hello i'm fairly new to cycling and have decided to have a go travelling down to the med from st malo as i have a month spare. I am in reasonable shape for my age (54) and intend camping along the way. I have a few concerns and would appreciate any feedback.
1) is there a fairly easy way to get to nantes and to the atlantic coast which isn't too hilly and straightforward direction wise ?
2) should I be overly concerned regarding security for my bike at campsites ?
3) I've got a touring bike ; will this be suitable for the routes ( I intend following the gironde canal to toulouse and then the canal du midi )
Any other tips !
Thanks
st malo to narbonne
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matt_twam_asi
- Posts: 348
- Joined: 29 Apr 2008, 10:56am
- Location: West Sussex
I wouldn't recommend taking your bike on the canal du midi - whilst there are often (but not always!) towpaths alongside, they are often crisscrossed by the roots of the plain trees running alongside - here's a pic of what I mean:
There's a good description of what you'd be up against here
I've cycled it on an atb, but even with that it was slow going - you have to keep your eyes glued to the floor for those tree roots, so won't be seeing much of the beautiful countryside!
Basically you'd do much better to stick to the roads.
I'm afraid I can't help with the other queries, as only really know the area between Carcassonne and Narbonne.
There's a good description of what you'd be up against here
The trail was all gravel and dirt. It was also rough and bumpy and surfaced with some fine gritty crushed rock most of the way. I found the signage difficult to follow. Making a long story short, it is a great location for a trail, but it needs work before I would consider it a good trail to use with a touring bike.
I've cycled it on an atb, but even with that it was slow going - you have to keep your eyes glued to the floor for those tree roots, so won't be seeing much of the beautiful countryside!
Basically you'd do much better to stick to the roads.
I'm afraid I can't help with the other queries, as only really know the area between Carcassonne and Narbonne.
st malo to narbonne
For the first leg of your journey from St Malo to Nantes I suggest the following to Rennes.
In St Malo go from the Britanny Ferries berth anti-clockwise round the harbour to Quaie de Dinan just by the walled city. Take the little ferry, 10 min journey, 6 euro with bike to Dinard. Find rue de la Gare. There is no Gare now but cycle/footpath along the former railway track to Dinan. The site of the former railway station is now a building site so it might take you a few minutes to find your way round it or thro it. I emerged from it a couple of weeks ago. Follow the route towards Dinard.
When near St Samson sur Rance you leave the railway. There is a signed route thro the village of Taden to the canal side path. Follow the canal d’ Ille et Rance path thro Dinan and all the way to Rennes. I joined it just north of Rennes so I don’t know what it’s like in the city.
Total of about 60 miles.Virtually no route finding to do. Mostly good surfaces. Occasionally rutted or muddy. Obviously depends on weather. See http://www.randobreizh.org/zonedifferen ... eVoie2.php
I hope this helps.
JJF
In St Malo go from the Britanny Ferries berth anti-clockwise round the harbour to Quaie de Dinan just by the walled city. Take the little ferry, 10 min journey, 6 euro with bike to Dinard. Find rue de la Gare. There is no Gare now but cycle/footpath along the former railway track to Dinan. The site of the former railway station is now a building site so it might take you a few minutes to find your way round it or thro it. I emerged from it a couple of weeks ago. Follow the route towards Dinard.
When near St Samson sur Rance you leave the railway. There is a signed route thro the village of Taden to the canal side path. Follow the canal d’ Ille et Rance path thro Dinan and all the way to Rennes. I joined it just north of Rennes so I don’t know what it’s like in the city.
Total of about 60 miles.Virtually no route finding to do. Mostly good surfaces. Occasionally rutted or muddy. Obviously depends on weather. See http://www.randobreizh.org/zonedifferen ... eVoie2.php
I hope this helps.
JJF
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philipemorris
- Posts: 3
- Joined: 12 Jul 2010, 10:34am
Re: st malo to narbonne
Hello,
For the latest on the condition of cycle-routes between St Malo and Narbonne see my blog http://www.philipemorris.wordpress.com
I came back mid-June from a two week trip which covered most of the pistes cyclables on this route and have described the conditions as I experienced them. The tracks along the Canal de Garonne are wonderful - just like little roads. Those along the Canal du Midi are a lot more variable and in wet weather mostly difficult. Nevertheless they can both be ridden with any decent touring or all-terrain bike. Moreover, the Canal du Midi is by far the more interesting ride. You just have to keep your wits about you.
If you want to send any specific questions on bits of this route to philipemorris@gmail.com I'd be happy to try and answer them if I can.
Cheers
PM
For the latest on the condition of cycle-routes between St Malo and Narbonne see my blog http://www.philipemorris.wordpress.com
I came back mid-June from a two week trip which covered most of the pistes cyclables on this route and have described the conditions as I experienced them. The tracks along the Canal de Garonne are wonderful - just like little roads. Those along the Canal du Midi are a lot more variable and in wet weather mostly difficult. Nevertheless they can both be ridden with any decent touring or all-terrain bike. Moreover, the Canal du Midi is by far the more interesting ride. You just have to keep your wits about you.
If you want to send any specific questions on bits of this route to philipemorris@gmail.com I'd be happy to try and answer them if I can.
Cheers
PM
Re: st malo to narbonne
i actually did a similar route but in reverse from perpignan to st malo in June. As for the piste cyclables - the canal d'ille et rance from Dinard (the other side of the Rance river from St Malo) to Rennes is a really pleasant ride, it was a nice surprise in fact. the track actually looks worse than it is, varying from smooth dirt to very fine pebbles. i took what was essentially an audax bike with thin road tyres and i didn't have any problems.
As for Rennes to Nantes - i found this a really pretty part of France. The Brittany countryside is great, although you will find it a little hilly in places but it is up to you whether you take the smaller country roads, which comes with the danger of losing your way from time to time. Or taking the more direct D roads (I wouldn't take N or A roads, it's not the most fun when 18 wheelers are roaring past you...). I did a mixture of both heading towards La Roche sur Yon. There is a canal called the canal du Lucon which runs for about 50km which is pretty straight and a welcome break from the long roads. I wish i could give you a better route from nantes to la rochelle but to be honest, i just winged it the whole way with a map and also little maps of local piste cyclables from the tourist offices (i found this really useful). You can pick up these cycle routes if they cross your path - personally i found them very pleasant but they do sometimes take you on a sizeable detour so if you're like me and a little bit impatient when you feel you're heading in the wrong direction then you should pick and choose the ones that suit you.
Once you get to bordeaux you can pick up firsty the canal du haute gironde (i think it was called that) and that leads to the canal du midi at toulouse. this was a dream of a path - very flat and tarmacced which as you will find is a rare treat. once in toulouse you pick up the canal du midi which is more scenic and picturesque but more off-road. i managed it just about on skinny tyres but i suffered a few casualties along the way (broken pannier racks, punctures etc.)
i found it manageable although i did get funny looks from the 'experienced' french canal du midiistes. there are decent roads that follow the canal more or less so whenever you find it a bit too bumpy because of roots and stones then just find the road and skip that small section. again, get a map of the canal from the tourist office.
i hope that is of any help. i absolutely loved it and i'm sure you will too. and yes i am very jealous! Good luck mate
As for Rennes to Nantes - i found this a really pretty part of France. The Brittany countryside is great, although you will find it a little hilly in places but it is up to you whether you take the smaller country roads, which comes with the danger of losing your way from time to time. Or taking the more direct D roads (I wouldn't take N or A roads, it's not the most fun when 18 wheelers are roaring past you...). I did a mixture of both heading towards La Roche sur Yon. There is a canal called the canal du Lucon which runs for about 50km which is pretty straight and a welcome break from the long roads. I wish i could give you a better route from nantes to la rochelle but to be honest, i just winged it the whole way with a map and also little maps of local piste cyclables from the tourist offices (i found this really useful). You can pick up these cycle routes if they cross your path - personally i found them very pleasant but they do sometimes take you on a sizeable detour so if you're like me and a little bit impatient when you feel you're heading in the wrong direction then you should pick and choose the ones that suit you.
Once you get to bordeaux you can pick up firsty the canal du haute gironde (i think it was called that) and that leads to the canal du midi at toulouse. this was a dream of a path - very flat and tarmacced which as you will find is a rare treat. once in toulouse you pick up the canal du midi which is more scenic and picturesque but more off-road. i managed it just about on skinny tyres but i suffered a few casualties along the way (broken pannier racks, punctures etc.)
i found it manageable although i did get funny looks from the 'experienced' french canal du midiistes. there are decent roads that follow the canal more or less so whenever you find it a bit too bumpy because of roots and stones then just find the road and skip that small section. again, get a map of the canal from the tourist office.
i hope that is of any help. i absolutely loved it and i'm sure you will too. and yes i am very jealous! Good luck mate
Re: st malo to narbonne
I cycled St Malo to Beziers (not far off the route you want to take) last year via Bordeax and the Midi - The second part of my journal on CGOB
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/psmiffyontour2009
gives a bit of a idea of the my route - I did not always follow the canal - done it before and it sometimes is not that interesting or a particularly good surface to cycle on - hope the journal is of some help
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/psmiffyontour2009
gives a bit of a idea of the my route - I did not always follow the canal - done it before and it sometimes is not that interesting or a particularly good surface to cycle on - hope the journal is of some help
Re: st malo to narbonne
Hi.
just done a ten day camping trip. the blogs here: http://www.medmen.org.uk/
we haven't got detailed maps up yet, but it was hillier than I expected in the North and going down to Agen. We picked up the canal just west of agen and it was all tarmac to toulouse. Great riding. Gets bumpier later and especially past Carcassonne so we got off and onto some faster roads. I'd have ridden to Narbonne and beyond on the CDM, but a big pothole pre Carcassonne
tore a 1 inch break in mt rear wheel rim which I had to nurse to Gruissan Plage. we did 75 miles a day average which was hard work at times. How long will you take? Plenty of recommendations and avoids re campsites if you need them!
just done a ten day camping trip. the blogs here: http://www.medmen.org.uk/
we haven't got detailed maps up yet, but it was hillier than I expected in the North and going down to Agen. We picked up the canal just west of agen and it was all tarmac to toulouse. Great riding. Gets bumpier later and especially past Carcassonne so we got off and onto some faster roads. I'd have ridden to Narbonne and beyond on the CDM, but a big pothole pre Carcassonne
tore a 1 inch break in mt rear wheel rim which I had to nurse to Gruissan Plage. we did 75 miles a day average which was hard work at times. How long will you take? Plenty of recommendations and avoids re campsites if you need them!
Re: st malo to narbonne
For me, crossing the Rance on the Ferry at St Malo would be to miss out on one of the most stunningly beautiful parts of the entire ride. The views of the esturary you get seem to me to be far better than riding along a section of disused railway track. However, I've never done it, so I can't comment about it. I can say that leaving St Malo via the D201 and then minor roads to St Jouan de Guerets and St Suliac is very sensible and scenic. It always takes us ages because we've taken the same photos every time.
On our first tour we crossed the Rance at Pont St Hubert and joined the cycle path along the Rance. This year we followed minor roads that ran parallel to the N137, which was hiller and straighter and got us well beyond Rennes on the first night.
Rennes to Nantes is hilly. The path on the Vilaine is flat and can be accessed virtually from the centre of Rennes, but the surface is rough in places, especially north of Pont Rean. On last year's tour we turned off at Beslé and took the D16 through Guemené Penfao, Blain, Fay, Temple and St Etienne de Montluc to Coueron and the ferry to Le Pelerin.
On our first tour we crossed the Rance at Pont St Hubert and joined the cycle path along the Rance. This year we followed minor roads that ran parallel to the N137, which was hiller and straighter and got us well beyond Rennes on the first night.
Rennes to Nantes is hilly. The path on the Vilaine is flat and can be accessed virtually from the centre of Rennes, but the surface is rough in places, especially north of Pont Rean. On last year's tour we turned off at Beslé and took the D16 through Guemené Penfao, Blain, Fay, Temple and St Etienne de Montluc to Coueron and the ferry to Le Pelerin.