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I am off to cycle St Malo to Nice in 4 weeks time and have 2 weeks to do the trip. I have planned the route out and I just wanted to ask if anyone has done it and would they stick with the planned route. Reason I ask is that having looked at the route it doesn't seem to follow marked cycle routes and I'd love to have some off road gravel sections added in if that is possible.
My friend Hannah wrote this
http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/the-ultimate-route-across-france-161031
Good book.
That is the route I have planned, but it is all road and I was hoping to get some gravel type trails in as well.
search for voies vertes , they are mix of road and gravel .
I wouldn't go across. I'd go around. ie. St Malo to Biarritz following the coast roads, over the Pyrenees to the quiet end of the South of France and coast roads up to Nice.
I've no idea what a gravel type trail is. sorry.
The route in the map in that article is broadly the one I'd take: it goes through many of the best bits of French cycling. The Med coast takes you through a lot of guff to be honest. If I were you, and wanted to slip some gravel into the route, I'd get hold of some IGN 1:100k maps covering your route and look for suitable diversions (and check the Voies Vertes and Eurovelo websites, too). Though, if you're not already aware, rural road cycling in France is much more pleasant than road cycling in the UK.
A friend and I rode it in 6 days. Travelled ultra light, wild camped and arrived in nice in the same clothes we left st malo in.
Its superb.
We did make a few changes and there are a couple of places I would bypass but generally it was wonderful.
Cycling in continental Europe (and funnily enough, Wales) are two of the only things that would make me move back to the uk at the moment!!
Would do it again in a heart beat but even if I could my fitness wouldn'tet me do it that quick again!!!
Enjoy. You lucky b*****d!!!!
Oh and hardly any traffic apart from major towns.
Didn't see another cyclist for nearly 300 miles!!!
I rode Caen to Draguignan last summer. Similar-ish. My experience:
I used Google Maps to plan the outline route. This will take you along quite a few gravel road/tracks for a start. e.g.:
Once I'd got to Orleans I pretty much followed the Loire cycle path, which is a bit gravelly, but more importantly car free for 100s of miles. Then over the northern Massif Central to Lyon and down the similar Rhone bike path. Then left at Orange and across Provence.
If you want to avoid traffic and not spend your day navigating the river paths are hard to beat. They're a much higher standard than the equivalent in the UK.
That look great and the type of riding I enjoy. Are the Voies Vertes routes all traffic free and maybe gravel / fire trails?
Which route did you use for the 6 day option?
The route in the book is 1,000 miles. Think I could just about do that in 6 days but not sure I'd enjoy it!