Vélostevie

Le Canal des Deux Mers à Vélo day 10 - Heading home

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

To get myself back home, I had myself booked on an early train from Béziers to Paris. I aimed to get to Paris early so that I could explore and then enjoy good food in the evening. The following day, I would be getting the Eurostar back to the UK.

Le Canal des Deux Mers à Vélo day 9 - 46 km from Gruissan to Béziers

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The final leg of the trip. I took my time in the morning, and paid a visit to the pink salt ponds at Gruissan before making my way along the cost for most of the route back to Béziers where I was planning to catch a train back to Paris.

Le Canal des Deux Mers à Vélo day 8 - 19 km from Narbonne to Gruissan

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

When I was planning the route, I was in the mood to get from Narbonne to the coast as quickly as possible and follow the coast to Béziers. In my research I discovered that the move Betty Blue (37.2 degrés le matin) had been filmed at Gruissan. I remembered the seemingly idyllic setting on the beach with wooden houses on stilts and decided that I should stay there.

Le Canal des Deux Mers à Vélo day 7 - 69 km from Carcassonne to Narbonne

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This stage followed the canal initially, but instead of staying on the canal through to Béziers, it is a detour into the hills and vineyards approaching Narbonne. I had been told that Narbonne is a beautiful city to visit, so I had planned to get myself there and have a day to explore.

Le Canal des Deux Mers à Vélo day 6 - 41 km from Castelnaudary to Carcassonne

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

If you’re following the Canal des Deux Mers, then an essential stop is the City of Carcassonne and its spectacular fortified city. There is such a lot to see up there that you really should keep a day set aside to take your time and explore.

Le Canal des Deux Mers à Vélo day 5 - 65 km from Toulouse to Castelnaudary

Sat, 06 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The stretch of canal from Toulouse to Castelnaudary was a bit more exposed than more of the journey so far. I had been warned that there had been some disease in the poplar trees along this section and that a lot had been cut down to prevent spread of the disease. The surface was also a little bit rougher, but I was riding a gravel bike with reasonably fat tyres, so it was comfortable enough.

Le Canal des Deux Mers à Vélo day 4 - 62 km from Castelsarasin to Toulouse

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What a start to the day at Peniche GEMJO. I woke to find a table all to myself set on the deck. It was raining, but the deck was covered, so I enjoyed breakfast listening to the sound of rain falling on the canopy and watching it splash across the canal.

Le Canal des Deux Mers à Vélo day 1 - 74 km from Bordeaux to Langon

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

After enjoying a day exploring Bordeaux, this was a gentle start to the route. Crossing the river, the route doesn’t follow the river or canals. Instead, it follows the Piste Cyclable Roger Lapebie. This greenway was a railway track at some point in its past.

Le Canal des Deux Mers à Vélo day 2 - 80km from Langon to Sérignac-sur-Garonne

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

An essential stop on this leg was to visit the 12th century church of Saint Vincent in Le Mas d’Agenais. It is famed as the home of Rembrandt’s oil painting of a tormented Christ on the Cross.

Le Canal des Deux Mers à Vélo day 3 - 64km from Sérignac-sur-Garonne to Castelsarasin

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Today’s included a stop at the beautiful abbey at Moissac. It’s important to go around to the back of the church and go inside the cloisters; they’re gorgeous.

La Loire à Vélo day 14 - 63km from Nantes to St-Nazaire then train to Paris

Sat, 31 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Loire à Vélo route officially finishes at the coast, either at Saint Brevin les Pins or Saint Nazaire. In the time constraints I had, I didn’t have time to cycle that and return to Nantes for my train to Paris. But I did have time to get a train from Nantes to Saint Nazaire and back again with a couple of hours to have a look around.

La Loire à Vélo day 13 - 56km from Montjean-sur-Loire to Nantes

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Today was 56 km from the farmhouse B&B on Île de Chalonnes to Nantes. However, my knee was painful from the start. For a little way after passing Mauges-sur-Loire, there’s a fun stretch of river with regular art installations next to the cycle path. These seemed a regular occurrence until I pulled into the town of Ancenis after about 30 km.

La Loire à Vélo day 12 - 58km from La Daguenière to Île de Chalonnes

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Today is a reasonably long 58km ride from the wonderful chambre d’hôte (B&B) at La Daguenière to Île de Chalonnes, an island close to Montjean-sur-Loire. At breakfast this morning my hosts recommended that I start with a detour to nearby Brissac which has the tallest château in the Loire. I think it took less than an hour to get there and it was a nice stop. I was able to find a nice café in the town centre and ate a nice crépe from a vendor in the market.

La Loire à Vélo day 11 - 43km from Saumur to La Daguenière

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Today was significantly more riding than planned! I had planned to stay in La Daguennière, but I ended up finding a B&B on the opposite side of the river near Blaison St Sulpice. Unfortunately, I missed a turning, which led to me riding all the way to Les Ponts de Cé, and then back to La Daguennière. And no - I didn’t realise that I wasn’t supposed to finish at La Daguennière until I got there and tried to find my accommodation.

La Loire à Vélo day 10 - 43km from Rigny-Ussé to Saumur

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Today was a particularly pretty stretch of the Loire, starting the river and church at Candes Saint Martin, then Monsoureau.

La Loire à Vélo day 9 - 43km from Tours to Rigny-Ussé

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Today was a day of magical images. I passed through fields full of sunflowers, and spotted that there seems to be a trend for picking out some of the seeds to make faces on many of the flower heads that are close to the path. It really is quite effective and a bit spooky!

La Loire à Vélo day 8 - 27km from Amboise to Tours

Sun, 25 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

After breakfast in the luxurious dining room of the Logis Hôtel la Brèche,

I made my way to the Château du Clos Lucé, the last residence of Leonardo da Vinci. The château is located just a short distance from the town center. The interior of the château has a mix of rooms furnished as lived in by the residents of the time, combined with rooms that are more like artist studios and workshops, containing a number of his inventions. The gardens are also filled with sculptures and models of da Vinci’s inventions.

La Loire à Vélo day 7 - 43km from Blois to Amboise

Sat, 24 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Candé-sur-Beuvron is a small town about 10km from Blois. As you approach the town, there is a pretty alley under the trees and to the right is a boulangerie/patisserie. It seems to be a popular spot for cyclists looking to have a short break and a treat. I stopped to get a religieuse and sat outside to eat it and watch the world go by.

La Loire à Vélo day 6 - 63 km from Orléans to Blois

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Today’s ride was planned to be around 63 km, but ended up somewhat longer to a detour to Chambord. However, of all the châteaux of the Loire, Chambord stands out as one of the most famous for its incredible architecture. It really isn’t an optional detour – you must do it.

La Loire à Vélo day 5 - 23km from Jargeau to Orléans

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Day 5 would be a relatively short ride of about 23 km from Jargeau to the city of Orléans. I could easily have ridden further but Orléans is a must-visit city for me.

La Loire à Vélo day 4 - 30km from Sully-sur-Loire to Jargeau

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Once again, the included breakfast was bread, pastries, yoghurt, juice, and coffee. I was looking forward to a relatively easy 30 km of riding.

La Loire à Vélo day 3 - 41km from Ousson-sur-Loire to Sully-sur-Loire

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I began the day with a breakfast which included some wonderfully fresh pain au chocolat. During breakfast, I got chatting to a French couple in their seventies who were also cycling the Loire. They explained that they had e-bikes, which is a great way to be able to stay active and do holidays like this when the body might struggle to keep up with the demands.

La Loire à Vélo day 2 - 60 km from Pouilly-sur-Loire to Ousson-sur-Loire

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Day two of my La Loire à Vélo itinerary took me 60 km from Pouilly-sur-Loire to Ousson-sur-Loire with stops in Sancerre and Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire.

La Loire à Vélo day 1 - 58km from Nevers to Pouilly-sur-Loire

Sun, 18 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Today was the first day of my La Loire à Vélo itinerary, taking me 60km from Neversto Pouilly-sur-Loire. The day would take me past Cuffy, Bec d’Alier, and include a stop at La Charité-sur-Loire to have a look around the bookshops.

La Loire à Vélo day 0 - Stoke-on-Trent to Nevers

Sat, 17 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I live in Staffordshire, so getting to Nevers was a bit of a mission. The Eurostar doesn’t accept bicycles except in bags, so it wasn’t an option for me on this occasion. Therefore, I planned the route to get trains to Dover on Saturday, take a ferry across the Channel, a train from Calais to Paris, then a train from Paris to Nevers.