Bordeaux to Toulouse (mostly) By Bike
Poking Around Bordeaux
Dianne and I aren't actually very good tourists. We tend not to spend a lot of time in big cities and aren't too fussed if we miss seeing "the big attractions", so our two main goals on the one day we'd allowed ourselves in Bordeaux was to make sure we sorted out the easiest way to exit the city the following day and to meet up with our friends Michel and Brigitte at the train station when they arrived.
We were quite excited about travelling with them at a leisurely pace by bike back to Toulouse. We'd dropped in on them three times in the past month and a half where they'd been wonderful hosts and we were really looking forward to finishing our cycling adventures with them by our sides.
We did take a few random photos of places we thought were interesting, which might seem a bit odd but, hey, that's us!
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| If you look closely, you'll see that this grand old building is fenced off and apparently unused |
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| Another large building in the city not in use: could be a great apartment complex and what an entryway! |
After Brigitte and Michel arrived, we wandered along to their hotel with them, finding it in Rue d'Ateliers (street of workshops) close to the train station where a feature has been made of these old tanks for the trains ...
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| Michel and Brigitte's hotel was in an interesting precinct near the station |
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| Railway tracks leading into the Bordeaux station from the north from the bridge in the next photo ... |
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| Check out this wonderful bridge with its provision for safe cycling and walking |
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| A mural in a bike/motorcycle parking area under the bridge above After leaving Michel and Brigitte at their hotel we headed back to our own accommodation before meeting later for dinner in anticipation of our departure the next morning. |
Day 1: Bordeaux to Sauveterre-de-Guyenne
We left Bordeaux under cloudy skies, crossing to the eastern side of the Garonne and then following it until we picked up the Vélo Route Roger Lapébie. Here's the route and cross-section for the day's ride:
When we got to our meeting spot with Michel and Brigitte they were already there waiting ...
Our scouting the day before proved useful and we were soon away from the city, riding along the Garonne. Although not yet on the vélo route, we were on a discreet section of road set aside for cyclists and walkers:
It was really nice though once we were out in the countryside riding on this terrific bike path that would take us all the way to our day's destination ...
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| We pause to celebrate joining the Roger Lapébie vélo verte |
It was great fun to be rolling along with Michel and Brigitte ...
... but after only about 20 kilometres Di had a rail break on her saddle ...
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| I really don't think Dianne had put on enough weight to make this happen! |
Thanks to Google, Michel discovered that there was a bike shop in Créon about 10 kilometres ahead but it was about to close for lunch, so we went into the town square and found a great place to eat while we waited for the bike shop to reopen ...
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| A very nice lunch in Créon on our first day of riding together |
Lunch finished, we headed back to the bike shop to select a replacement saddle and have it fitted. Here we are back on the bike path. Di couldn't be bothered at this stage repacking her seatpost bag, so she continued carrying a pack for the rest of the day ...
Although a lot of eateries were closed, this food van was still operating alongside the vélo route ...
In case all of us riding along the bike path hadn't noticed that we were in wine country this made sure that everyone was tuned in ...
This old abandoned building looked like it would still provide good solid accommodation for someone in need of a place to live ...
Riding along through vineyards for kilometre after kilometre was very pleasant. No doubt the local vintners found the information generated by this weather station very useful ...
The rest of our day passed without incident and we were soon at our hotel in Sauveterre-de-Guyenne. Here's a photo of Brigitte enjoying a little rest before we settled into our rooms ...
Before dinner we had a short stroll into the town square where the church was located ...
It made me rather sad to see that there didn't seem to be enough pride or money about to keep small aspects of the church - like this beautiful window - in good repair ...
Like many towns of about this size - which were often bastides - the central square had covered walkways on the ground floor of the buildings surrounding it ...
Our meal a the Guyenne Hotel was sizeable and nutritious: perfect for four hungry cyclists and then it was off to our rooms to get ready for another day.
Day 2: Sauveterre-de-Guyenne to Le Mas d'Agenais
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| Through a few small hills then on to the bike path alongside the Canal Latéral de Garonne |
We were greeted by a glorious morning on day 2 of our traverse from Bordeaux to Toulouse. Here's an early shot looking across grape vines alongside our route ...
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| Grape vines as far as the eye can see ... |
... and another of Brigitte and Dianne rolling along a quiet road, with Michel not quite hidden behind Di ...
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| Rolling along in morning sun |
I was quite interested in the juxtaposition of one type of harvest on one side of the road and grapes waiting to be picked on the other ...
Just a little further down the road I was transported by the soft morning light and had to stop and take another random shot across vineyards ...
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| What a beautiful morning! |
Just as the pick-up truck is the go-to automobile for trades people or those living on the land in North America, utility vehicles aka "utes" are popular with tradies in Australia. Apparently the vehicle below is the favoured means of transporting tools and other necessities for workers in France, including people who labour in vineyards ...
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| France's version of a utility vehicle |
It was just after this that Di had two successive punctures. After the second one I had a much closer look at her tyre and saw that it was in pretty bad shape, with a particularly ragged little hole in one spot - which perhaps dated back to some pretty sharp gravel strewn across a steep unintended descent at Saint-Cirq Lapopie on the day we rode to Sarlat along the River Lot. I used a tyre boot to try to protect the tube underneath this time and it seemed to do the job for the time being. (I had brought a spare with us to France but opted not to bring it on the bikepacking part of our trip in order to save weight and make packing easier!)
By this time Michel and Brigitte were well ahead of us, which was fine. We passed this statue ...
... before eventually catching up with them.
And then it was back to the Canal Latéral de la Garonne, where Dianne and I had ridden a couple of days earlier and this old mill that has been beautifully maintained ...
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| A lovely old mill building dating back to 1860 |
We had some fun riding past a yacht with its mast lowered so it could go under the many bridges along the canal which was going in the same direction as us, and paused for a few laughs ...
When we left the canal briefly and passed a house that, in contrast to the mill above that had been maintained so well, I felt I needed to stop and take a photo. It wasn't in bad shape and with a bit of love could still serve a useful purpose with a bit of loving attention ...
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| I wonder what this place was when it was first built ... |
Back along the canal there was more stuff happening that I thought was worth recording with the GoPro ...
By this time we were starting to get a bit hungry and went looking for something to eat. Google had told us that a café was open just off the canal but when we arrived it was closed so we back-tracked to the little town of Pont des Sables to check out another place that was supposed to be open only to find it too was closed. Eventually, further up the road into town we found quite a good little eatery to satisfy our appetites:
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| To and fro to find a feed |
Back on track, we were closing in on our destination for the night but I continued to be entertained by the variety of craft, often contrasting not only in size and style but also how well - or not - that they were being maintained. Here are a couple of boats that hadn't been getting the same level of care and attention as the two we passed by in the previous videos ...
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| Two less well-looked-after boats |
The other thing that I found really interesting about riding alongside the canal was how vigorously things seemed to grow. More often than not plane trees lined the waterway, and more often than not they were draped in ivy. Here's a close-up of some ivy that has almost completely enveloped the trunk of a tree ...
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| Ivy seems to grow on every vertical surface along the canal |
The place Di had booked for our night's accommodation was a handful of kilometres past the town of Le Mas d'Agenais out in the country and we needed to stock up on food for dinner and breakfast. We rode up into the town's main square ...
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| Michel and I look on our phones for a grocery store that is open |
... in search for an epicerie and/or other shops where we might be able to buy the necessaries but nothing was open. As you can see in the photo above, by this time a bit of rain had started to fall, but it was still warm. We did manage to find a small supermarket with the lovely name "Coccinelle Express" which was in the direction of our accommodation.
Shopping done, we got back on our bikes and rode the short distance to Écolieu du Turc (which translates to "the Turk's place") where my bike took its rest ...
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| An old grindstone provides support for my weary steed |
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| A gorgeous machine, which I won't be using much longer - but that's another story ... |
Our accommodation was an absolute delight as were the proprietors who met us upon arrival. If you ever happen to spend some time touring around the countryside east of Bordeaux, all four of us would highly recommend at stay at Écolieu du Turc, which even has an impressive swimming pool - not used by us because a shower, a glass of wine and dinner beckoned. (Brigitte thinks this would be an excellent place to bring her grandchildren for a little getaway, as it's only about an hour and a half by car from her place in Tournefeuille.
Day 3: Le Mas d'Agenais to Castelculier
The quickest way to the canal and across to the bike path was to ride back towards Le Mas d'Agenais for a little way and then down ...
The night had been punctuated by quite dramatic thunderstorms and we set off on wet roads. Although it wasn't raining the forecast promised more heavy showers as the day progressed. Down by the canal where there wasn't as much evaporation the bike path was quite wet ...
It seems that relatively large yachts with readily dismountable masts are quite popular amongst those who can afford them even if they aren't always very well looked after ...
Michel and Brigitte opted to start the day in regular kit but with a light early shower they decided to stop and put on their rain jackets ...
It was very pretty riding alongside the river, even in the muted light due to heavy cloud cover ...
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| Light rain falling but not enough for me to want my jacket |
... but Brigitte was more than happy to keep hers on even when the light brightened ...
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| Brigitte keeping cosy in her raincoat |
As we rode along the canal this day, we kept encountering a Dutch lady who was on a bike tour from the Netherlands through to the Mediterranean. Dianne and I would stop to take photos and wait for Brigitte and Michel; she would pass us and then we'd pass her again a little further along the way. Here's a short video of Dianne and her having a bit of a chat ...
Meanwhile, Michel and Brigitte had been close to a bridge over the canal when the storm hit, and they took shelter under it for quite a while before emerging. Whilst they were there Michel googled a famous cycling cafe he knew was a few more kilometres along the canal near Agen and communicated to us how to get there. It was a little tricky to find, especially in the rain which was still falling fairly heavily ...
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| I'm an agnostic, however if I wasn't this stop would classify as a godsend |
... but once there it proved to be the highlight of the day by some margin. Michel and Brigitte arrived a short time after we did and once reassembled we spent a considerable period having lunch and drying out. Here are some photos from our stop ...
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| Touring by tandem |
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| A cyclist's lampshade? |
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| With the initials "DB" on the bottle I had to get a photo of this beer |
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| Cycle clock (it's not that late though) |
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| Remnant fittings from when the building was operating as a water-treatment plant |
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| Brigitte and Michel deep in discussion about the weather ... |
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| Touches of cycling culture inserted all over the place |
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| Cook and waiter, this lady was doing an amazing job of running the cafe |
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| A beautiful machine from days gone by |
Michel and I made a little detour into Agen in a vain attempt to find a replacement for Di's tattered rear tyre then rejoined Brigitte and Di at our accommodation. Thankfully the owner of the property had turned the heating on for us so it was cosy when we arrived. We all immediately set to getting out of our wet cycling clothes and hanging stuff up to dry ...
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| This sculpture on the wall was most probably there to appeal to cyclists searching for accommodation |
... and get showered and into some warm, dry clothing. Eventually the rain stopped and I went out for a poke around. I didn't find anywhere to eat that appealed and we had the makings for sandwiches so I headed back to our accommodation. On the way I stopped to take a picture of the town's mairie which was quite an attractive building ...
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| Castelculier Mairie |
Later that evening it started raining again, and quite heavily at that. We'd been keeping an eye on the forecast and it looked quite disappointing for the day ahead, with heavy rain likely for seventy kilometres all the way to Bessens where we'd planned to spend the night ... and more rain the next day into Toulouse. We had a long discussion about the pros and cons of continuing. Our main reason for doing the trip between Bordeaux and Toulouse with Michel and Brigitte was to spend some quality time together and have loads of fun along the way. That didn't look like it was going to happen so we made an alternative plan ...
Day 4Two short Rides connected by a Train TripFollowed by a Fun Evening
Sure enough, we woke to quite steady rain: if not heavy as such. The forecast was still for rain all day and it didn't let up while we were getting ready so we decided to follow the plan we had laid out the night before, which was to ride back to the train station in Agen. We got ready ...
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| Brigitte and Michel ready for the rain that's falling outside |
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| Okay ... let's do this! |
... then rode the short distance to the train station ...
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| Only nine kilometres in the rain as opposed to seventy! |
... then had a coffee while we waited for the train which would take us to Gare Matabiau in Toulouse ...
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| A comfortable ride of about 120 kilometres out of the rain! |
It was still raining when we arrived in Toulouse, but only lightly and the short ride to Brigitte's place in Tournefeuille was actually quite pleasant ...
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| Fifteen kilometres from Gare Matabiau to Chez Brigitte |
We redeemed the day by having a meal at Tonneres de Brest, Michel and Brigitte's favourite creperie, where they are regular visitors ...
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| The classic "complet" galette: blé noir, oeuf, jambon et fromage |
While we were disappointed that the weather didn't put on its best face for our cycling trip, it did mean that we got to spend a bit more quality time with our Toulousaine friends at home and we got to listen to Michel play flute more than we might have otherwise. Despite not having picked one up for about six months he hadn't lost his touch, and we were treated to two songs on two different instruments ...
We had another couple of days with the two of them before Dianne and I set off with Michel to walk the second half of the Sentier Cathare over six days, which would bring to an end our 2024 French sojourn. I'll do a blog post to wrap things up in due course ... but it might not be for a while as we've got a busy few weeks ahead.
