Idle musings of a possible holiday next year, cycle touring along the Canal Du Midi. The idea of beautiful scenery and copious cheap wine is strangely appealing 🙂

There’s loads of info online, but are there any STW forumites with real-world experience they’d like to share?

*Bookmarks as just been talking about doing the same….*

Are you my wife?

Stayed on a friends barge on the Midi when I was 16. All I can remember is the heat, and the 1664 and the wild horses.

Not much help but ’tis a beautiful place.

Parts are probably nice but we have always been out off by multiple days of riding…along well…a canal. Water on the left. Fields to the right etc….you’re stuck on a linear feature.

there’s a certain topographical inevitability to it.

I think Loire would have more options to explore away from the water course.
http://www.cycling-loire.com/

or Burgundy
http://www.burgundy-by-bike.com/

I know a few people who have and they all say to give it a miss after Castelnaudry, as the path surface deteriorates badly. Also to break up the journey with some road sections through the villages.

There are sections that are lumpy due to root grave. M. Le Mairie will sometimes close sections for tree work and not put in signed diversions. Take a good map and be prepared to ride on some roads. Olonzac is a better stop than Homps but 5km from the canal.

Good point Stoner. Had a good 3 day trip to visit some of the Loire Chateuax with the kids. We only did one afternooon along the river itself. Lots of off road though so don’t turn up to go touring with road only tyres.

Another place that might appeal is the Atlantic. We toured, again with the children (it”s what our summer holidays have been for 6 years now!) along Euro-velo 1 from Bassin d’Archachon, down past the dunes de Pilat to Biarritz. Lots of cool surf beaches. Mostly away from roads and mostly prisitne ribbons of tarmac wiggling through the forests and dunes…again you are following a linear feature (the coast). Between the north of Bayonne and Biarritz it was a lot more complicated , and lots more on road etc. Beyond Biaritz to the border I am led to believe it is just road.

Done various sections of it on a long tour. It’s lovely, but can be very windy even in summer. We rode east to west and had a horrendous headwind. Something to think about.

Anybody mentioned the wind yet? Cassoulet does things to your body

We rode east to west and had a horrendous headwind.

We rode the other way and had a headwind!

I also rode part of it in the road but only got as far as Carcassonne and then hopped on the train. Just wasn’t fun.

The canal bit was lovely though, I just set myself a ludicrous time limit which didn’t work.

Don’t forget that french ride on the right, I crashed head on into someone shouting “droit! droit!” Luckily we didn’t end up in the water. My fault completely, he wasn’t a happy lapin.

Not sure if he’s ridden your one but it’s still very interesting.
https://m.facebook.com/fatbiketoOz/

Researched it a lot.

As I understand it the general problems as mentioned are the wind at certain time of year and even the official route is change randomly and without notice

I suspect a general map of the area is useful and still hope to do it one day

There are many youtube videos to get you in the mood