Canal du Midi
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Margaret in Australia emailed the following query. I'm posting it here with our answer in case it can help others.
Feel free to post your own advice too.
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Hi, my husband and I are interested in a ride along the canal du midi, we live in Australia and are wondering if there is anywhere in Bordeaux for hiring bikes, for say 10 days, or is there places where you can buy, and then sell at the end of the trip, we think it would be too hard to bring our own bikes by plane, for the ride.
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Hi Margaret
Your trip sounds very exciting.
The Canal du Midi doesn't technically start until Toulouse. It's about 250km from Bordeaux (mainly along the Canal Latéral à la Garonne towpath) to Toulouse.
There is a shop quite central in Bordeaux called Espirit Cycles, which is usually quite good. They have bike hire and also sometimes have second-hand bikes as well, so the buying option may be worth asking about (but I would think hiring in general will be easier/cheaper as the hire could include panniers and other kit you wouldn't need to buy for yourselves).
Their website is http://www.espritcyclesbordeaux.com/accueil/index.html
27 Rue Dr Charles Nancel Penard
33000 Bordeaux, France
+33 (0) 5 56 58 78 34
Other bike rental options include two services which deliver anywhere in SW France:
http://www.veloloco.com/bike-rental/delivery.php
http://www.francebikerentals.com
For second-hand bikes, it might also be worth searching for 'velo' at http://www.leboncoin.fr
Let me know how you get on. If you have any problems with the language or don't find what you're looking for, let me know and I'll do my best to help further.
From Bordeaux, Cycling Southern France, written by one of our contributors, Richard Peace, is a good guide and covers the Bordeaux-Toulouse route and, if you're continuing further, the route east of Toulouse. For the latter, the UK publisher Cicerone's Cycling the Canal du Midi is a good guidebook.
Online, the Gironde cycling website might help fill in a few blanks:
If you read French, there's also http://www.voiesvertes.com/
I hope that helps - let me know how you get on.
Lyn @ FF
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Hi Georoid
One of our resident experts, Richard Peace, is a freelance cycling journalist who writes for Bike Radar, among others, and is the author of Cycling Southern France (and co-author of Electric Bicycles). He has sent me this (rather detailed) reply (hopefully you're OK with making sens of the French bits - please shout if not):
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Last time I did this route was in 07-08, and my notes and book tell me the surface was pretty good. A decent description of the route all the way from Bordeaux to Sete is in the book.
The Canal du Midi is definitely more packed with historic towns and cities and exotic southern architecture - Bordeaux to Toulouse is described by me as follows in the book:
"Whilst the canal architecture may not be as spectacular as its neighbour, the canal du Midi, the greener countryside, often filled with fruit orchards and maize, is a delightful contrast to the Midi's drier surroundings. What's more it visits Bordeaux and Toulouse, two of the south's great cities. Moissac is an architectural highlight, and towns like Agen and Montauban (on a branch canal) are pleasant stop-offs with their own local charms".
I have a press release update (see below) from the French equivalent of Sustrans, af3v, whom I'm sure you know, so sounds like full signing and yet more improved surfacing will have been put in place since I did the route.
Marseilles is interesting!! I can't remember any cycle lanes, though there may have been some - I remember huge kerbs, massive roadworks for the new tramways, cars parked all over the shop etc. Fascinating place and one of my favourite French cities but I don't think it has any cycle-friendly pretensions, unless much has changed in the last 3 years.
Campsites - the big one to the north of Toulouse was fine but away from services other than those of the campsite and long slog into town. The guide mentioned below should have all the info on campsites.
From af3v:
Un guide pour randonner de Bordeaux à Toulouse sur la Voie verte du canal de Garonne (193kms ouverts)
Depuis mai 2010 la Voie Verte le long du canal de Garonne est achevée en continuité parfaite entre Castets-en-Dorthe (à 10km de Langon et 80km de Bordeaux) et Toulouse, sur 193km. C’est l’une des plus longues Voies Vertes de France ! L’Association Vélo – délégation régionale de l’AF3V- vient de ré-éditer son Guide :
Guide n°2 : « Bordeaux-Toulouse à vélo en Gironde et le long du canal de Garonne ». Edition 2010. 7 euros.
Ce guide pratique de 100 pages en couleurs regroupe des informations pour préparer une randonnée à vélo de Bordeaux à Castets-en-Dorthe puis sur le chemin de halage du canal de Garonne jusqu'à Toulouse (270km, dont 193km en Voie Verte): conseils techniques, description de l’itinéraire, des distances entre villes et écluses, accès sécurisés (sur petites routes) aux villes proches, connexions aux itinéraires proches, adresses utiles, trains transportant les vélos, points d’eau et toilettes, adresses de 274 hébergements le long des itinéraires et du canal, et 2 itinéraires pour aller de Bordeaux au début du canal (par la Voie Verte Roger Lapébie et par la rive gauche de la Garonne).
Voir le Guide ici
Guide vendu sur le site
Voir les fiches décrivant la Voie Verte du canal de Garonne sur le site de l’AF3V :
Gironde (17km):
Lot-et-Garonne (87km)
Tarn-et-Garonne (69km)
Haute-Garonne (35km)
Tarn-et-Garonne
Inauguration de la Voie Verte du canal de Garonne en Tarn-et-Garonne (65km) ce qui achève la Voie Verte sur l’ensemble du canal (193km)
Le samedi 5 Juin 2010, à Castelsarrasin, a eu lieu l’inauguration officielle de la Voie Verte du canal de Garonne, aménagée dans le Tarn-et-Garonne entre 2006 et 2010. C’est une Voie Verte de 65km entre Pompignan (limite avec la Haute-Garonne) et Lamagistère (limite avec le Lot-et-Garonne). Coût : 5,7 millions d’euros (TTC), avec des cofinancements : Conseil Général (41,8 %) , Etat (11,5%), région Midi-Pyrénées (21,7%) et Europe (FEDER 24,9%). Le revêtement est en grave émulsion lisse praticable en roller, de largeur 2,5m. Des panneaux de jalonnement des directions et distances sont posés, ainsi qu’un panneau à chaque pont indiquant le lieu, la route et la commune. Grâce à ces travaux achevés en Mai 2010 dans le Tarn-et-Garonne , la Voie Verte du canal de Garonne est maintenant continue entre Toulouse et Castets-en-Dorthe en Gironde, à 10km de Langon et 80km de Bordeaux.
Voir la fiche du site AF3V ici
Voir le nouveau Guide de l’Association Vélo pour randonner de Bordeaux à Toulouse sur 270km dont 240km de Voie Verte.
