This is a ride graded Blue on the VTT Aude Pyrenees website. It’s listed under their Circuit Sportif category, which means “Sports Circuit”, in contrast to the other two categories, which translate as “Family Tours” and “Rolling Circuits”. Having figured that out, I’d say that explain a lot! The Start The route starts in Esperaza…
After last year’s microadventure there was no way we were getting through the next summer holiday without trying something different, but one of my children wasn’t keen on the idea of it just being the three of us – so I hatched a plan with a friend, who was also keep to try the same…
In Part 1 I wrote about our experience of cycling to the campsite on the first day – the “there” part of our microadventure along the voie verte from Foix to Saint Girons in the Ariege. We’re pretty familiar with our local voie verte so for this microadventure I wanted to venture further afield and…
Summer holidays means microadventures! After a few single day rides on the more local-to-me Lavelanet-Mirepoix voie verte, I set my sights on a slightly bigger adventure for our 2021 holiday. The two smalls, now 5 and 7, have become confident cyclists and I was convinced they could manage it. The original plan was to go…
Okay, so it’s not an official challenge, but I have set myself a goal of riding all the VTT routes graded blue in these two maps: The VTT Pyrénées Cathare map, which includes 6 blue routes. This covers the area from Belesta to Lavelanet and Montesgur, and extends to Lac du Montbel. And the VTT…
Finding a great (and often waymarked) cycle route in France is easy, if you know where too look. As we all know, cycling is big in France. You’ve heard of the Tour de France, right? The problem, of course, for non-French speakers, is finding this information in the first place, because naturally, it’s in French….
Well, maybe it wasn’t that good, but for me, getting out on my bike to ride an event I’ve had my eye on since we came on holiday here 4 years ago, it was great! The event was the VTT Ronde 3 Quilles, an annual event with three routes of 15km, 30k, or 45km, in the…
She started pedalling at the beginning of the holidays. I was impressed with how easily she migrated to pedals and attribute that to her riding the same bike without pedals for the prior 9 months. It meant she got her confidence on it, grew into it, and was as confident on the bigger bike as…
With the last week of the holidays looming, I really wanted to get out and finish the remaining 20km of Lavelanet-Mirepoix voie vert (greenway). I rode the first “half” (from Lavelanet to Chalabre) with DD and DS a few weeks before and it worked out well. It was much easier than I thought it would…
Update 2021! There have been considerable improvements to the surface of this route since I completed this ride. We’ll be riding it again soon and report back with updates. In short, the rough section from Sainte-Colombe is now greatly improved and is a fast, easy-going surface. Much more enjoyable and accessible. Before the holidays, determined…