Riding routes in Southern Spain/France. Do YOU know any??

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dgasmd
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by dgasmd

I am planning a trip with the family to Southern Spain and Souther France in Sept. I want to take my bike and ride everyday there. I figured if I am out by 6 AM or so, I can get in 3-4 hours of good riding before I have to be back with the wife and kids to do the rest of the day as a family. I would be going solo on my rides. We don't have plans on specific locations yet, but I am very open.

I am posting here because there is so many europeans in this site. Please give me links to any routes you may have already drawn in south spain or south france.

Thanks!

Irish
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by Irish

What part of Southern Spain/Southern France?

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dgasmd
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by dgasmd

Anywhere from Valencia, Spain to Nice/San Remo

Aardvark
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by Aardvark

I love the area around Girona (between Barcelona and France). Lots of variety, nice laidback lifestyle. :)
shut up and ride

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legs 11
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by legs 11

In the SW of France, the area around Toulouse eastwards is great, I just got back and it was stunning no traffic and really cool atmosphere, be warned though as the locals expect visitors to eat huge quantities of local produce!....LOL
The Tarn valley and south towards the coast were my favourites. :wink:
I also love the old road north in the rhone valley towards Valence and Lyon, a bit busy but great for long distance rides.
Seriously, there is probably thousands of great rides in the enourmous area that you explained, just thousands. :)
Pedalling Law Student.

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dgasmd
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by dgasmd

legs 11 wrote:Seriously, there is probably thousands of great rides in the enourmous area that you explained, just thousands. :)


Great, so start posting some routes to ride on already! :wink: :wink: :wink:

I guess what I am trying to avoid is getting there and spending hours looking at a map and driving around trying to find a good 30, 40, 50 miler. I know the entire area is nice, and I d appreciate the comments, but more than anything what I need is specific routes to take.

c50jim
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by c50jim

In France, there are so many good roads that you can just take out your map and set out your own route based on time available. Just avoid the N roads since they tend to be pretty busy. I was east of Toulouse at Limoux for a week three years ago and we basically just rode in all directions. Farther south the terrain was hillier but there were some hills on all routes. I also rode around Villeneuve sur Lot (about half way between Toulouse and Bordeaux) a few years ago and found the same thing - good riding in almost all directions.

I'd suggest you pick some spots where the family can have some fun, make copies of the Michelin maps of the areas (I just stick the starting point in a corner and copy the map in sections so I can use a different page on different days) and ride. Roads highlighted in green are supposedly more scenic but lots of others are good too. Hills are denoted by chevrons on the route - more chevrons equals steeper. If you miss a turn, don't stress, just take the next road going in the general direction of your destination.

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Ghastly
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by Ghastly

go to www.afstandmeten.nl and search for the route called "saint aygulf 1".

I'm staying there end of march and made some routes in advance, based on some teammates experiences, these should be great!

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dgasmd
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by dgasmd

Ghastly wrote:go to www.afstandmeten.nl and search for the route called "saint aygulf 1".

I'm staying there end of march and made some routes in advance, based on some teammates experiences, these should be great!


I tried that and it does not show any marked routes. Am I missing something?

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Ghastly
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by Ghastly

sorry, it's in dutch:
www.afstandmeten.nl
then click: "routes zoeken (tabel)
then type: "aygulf" in the 5th box
click the first route (by me, Brett Wauters)

You get a route that's 57km long, but that's easy to make bigger...

ThasFACE
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by ThasFACE

c50jim wrote:Villeneuve sur Lot (about half way between Toulouse and Bordeaux)


Lived there for a summer and can confirm that the cycling is solid. I cannot remember specific routes, but you should do just fine by jumping on any random road and riding.

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dgasmd
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by dgasmd

Ghastly wrote:sorry, it's in dutch:
www.afstandmeten.nl
then click: "routes zoeken (tabel)
then type: "aygulf" in the 5th box
click the first route (by me, Brett Wauters)

You get a route that's 57km long, but that's easy to make bigger...


Thanks. Saw it. It gives me some ideas of what to look for.

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swinter
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by swinter

Aardvark wrote:I love the area around Girona (between Barcelona and France). Lots of variety, nice laidback lifestyle. :)


spainardclimber sent me some maps and instructions of routes near Girona. If you PM or email me, I'd be happy to forward them.

you'll see lots of cyclists and not a few pros as well on these routes.
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dgasmd
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by dgasmd

swinter wrote:
Aardvark wrote:I love the area around Girona (between Barcelona and France). Lots of variety, nice laidback lifestyle. :)


spainardclimber sent me some maps and instructions of routes near Girona. If you PM or email me, I'd be happy to forward them.

you'll see lots of cyclists and not a few pros as well on these routes.


pm sent

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