Europe - Your Impressions of the Canal du Midi in the South of France.

Whose biked along the Canal du Midi in Languedo Roussillon , France. It stretches from Sete on the Mediterranean to Toulouse. We might do a segment between Toulouse to Narbonne. Is it suitable for a road bike or Mountain bike. Can it be done with skinny tires.. Your impressions of the ride. You'd recommend it.. ?

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1741957

I think poster number 2 on this thread might have useful info.

Thanks . You follow the links you will find a "Veloroute Voie Ventes." A great find.. You search for 60 Km of segregated, paved bike routes, you get no response. I'll probably need to contract the Carcassonne Travel Office to know for sure .. Some photos alone make the cycle piste, look pretty narrow.

You might check out the 2 links on this page (http://www.biketouringtips.com/textSearch.php?searchText=canal du midi).

One is an information site with maps and one is a touring journal.

Ray

thanks Raybo. I can't seem to make the links work.. I'll bet even if the trail is sometimes unpaved, I suspect my touring bike with 35 mm tires would work.

Hey there,

I cycled the Canal du Midi from Carcassone to Narbonne (see trip report for instance in my Lisbon to Istanbul cycling blog (http://http://elisabiketrip.blogspot.com/2006/06/carcassonne-b-i-didnt-see-too-many.html). Definitely do it.

I had a mountain bike with skinnier tires. There are two ways you can cycle the Canal.

1. Road bike, on the regional paved roads near the canal. This might take you away from the canal for a bit, and are more windy/less direct.

2. Hybrid bike or slightly thicker tires on the unpaved, pebble/rock/tree-root strewn paths along the Canal. I recommend this route. It is much prettier and more interesting than the paved roads. Besides when you come to the locks you might have to carry the bike up and down a couple of steps (concrete). If you'd like some pictures/more precise route descriptions and/or maps feel free to send me a pm or email. You can also take a look at one touring company's (http://www.velo-tours.net) route maps (click on the map image link on the right-hand side of the website.

Happy cycling!

... I can tell you that this ride is great, a romantic way to visit La Belle France ! You should go for a mountain bike rather than road bike as some its surface is not perfect.
As you may know le Canal du midi was created to allow comercial boat to go from the Mediteranean sea to the Atlantic and was built in 1681 !! A real piece of magic at that time ...
And as i live in the south of France, please do not hesitate to pop round as a nice aperitif will be ready for you !! Your are welcome !! Enjoy your ride along Le Canal du Midi ... Cedric