Free route description for 500km cycling tour of mountainous south-central France

Featuring bit of the Cévennes, part of the volcanoes of the Auvergne; the departments of Lozère, Ardèche, Cantal, Lot, Aveyron, and Tarn; and the regions of Languedoc-Roussillon, Rhône-Alpes, Auvergne, and Midi-Pyrénées.

Aire de Baldy, discovered at last near Bagnac-sur-Célè. It would have been a lot easier to find if the French didn't drop their Hs. All photos © Mr Baldie. More.

This was designed for easy train access from Barcelona without having to dismantle and pack the bike - eg midweek 06:16 regional to Portbou, 09:39 TER to Nîmes, 12:56 TER to Alès, cycle 500km to Albi, 09:04/09:50 TER to Toulouse, 11:54 TER to Narbonne, 13:53 TER to Portbou, 15:59 regional to Barcelona. Altitude ranges from ca. 150m to ca. 1450, and non-brass monkeys will need to take care with winter cold on some of the higher bits. Most of the roads are small, well-engineered, and low in traffic, with often stunningly beautiful views to which the photos below completely fail to do justice. There are reasonably frequent bars and shops, and along considerable stretches there are still (infrequent) trains to help you out if you or your bike breaks down. If you can't manage it all in one day you should be able to figure out accommodation - there's plenty out of season. Here's the approximate route:

View larger map

Now here's a list of settlements visited, which should enable reconstruction if Google Maps disappears before this website or if you refuse to submit to the monster:

1. Alès
2. La Grand Combe (mine museum)
3. Portes
4. Chamborigaud
5. Génolhac
6. Concoules
7. Villefort
8. very beautiful valley (check the path on the other side) leading to Pied-de-Borne
9. steep climb to and beyond Planchamp
10. hilltop moorland and forest leading to La Bastide-Puylaurent
11. Luc
12. Langogne (brilliant centre)
13. Briges
14. Laval-Atger
15. Grandrieu (splendid little church, atmospheric restaurant (also hotel) Laures, bar Viviane, Hotel Daudet, whose amiable boss, like an extraordinary number of people, speaks excellent Spanish)
16. climb through farmland, moor and forest to Baraque des Bouviers at ca. 1400m
17. gorgeous descent (larks, red kites) thru Saint-Denis-en-Margeride (bar)
18. Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole (nice barmaid in the bar behind the apse of the beastly Romanesque church)
19. Le Malzieu-Ville
20. slow climb through lovely countryside & Saint-Léger-du-Malzieu
21. Lorcières
22. Combechalde
23. Le Pirou
24. Saint-Michel
25. Saint-Georges
26. Saint-Flour
27. Murat
28. fairly heavy (ski-)traffic up to the col (you can't go through the tunnel so have to climb a good bit more) and then very fast (50 km/h) but busy descent to Aurillac
29. Roannes-Saint-Mary (couple of excellent bars)
30. Marcolès (wannabe Disney "medieval" - don't stop)
31. splendid, quiet, hilltop road via Saint-Antoine
32. Saint-Constant
33. Le Trioulou
34. Bagnac-sur-Célè
35. main road via Viazac to
36. Figeac
37. the aiguille on the road to Villefranche
38. Tombebiau
39. Capdenac
40. Capdenac-Gare
41. Saint-Julien d'Emparé
42. up the gorgeous Diége valley
43. Pomels
44. Salles-Courbatiès
45. Saint-Igest
46. Bérals
47. Villefranche-de-Rouergue
48. Ordiget and the west bank of the river
49. Najac
50. Saint-André-de-Najac
51. Montirat
52. Mirandol
53. Carmaux
54. fairly unpleasant and dirty road to Albi.

Several alternatives:

1. If you start from Nîmes, head across country from Brignon to les Vans then follow the river (via Gravières) to Pied-de-Borne
2. From Pied-de-Borne, follow the river to La Bastide (D151) - more shade in summer, & very pretty
3. Forget Albi and from Najac head south via Laguépie to Cordes-sur-Ciel, where the Toulouse plateau begins & there's a TER to the metropolis

And here finally are some photos, most pretty bad and with some quite large gaps. I'll try to add captions this weekend:

Cerbère station	Cerbère station	Cerbère station	Cerbère station
TER to Nîmes	TER to Nîmes	TER to Nîmes	TER to Nîmes
TER to Nîmes	TER to Nîmes	TER to Nîmes	TER to Nîmes
Mining & trades museum, Grand Combe	Mining & trades museum, Grand Combe	Mining & trades museum, Grand Combe	Mining & trades museum, Grand Combe
Mining & trades museum, Grand Combe		château de Portes	château de Portes
château de Portes	château de Portes	French cock, Portes	French cock, Portes
Portes	Village called Can of Beer. Nothing on sale. Fail.	church Chamborigaud	church Chamborigaud
	Mont Lozère	Génolhac	Concoules
Concoules	Concoules	Villefort	valley to Pied-de-Borne
valley to Pied-de-Borne	valley to Pied-de-Borne	Noah's Ark, above Planchamp at ca. 1000m	Beyssac across the barranco from above Planchamp
loadsa sweet chestnuts on the terraced hillsides		view from above Planchamp towards les Vans
			Luc church with nifty staircase to belltower
Luc	Luc	micro cheese factory flushing tanks	railway bridge cross the Allier
	Langogne church - Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais	tough titty, Langogne church	Langogne church organ with bearded man trying to escape
whatsisname's convent	house in Langogne walls	Langogne, C17th chapel of the white penitents, 1793 comité de surveillance révolutionnaire
Langogne factory, old commercial hotel, station	Réservoir de Naussac	Réservoir de Naussac	Réservoir de Jaime Bond
Réservoir de Naussac		Réservoir de Naussac	Réservoir de Naussac
		nice small meltwater channel
Hotel in Laval-Atger	cross with ex votos, chapelle Saint Méen, Laval-Atger	chapelle Saint Méen, Laval-Atger	chapelle Saint Méen, Laval-Atger
chapelle Saint Méen, Laval-Atger	chapelle Saint Méen, Laval-Atger	chapelle Saint Méen, Laval-Atger	cross with ex votos, chapelle Saint Méen, Laval-Atger
ex votos, chapelle Saint Méen, Laval-Atger	chapelle Saint Méen, Laval-Atger	cross with ex votos, chapelle Saint Méen, Laval-Atger	chapelle Saint Méen, Laval-Atger
Grandrieu	Grandrieu	Saint-Paul-le-Froid	high moor
snow! there was much more, but twixt traffic and freezing hands didn't get round to photoing it	col baraque des bouviers	col baraque des bouviers
classic herringbone field irrigation		pillory/market Le Malzieu-Ville	Le Malzieu-Ville
refreshing but rare decadence @ Le Malzieu-Ville	refreshing but rare decadence @ Le Malzieu-Ville	another failed postcard shot @ Le Malzieu-Ville	screwed-up yogi/failed auto-heart surgery?
cf N Germany, but @ Le Malzieu-Ville	Le Malzieu-Ville	blue lady Le Malzieu-Ville	imprisoned beast Le Malzieu-Ville
imprisoned beast Le Malzieu-Ville	lizard knocker Le Malzieu-Ville	ex-shop window Le Malzieu-Ville	gate Le Malzieu-Ville
ceramic shop Le Malzieu-Ville	ceramic shop Le Malzieu-Ville	town walls Le Malzieu-Ville	town walls Le Malzieu-Ville
			granite fenceposts
		sign Lorcières
roadside orchids	roadside orchids	er
	le Pirou + volcanoes	roof probs le Pirou	le Pirou
le Pirou	standard 2 storey barn, le Pirou
S Michel, S Flour		S Flour lower town	S Flour upper town
squatters S Flour	ultimate insurance co
S Flour gate		S Flour view N/E
	turn of century façade S Flour	provincial press - La Montagne - Saint-Flour	50% real bells, S Flour - Murat
		sheepway	Cantal volcanoes
Murat	Murat	Murat	square Aurillac
			sheep way
greenhouse graves @ Lot	greenhouse graves @ Lot	greenhouse graves @ Lot	view back towards Cantal
	blackthorn in flower	ruined house
mission cross 1951			disco for sale, Saint-Constant
		farm, Maynard, before Bagnac	farmhouse + dovecote, Maynard, before Bagnac
Aire de Baldy	Figeac	looking for lodgings above Figeac	above Figeac
	Diége valley	railway bridge in Diége valley	Najac
Najac	mimosa, Najac	Najac	Najac
	Lagarde Viaur	mill at Moulins du Viaur
"beach" at Moulins du Viaur	Petit Journal, 5 millions de lecteurs, Montirat	Café des Touristes, les Bosses, Montirat	bikes in garden next to Almayrac church
bikes in garden next to Almayrac church	bikes in garden next to Almayrac church	bikes in garden next to Almayrac church	Dance hall Le Rex at Carmaux, now the agricultural coop
Dance hall Le Rex at Carmaux, now the agricultural coop	kitsch bike monument Carmaux	electricity plant Arthès	foundry Arthès
foundry Arthès	foundry Arthès

There, didn't mention Robert Louis Stevenson or donkeys once.

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1. kalebeul » I am the way, but which way? says:

   April 6 2012 at 12:46

   [...] His glory forever I’ll share." Yes, but wouldn't it be helpful if more wayside crosses, like this one, indicated the path to one's home far [...]

   Reply
2. Long time no see, but… « El Organillero y su Mono Descarado - Música para bailar, cantar y escuchar, tocada en organillo y otros instrumentos, para bodas, fiestas, conciertos, escuelas, y eventos históricos y corporativos says:

   May 15 2012 at 10:08

   [...] legs are still in reasonable shape, though popular opinion is that my mind is a goner, so it’s going to happen, come rain or [...]

   Reply
3. kalebeul » Epic Occitan language fail says:

   June 30 2012 at 18:13

   [...] I've done the odd chunk of prose translation from southern French dialects to English, but things would no doubt improve if I got out a bit more & got my left ear back. Can I also plead mental debilitation caused by previous pedalling up some sharp inclines? [...]

   Reply