Cycle holiday in the south of France

Lazairus

Hello

I am planning to cycle along the canal du midi this summer, has anybody done this before?

is it better to bring your own bike or to hire one.

I was thinking of cycling from Bordeaux to Carcassonne, or

or Toulouse and finishing in perpignon.

so if I was to hire , id have to drop off in a different location

thanks again

CH

Lazairus

Hungrycol

This is a thread I won't be reading through pure envy.

joethatoom

Sounds like a grand cycle trip

Chris O Donoghue

I reckon you'd be as well to bring your own bike: i did a bit of cycling in the Pyrenees and near Perpignan and hiring is expensive, plus I think it would be difficult to organise a dropoff at the end.

We brought our bikes on Aer Lingus a few times but you'd need to check the options to Bayonne or Carcassone. There are also flights to Pau or Toulosue which might suit.

The roads and scenery in the area are fabulous, and the drivers are generally very welcoming. Have a great time:)

Tonyandthewhale

You're probably better off bringing your own bike alright just be careful if you fly, those baggage handlers aren't the gentlest. Make sure your bike is properly packed and if you take the wheels off put in a brace to make sure the drop outs don't get bent in or the fork crushed.

Seve OB

what about getting the boat? either rosslare to cherbourg or through the UK.

then jump on the TGV with your bike, you'll be there in no time, and surely a fraction of the cost of airlines?

ROK ON

I have traveled on bike and foot on the Canal du Midi between Castelnaudary and Carcasonne. If you are bringing you own bike, do not bring a road bike.

The can tow path is well marked and easily navigable, but IIRC, it is largely an off road (well worn) path.
It would be perfect for a thick tyred hybrid or cross bike. But it would not be so comfortable on a road bike with 23mm tyres.

It is a lovely part of the world. Enjoy.

Lazairus

thanks for the advice

It would suit better to bring your own bike so ?


what about baggage?


thanks for the advice

Ill post pictures when I get there

CH

650Ginge

stevieob wrote: »

what about getting the boat? either rosslare to cherbourg or through the UK.

then jump on the TGV with your bike, you'll be there in no time, and surely a fraction of the cost of airlines?

Can bikes go on the tgv? They used to not accept them. They went on a different train.

johnam

Iirc I read somewhere that the canal paths are generally made up of gravel tracks, not really suited to road bikes, but im not really 100% on this. Either way you could always divert onto the nearest country road, road surfaces in France are generally good. It is a beautiful area, and Carcassone is amazing at night. Enjoy

Seve OB

650Ginge wrote: »

Can bikes go on the tgv? They used to not accept them. They went on a different train.

I don't know, it was just an idea!


quick google found this

http://www.mayq.com/Best_european_trips/Touring4_trains_and_bikes.htm

and this

http://www.raileurope.co.uk/Default.aspx?tabid=1585

Chris O Donoghue

I did a quck search and this might get you started if you decide to hire a bike in Bordeaux; if your French is rusty you can translate the page.
I used "location" (hire) and "velo" (bike) as the search terms,
bon route et bon chance!

http://voyageforum.com/forum/france_location_velo_bordeaux_D1052898/

dewindygap

Hi Lazairus. Check out this link where contributions were made re Canal du Midi and also bringing bikes on planes.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=68441432

Can't emphasise enough how bad the track surface is on the Midi whereas the Garonne is an absolute pleasure. Whilst in Bordeaux we got a brochure in one of the tourist offices (believe it or not there are 2 different one's dealing with different regions) which gave several different Voies Verts (''Découvrez la Gironde á vélo''). We took the Piste Roger Lapébie from Bordeaux which is an old railway line which meanders a bit but eventually meets with the Garonne. A beautiful cycle.
Can I ask you about the origins of that map you posted as could be useful to me in planning this years trip.
Be glad to answer any other questions regarding trip.

Sean02

Have to aggree with coments about suitable bike. In 2010 due to accident I had to abandon Biarritz Barcecona via Samport pass , as an alternative took Midi to Perpigon. I got on towpath at Tarbes. However it was unsuitable for road bike and I continued on road from Castledoupy. Hybrid would be perfect.
Don't leave Toulouse without saying hello to the great Trever Brennan.

pm78

Cycled part of canal midi. It gets quite bumpy in places so I'd definitley hire a bike rather than take my own especially if it a road bike. In sections there really isnt even a track. Cant remember how much bike hire was but know we could have hired them in one place and left them back in another without too much extra expense. In terms of route, its obviously very flat so you will cover more ground than you expect. this is hire company we used. http://www.mellowvelos.com/touring.html

Captain Havoc

stevieob wrote: »

what about getting the boat? either rosslare to cherbourg or through the UK.

then jump on the TGV with your bike, you'll be there in no time, and surely a fraction of the cost of airlines?

Not a chance is going across England and getting the TGV down going to work out cheaper, even getting the train from Cherbourg down is €100 on it's own, I think you'd get Aer Lingus one way plus bike for that. The TGV is taking bikes now

velopeloton

Flying is way cheaper than ferry and TGV and a day and a half quicker. As far as I know TGV will only take a bike if it is in a box or bag. The canal path is not good on a road bike, there are lots of back road alternative that would be very nice. As for bike hire, you are always way better off with your own bike.

Paul Kiernan

I'd reiterate what others say, surface is wonderful from Toulouse to Bordeaux, dreadful south-east of Toulouse (you'd probably be OK with 28c tyres though).

Where are you planning on staying and are you carrying a lot of stuff in panniers? The Canal du Garonne is quite remote as it by-passes many towns on the route. If you want to eat or find somewhere to stay you have to go maybe 4 or 5 miles off the route to get to a town.

Sean02

At 126 for 10 days that Mellows looks good. hope theres not too much hidden ccarges otherwise better take your own. Are there 2 branch lines of Midi How did I start from Tarbes?

TheBlaaMan

Was down that way this summer and did a bit of road cycling. Canal du Midi is really nice, but as alread said, rough in places. If you want to stick to roads, hire a road bike - If you are sure you are going to do a one-way journey, I think bringing your own is going to work out a good bit cheaper (though I think its now €80 each way with Ryanair :eek:) but there are good options for hire.

Mellowvelos has already been mentioned, and he's a nice guy, but he was a bit far from my base and his delivery charge was going to make it expensive - so watch out for that if considering a "one-way rental".

In the end, I hired a Cannondale road bike from Phillipe at www.wandeo.fr and he was fantastically helpful - that said, it looks like any one-way rental will be expensive.

enjoy , and dont forget to give the local Cassoulet dish a try!


EDIT

I came across this on another forum a short while ago. Looks like it might suit you perfectly, although you need to get yourself to the UK. http://www.bike-express.co.uk/