Published by Lyn on 3 June 2014
If you're anywhere near the western fringes of the Dordogne on June 14-15, 2014 then you might want to check out the annual family bike weekend in Pays de Montaigne, approximately halfway between Bordeaux and Bergerac.
There'll be a lot going on (the programme is here in French), including a kids' bike day and an open-air screening of Jour de Fête on the Saturday in the villlage of Bonneville. The film starts at 9pm, but there will be bikey things going on from 4.30pm and a market and outdoor restaurant from 6pm.
On the Sunday there's a family day at Lac de Gurson, with a peloton of family and leisure cyclists leaving Porte de Fer near the river at Castillon la Bataille (25km to the lac) at 9.30am. There will be pickup points for riders at Montcaret at 10.15am (16km to the lac), Saint Michel de Montaigne at 11.15am, and Montpeyroux at 12.30 (with a surprise there for mini-cyclists - mine is very excited about the whole thing). From there, it's just 4km to the lac. Anyone can join the ride at any point.
The route follows part of the Lawrence of Arabia bike route that we feature here.
A shuttle bus will operate from the lac to bring riders and bikes back (or you can, of course, ride back).
Dordogne bike hire
If you need a bike for the weekend, see our Aquitaine bike rental page. For services that will deliver to you, see our bike hire delivery page.
Accommodation for the weekend
You can find a few cycle-friendly accommodation options near the bike festival by searching the Aquitaine listings in our Where to stay section or browsing the map below. In particular, see La Grosse Forge, which is in the middle of the action at Bonneville, and Le Grand Chemin B&B , which is on the Sunday bike route in Montcaret. Alternatively, you coud always hire your own campervan – complete with bikes – for the weekend.
