Riding options between Bordeaux and Clermont-Ferrand

Next week I’ll be travelling with work between these cities and have the time and option to do a bit of riding (taking my bike). I don’t really have the option to deviate too much from this corridor (yes I know the alps are better etc etc).

I’ve looked at Trailforks and there looks to be a bit of stuff around Mont Dore, A bit NNE of Limoge, but thats about it. I’m currently thinking its not worth the hassle….

Does anyone have any experience of this area? Any areas worth exploring?

Thanks

Sorry this probably isn’t what you’re looking for, but when we drove past Bordeaux a few weeks ago, I thought a day pootling around the vineyards and sampling the wine might make for a brilliant trip.

Actually looking at a map – aren’t there gorges in Perigueux? Might mean there are some nice climbs in and around there?

Lots of pretty hilltop villages like Rocamadour and Eze would make a nice road tour.

Just a little off route is a town called Argentat which is quite nice and has quite a few marked trails https://www.correzerando.com/Velo/VTT/Bases-VTT-et-cyclo/(fiche)/base-vtt-xaintrie-val-dordogne-155003383-3db4ab8

Loads of stuff on outdoor active in the Correze https://www.outdooractive.com/fr/route/vtt/correze/la-correzienne-vtt/801312519/#caml=5eg,8dep0,7hvkmz,0,0

Thanks for the leads here – This is the area I will be mainly based so I’ll dig into these sites you’ve shared.

Cheers!

Clermont Ferrand is in the middle of the Massif Central, there should be loads of trails – there are a few small ski resorts nearby – no personal experience as only road ridden there

Superbesse bike park for a day and Les angles bike parks are fine for a day at each and are an hour or so from clement ferrand. Assuming this is your kind of riding. We rode there last week on  trail bikes

Superbesse bike park for a day and Les angles Le Lioran bike parks are fine for a day at each

Fixed for you. You been overdosing on bike parks across southern France recently @chrismac ?

I just had a Google and discovered that both Super Besse and Le Lioran are running the lifts 7/7 until the 15th.

@oceider

Guilty. We just got back from a 2 week road trip on the French side of the Pyrenees. We preferred Les angles to le lioran but just personal preference. Lioran has 1 blue, 1 red and 1 black and the black was too much for us. The enduro trails off the other life are very steep, as in golfie on steroids. Bagneres du lunching was our favourite. So many unmarked trails in the woods to try and hope didn’t get too much for us.

Clermont Ferrand is in the middle of the Massif Central, there should be loads of trails – there are a few small ski resorts nearby – no personal experience as only road ridden there

Yes, there are, I spent a week as part of a group riding all around that area, stopping in gîtes every night. There’s loads of trails around there, most of the roads we rode were incredibly well surfaced and with very little traffic as well. I can’t remember specifics now, it was back in 1997, literally during the whole Princess Diana thing, so we were pretty much isolated from all the hysteria surrounding it.

I remember we started off in Clairmont-Ferrand , and Orcines and Puy de Dôme were part of the route. Some of the trails required some significant scrambling up steep climbs hauling ourselves up by holding onto trees, while dragging our bikes up with us, but the majority was riding off-road through a lot of stunning scenery. I think I took my Cannondale M800 Beast-of-the-East, which had a pair of original orange Bombers fitted, which it absolutely owned! Had a set of early Hope discs on as well.
Somewhere I’ve got some photos, but they’re prints, taken with a very basic point’n’shoot plastic camera, and I’ve no idea where they are now. I don’t think you’ll struggle to find a lot of good riding on the GR routes.

Sorry for the thread hijack

@chrismac a word to the wise. Next time you’re in that part of the world and planning to ride the bikepark at Les Angles, sack it off, keep driving 45 minutes and go to La Molina instead. You won’t regret it.