kms.
A sign reading "un des plus beaux villages de France" on the outskirts of a village indicates it has been officially designated as one of France's 100 or more most beautiful villages. If you prefer, an alternative low-level route takes you from St. Girons to the "plus beaux" village of St. Lizier (with its massive Bishop's Palace} and on down the valleys of the Sarlat and Garonne Rivers into St. Gaudens--an easy 50 kilometer run.
DAY 5: St. Gaudens to Bagneres de Bigorre. Due to awkwardly-placed hotels, I decided to skip the col de Peyresourde (1,569m) and take a low-level route to Bagneres de Bigorre (BdeB), my next overnight stop. But in France, "low level" doesn't always mean flat. I encountered a stiff 5 kilometer climb out of St. Gaudens, then rode west on "petites routes" to the hilltop spa resort of Capvern-les-Bains. Next, the road dropped dizzily down to the ancient abbey of L'Escaladieu, in the valley bottom, and climbed just as steeply for 20 kilometers into BdeB--a handsome spa town with elegant squares bordered by sidewalk cafes. The Hotel Bellevue, a grand old timer in its own hilltop park, offered comfortable but bathless rooms at 150 francs. Distance: 65 kms.
Tip: if you prefer to go over the col de Peyresoude, head south from St. Gaudens to Bagneres de Luchon for overnight, then continue up and over the Peyresoude and up and over the col d'Aspin and down to BdeB--which means climbing two challenging cols in one day.
DAY 6: BdeB to col d'Aspin and BdeB Not to miss the col d'Aspin, I cycled from BdeB to the top and returned the same way. It's a magnificent ascent through deep pine forests to finally emerge at 1,428 meters on the bare summit of the col. Bike signs every kilometer indicated that this was one of the velodateur cols. Distance: 60 kms.
DAY 7: BdeB to La Mongie. Ahead lay the Tourmalet, highest pass on the Pyrenees crest road. Even Tour de France racers consider it a formidable climb. To make it easier, I broke the ascent with an overnight stay at La Mongie, a modernistic ski resort located 5 kilometers below the summit.
Along the way, scores of leftover signs from the Tour de France painted on the road surface urged riders to "Allez Pedro" or "Allez Riis." My spirits soared as someone called out, "Allez, allez" as I rode by. But at my snail's pace speed it took 5.5 hours to make the 25 kilometer climb to La Mongie--at one fifth the speed of the Tour de France racers. In La Mongie, everything was closed except for one store, a restaurant and the Hotel Taoulet at which I had reserved a bathless room for 100 francs. Distance: 25 kms.
DAY 8: La Mongie to Argeles Gazost. From the hotel it took only an hour to reach the Tourmalet summit. Rugged green mountains with jagged crests and needles soared on both sides of the road with splendid views of the Pic du Midi, an incredible rock pinnacle capped by an observatory tower. Atop the Tourmalet, I sipped a 12 franc cup of coffee while I waited for the sun to rise high enough for picture taking.
Descending the other side and braking constantly, I dropped slowly down the stark mountainside on a series of steep switchbacks and an hour later entered the resort village of Bareges. Here are a dozen hotels with more lower down at Luz St. Sauveur. It was at Luz that a young Spanish cyclo- tourist recommended a side trip up to Gavarnie, a mountain sports center dramatically located in a glacial cirque. I didn't go but from all accounts, his advice was sound.
Instead, I continued coasting on down through a winding river gorge and took backroad D-100 into the pleasant hilltop town of Argeles Gazost. Though I stopped briefly to snack along the way, it took 4.5 hours to descend from the Tourmalet to Argeles Gazost. (H. des Fleurs). Distance: 50 kms.
DAY 9: Argeles Gazost to Cirque du Litor and Argeles Gazost. Free of panniers, I pedalled steadily up through historic villages to the 1,478-meter height of the col du Soulor. From the bare, treeless summit, breathtaking mountain vistas reached in all directions. But the most striking feature was the almost perpendicular wall of the Cirque du Litor a short distance below. Incredibly, a narrow road hacked out of the almost sheer rock face snakes for several kilometers across the Cirque du Litur. Within minutes, I was riding around the Cirque with an abrupt drop of a thousand meters on one side while on the other, the mountain soared skyward for yet another thousand meters.
Once across the Cirque, I rode a few kilometers towards the much higher col d'Aubisque (1,709 meters). Then it was time to start back and cross the Cirque du Litor a second time--with a coffee break on the cafe terrace atop the col du Soulor to celebrate my final day in the Pyrenees. Distance: 50 kms.
Trans-Pyreneen road traverses
sheer rock face across the Cirque du
Litor
DAY 10: Argeles Gazost to Lourdes and Toulouse. I spent the morning biking down a scenic backroad into Lourdes, just 18 kilometers away. Then I biked and walked around this teeming pilgrimage center. Being Saturday, the streets were filled with pilgrims and others here for the Sunday pelerinage. But a few hours in this congested city were enough. At 4 p.m. I caught a slow train for Toulouse and stayed there overnight. (H. Albion). Distance: 30 kms.
DAY 11: Toulouse to Figeac. Today I slept late and caught a midday train for the 3-hour ride to Figeac, a medieval riverside town in the heart of the Dordogne, one of France's top bike touring regions. (H. des Bains or Hostellerie de L'Europe.)). Distance: 5 kms.
DAY 12: Figeac to St. Cirque La Popie and Figeac. I left my panniers at the hotel today and rode a 120-kilometer loop tour that surely ranks as one of the world's outstanding day rides. In the first hour I crossed the only hill then rode for 35 kilometers along the Lot River where ancient villages cling to narrow ledges between high cliffs and the river. Then came the gem of the trip: the classic village of St. Cirque La Popie that soars in tiers of narrow streets to a tall Gothic church high in the center.
My return was through the equally scenic Cele River gorge. Don't miss this spectacular ride that has only one hill. Distance: 120 kms.
DAY 13: Figeac to Rocamadour. Leaving Figeac northwest on D-2 I climbed steadily to Lissac then enjoyed a roller-coaster ride through Assier, Theminette and Bio and on down D-36 to L'Hospitalet. So hilly was the 52 kilometer ride that it took 5 hours to complete. But the effort was worthwhile. Revealed below was a stunning panorama: the village of Rocamadour cascades down a steep hillside in a series of chateaux and chapels to the hotels and houses at the bottom. I spent the rest of the day exploring this fascinating village and hiking up the pilgrim path to the top. (H. du Roc).
DAY 14: Rocamadour Day Ride. Providing superb vistas of Rocamadour, D-39 accesses a series of scenic backroads that meander between stone fences and past ancient farms and manors that haven't changed much down the centuries. Riding through places like St. Projet, Couzou, Carloucet and Gramat, I spent the entire day exploring all the backroads I could reach that were bordered in green on my Michelin map. Distance: 70 kms.
DAY 15: Rocamadour to Sarlat. I began this longish ride with a 10-kilometer downhill run on D-247 to La Cave. Minutes later, for the first time, I glimpsed the Dordogne River. One of France's great rivers, the Dordogne is known for its chateaux precariously perched on clifftops and its well- preserved medieval villages and towns. Minutes later, I saw my first clifftop castle, the Chateau de Belcastel. Beside the road, huge herds of geese roamed in fields while almost every farm advertised foie gras (goose liver fat), a regional specialty.
Route D-23 follows the Dordogne into busy Souillac. Try to avoid riding through town on truck-thronged N-20. From Souillac's centre-ville, head west on D-43 and D-50 which hug the Dordogne's south bank to Grolejac. At Grolejac, ride 200 metres west on paved Route GR-24 to a railway bridge, turn right and follow a paved lane for 500 meters to the Piste Cyclable. This smoothly paved bicycle path, 3 meters wide, crosses the Dordogne on an old railway bridge then winds easily uphill for 9 kilometers to La Caneda village. From here it's just 5 kilometers to Sarlat by lightly traveled roads. Sarlat has an impeccably maintained medieval section, in the center of which I stayed at the Hotel Recollet. Distance: 65 kms.
Chateau of Belcastel perched
on a clifftop above the Dordogne
DAY 16: Sarlat to Beynac, Castelnaud, Domme and Sarlat. Great chateaux perched on cliffs and walled hilltop villages called "bastides" line the Dordogne below Sarlat. To explore them, I returned down the same Piste Cyclable I rode yesterday as far as Carsac, then headed west on D-703 around a vast cingle (U-shaped river bend} with stunning panoramas of Chateau Montfort. All of today's chateaux are open to visitors though, being alone, I preferred not to leave the bike unattended to go inside.
On through Vitrac, D-703 continued to La Roque Gageac, an ancient village squeezed between river and cliffs. Then came the massive chateau of Beynac looming atop a cliff almost overhead. Traffic increased here, much of it headed uphill to the chateau. From Beynac, I rode back across the Dordogne to Castelnaud (another chateau) then took scenic D-53 beside the river to Les Millandes, a 15th century castle in manicured gardens. Returning, I rode over the hills to Cenac and walked part of the way up the steep hill to the bastide of Domme. This is another superbly preserved hilltop village with rambling streets that lead to an esplanade overlooking the Dordogne. While picknicking here I met a young American couple who carried their bikes on a car and rode only for a couple of hours each day.
Leaving Domme, I crossed a high hill to Grojelac and returned to Sarlat on the Piste Cyclable. Distance: 80 kms.
DAY 17: Sarlat to Souillac. Today's short ride allowed time to visit Souillac's massive 12th century church and its museum of robots. You can ride to Souillac by the same riverside route I followed on Day 15. Instead, however, I rode straight across the hills on D-47 through St. Nathalene, a strenuous but scenic route that meandered past wheatfields and tiny hamlets before dropping into Souillac on D-15. (H. L'Europe). Distance: 40 kms.
DAY 18: Souillac to St. Cere. To avoid hills and traffic, I retraced my route of Day 15 to La Cave then followed the south bank of the Dordogne to Meyronne and crossed the bridge to St. Suzy. Heading east on the Dordogne's north side, narrow winding backroads led through timeless villages like Greysse and Gluges. Then for several kilometers I cycled below towering limestone cliffs which, in many places, actually overhung the road. At St. Denis, I crossed again to the south bank and followed D-43 and D-30 through the "plus beaux" village of Carennac and into St. Cere--a larger, pleasant town dominated by a hilltop castle, actually the atelier of a famous French painter. (H. du Touring). Distance: 65 kms
DAY 19: St. Cere to Maurs. My Michelin map showed most of today's ride bordered in green. Scenic it was, and hilly too. But after climbing for two hours straight, I encountered a sudden, drenching thunderstorm. My Goretex rainsuit and hat and rubber gloves kept me personally dry. But though the gear in my panniers was packed in plastic bags, all except the maps were soaked. The rain--a deluge, really--was the heaviest I've ever encountered while biking. Dips in the road were soon flooded to a depth of 15 centimeters or more and water poured out of field gates in torrents across the road.
It was still raining an hour later as I rode into the village of Latronquiere and headed for the nearest cafe. This time, a cup of coffee (my third on this trip) cost only 10 francs and the barmaid, who spoke English, invited me to throw my wet raingear over a radiator to dry. This was just one of many occasions when people went out of their way to help. Provided you have sufficient French to communicate, I found that people in France were extremely pleasant and helpful, especially to anyone on a bike.
Fortunately, the rain soon abated and I continued down Route D-30 into Cantal, a department of Auvergne, and on to the small market town of Maurs. (H. de Plaisance). Distance: 70 kms.
DAY 20: Maurs to Aurillac. Again, my Michelin map indicated outstanding scenery almost all the way to Aurillac and I wasn't disappointed. Heading out of Maurs on D-17, I climbed steadily for several hours up the rocky, forested gorge of the Rance River on a winding, one-lane road with almost zero traffic. Finally, from the crest at Lenseigne, I saw the red roofs of Aurillac below and off in the distance, the bare domes of Auvergne's Regional Volcanic Park.
A few kilometers below, I reached Roanne St. Mary, the first place on today's ride with a cafe or food shop. Then it was downhill all the way past the airport and into the sizeable town of Aurillac. (H. de Voyageurs). Distance: 50 kms.
(Tip: with an extra day, consider a day ride northeast along D-35, the Route de Cretes, with return along equally scenic D-17.)
DAY 21: Aurillac to Toulouse. On weekdays, two convenient bike-carrying trains run daily to provide a scenic and direct ride back through Maurs and Figeac to Toulouse, where my tour ended.
ROUTING NOTE: according to recent rail timetables, it may no longer be possible to take your bike on a train between Lourdes and Toulouse. If this is true, on Day 9 I suggest packing your panniers and carrying all your gear with you on the ride from Argeles Gazost to the col du Soulor and the Cirque du Litor. After returning to the col du Soulor, head north on scenic route D-126 to Asson and continue north on D-37 to Pau for overnight. On Day 10 follow backroads northeast to Condom for overnight and on Day 11 continue on backroads north to Bergerac for overnight. From Bergerac, head east along the Dordogne to Beynac and Domme and follow my itinerary into Sarlat for overnight. From Sarlat, follow my itinerary east along the Dordogne to Figeac, St. Cere, Maurs and Aurillac. On weekdays, two bike-carrying trains run daily from Aurillac, Maurs and Figeac back to Toulouse.
Some Tips and Advice
Travel in France is much easier and better organized than in North America. Virtually every town of 3,000 or more has a tourist office with helpful staff, approximately half of whom speak English. Almost every town publishes its own hotel guide with rates and a street map showing hotel locations. Most tourist offices also have hotel guides and street maps to neighboring towns enabling you to enter your next town on quiet side streets.
Because hotels may be full (complet) on market days etc., I used my telephone card to phone ahead and make a reservation at any town with limited hotel space. Such calls must usually be made in French. Otherwise, most tourist offices will make the call for you. In fact, tourist offices will phone any local hotel to inquire about vacancies and will also phone hotels in other towns and make reservations. They also have free guides to every hotel in their province (a huge area such as Midi-Pyrenees or Auvergne) and sometimes to neighboring provinces.
Without such guides, you can't tell which towns have hotels, especially budget-priced hotels. The least expensive hotel rooms have a toilet and shower in the hall but every room has a lavabo or washbasin with running hot and cold water and sometimes a bidet as well.
Since airports are located at large cities like Toulouse, it's usually best to take a train to a small town some 50 kilometers or so out and begin biking from there. To make returning by train easier, plan to end your itinerary at a town on a direct rail line to Toulouse so you don't have to change trains.
I didn't say much about great restaurant meals or wines because I did not eat in restaurants or hotels, Instead, I bought fresh fruits and vegetables plus canned beans and soy yogurt in shops, and a kilo of whole wheat bread each day and ate in my hotel room, brewing instant coffee from the hot water tap. Each day I also packed a stack of marmalade sandwiches to eat while cycling.
While my low-fat diet was nutritionally sound, it was also considerably less expensive than eating out. As a result, my bike tour (in 1997) cost an average of 285 francs per day. Apart from the 3 cups of coffee I mention, I also refrained from indulging in cafe stops. If you plan to eat out, drink wine and cafe-sit, better count on spending more than I did. However, since I stayed in single rooms you may shave costs by sharing a double room. Slightly cheaper than hotels are private homes offering bed and breakfast (chambres d'hote} but few are centrally located or near food shops--nonetheless, they do get you inside a French home.
Since food shops close at noon on Sunday (and some don't open till Tuesday morning) I tried to stay in the same hotel on Saturday and Sunday--a smart move also because many hotels are full on Saturday night. If you buy food, as I did, watch for a mid-week early closing day when food shops may close at noon. Watch out, too, for hotels that close during Sunday afternoons and for banks that close on Mondays. New generation hotels (the French equivalent of a motel) located on the outskirts of towns are often a good buy but may also be closed from 12:30 till 6 p.m daily. Guests already booked in are given a key code allowing them to enter.
No hotel allows bikes in the room. Most have space for a few bikes but if you have more than four, consider choosing a hotel with a garage. Most campgrounds close in early October and I met several cyclo-tourists unable to find a campground open.
With more than 21 days, you'll find --as I did--a wide choice of day rides available almost everywhere on scenic roads. During my tour, clear sunny days persisted until October 20 after which it clouded over and rained occasionally and the last few mornings were quite cold.
To make climbing hills easier, I recommend using a 22T small chainring and a 32T large cog. This combination provides an extremely low gear in which it is relatively easy to spin your way uphill.
After cycling through 37 countries, I can say unequivocally that France offers the most safe, pleasant, scenic and hassle-free road bike touring in the world today. This was my seventh tour of France, including Corsica, and I'm already planning my eighth.
Schematic Route Map--Not to
Scale