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Visiting La France!

by swiftsquirrell
Tue, Oct 25, 2011 18:11
7

Was after some advice and feedback from people if they can spare me the time.

I'm planning to do a road cycling holiday next year probably a week or ten days somewhere in France. However i must confess never being to the country at all, so I'm pretty stuck as to where to begin looking!

I'm not really wanting to go sight seeing, or mosey round Chateaux's just good countryside nice roads doing 90-110 miles a day.

I was wondering if anyone has done a trip like this and would be able to give some pointers into nice area's, bicycle friendly hotel's/B&B's and any other information that i could use.

Its not going to be touring but more like super light touring on race bikes with a clip on rack and one bag :S.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Stu

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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7 comments

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simon F | 13 years ago
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You might like to have a look at seat61.com and particularly seat61.com/bike-by-train.htm for an alternative to flying.

Apologies if you already knew about this.

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PeteH | 13 years ago
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okay, well.....I still think you have loads of choice.

I can think of several routes I might take - the massif would be good as Martin says. As regards my own suggestion, I'm not sure the Dordogne would have 1000 miles of cycling in it, but certainly that part of the world is beautiful. Maybe a cross-Pyrennean route from Biarritz to Perpignan, then up the coast someways (to Ventoux maybe?) Or straight up the Atlantic coast from Biarritz up to Brittany? (flat but lovely)

The trouble is I have been to all of these places but not necessarily as a cyclist. So whilst I can guarantee that the countryside would be beautiful on any of these routes, I can't help with "cycle-friendly" hotels.

But as I say there are companies out there who specialize in this...

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swiftsquirrell | 13 years ago
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Well in terms of riding, terrain doesnt really bother me, i've done 14 days in Italy covering some of the most difficult passes and i actually enjoy Suffolk hills...and proper mountains too!!

I would most probably fly over do a quick self assembly at the airport and ride on, then possibly train back! I think that aspect of the trip would be a bit vague but that could make it fun!!

I'm really looking for beautiful countryside, we've all seen the stages on the tour and the countryside is amazing but i was wondering if people have specific locations where there are hidden "gems" like we have in the UK.

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Martin Thomas | 13 years ago
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Step forward leguape : http://road.cc/content/forum/35292-cycling-massif-central

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PeteH | 13 years ago
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First thought was Dordogne. You'll also find a number of companies who will offer this kind of holiday and will organise B+Bs for you. They will also transport luggage if that's appealing.

A mate of mine did this - just a long weekend I think in his case - but they sit down with you and work out the kind of routes you want to ride etc. My mate said they went off down country roads and hardly saw any cars whatsoever.

Suggest a google search.

Actually the more I think about it the more I think you need to work out what sort of terrain you want to cover, mountains, flat, coastal etc. Also, what kind of weather do you want and what time of year are you going? You gonna fly, take a bike on the ferry, or a car? You should probably think about this a little because you really have a huge choice of locations, these questions will help you narrow it down.

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Martin Thomas | 13 years ago
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PS, it's La France 1

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Martin Thomas | 13 years ago
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At the risk of seeming to blow my own trumpet, I wrote a blog post about a trip to the Massif Central earlier this year and would thoroughly recommend the region if you like your hills. We camped, so no B&B tips I'm afraid. I was given lots of hugely helpful advice about what to do and where to go by a fellow road.ccer whose name I'm ashamed to say I've forgotten. I'll try to dig out the forum post and link to it. Watch this space...

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